While many gameplay mechanics and features in Elden Ring are returning in Elden Ring Nightreign, one of the game’s loyal companions is nowhere to be seen.
Torrent, the horse that guides the Tarnished throughout the game and helped you traverse a lot of the world, is not set to make a return in the standalone spin-off roguelike, which is a letdown for fans of the series who had hoped to see Torrent or at least a horse, help you traverse the world when trying to do as much as possible.
In Nightreign, you’re expected to roam the map quickly to find rare items and weapons to help you face off against the various bosses at the end of each day, so having Torrent would have been a huge help to pick up everything you could. And while some players might miss their beloved steed, the game’s Director, Junya Ishizaki, thinks otherwise.
“We hope that players look forward to all sorts of new traversal techniques in Nightreign,” Ishizaki told the group. “Traversal of the map and exploring the map has changed—and game speed and game feel. We hope players enjoy using the sprinting and mounting system and Spectral Hawks to get around the map. In these ways, we have tried to change around the traversal, and in many ways, it does feel speedier than riding Torrent when you go back to playing Elden Ring.”
In short, Ishizaki feels like Torrent is no longer needed in the world of Nightreign, and we can see why, too. The map is smaller than what you expect it to be and constantly shrinks as the day goes on. Adding Torrent and increasing the movement options might make the game feel too easy to some, while the developers have tried to balance the game by offering different traversal types.
The Spectral Hawks Ishizaki mentions are likely the replacement for Torrent. You can find different tree points on the map that spawn Spectral Hawks to fly you in a set location and drop at any time. There are also points on the map that let you jump high up onto hard-to-reach cliffs and give you more movement options, so we can see where the team might have created specific gameplay mechanics that make Torrent irrelevant.
With the game set to release in 2025, we’ll have to wait to see if Ishizaki and his team made the right choice or if fans cry out for the return of their loveable companion.
