Solo Elden Ring Nightreign players prove they don't need a duos patch by beating the game with the only duo that matters: their fist, and their other fist, with "no skills or anything"

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Elden Ring: Nightreign
(Image credit: Bandai Namco)

Bandai Namco and FromSoftware released multiplayer roguelike spinoff Elden Ring Nightreign just a few weeks ago, and unsurprisingly, skilled players are already tackling the game in creative ways.

One such player is known online as "star0chris," and his most recent feat involves taking on all of the Elden Ring Nightreign bosses solo… without using any skills or weapons. That's right; as if it wasn't impressive enough to, as director Junya Ishizaki did himself, complete a run entirely on your own, people are now doing so using only their Nightfarers' bare fists and no other buffs – in true FromSoftware fan fashion.

"I beat all of the Nightlords in Nightreign (including the expeditions) with bare fists only to deal damage (no skills or anything)," writes star0chris in his post highlighting his run. "This was a lot of fun and a great way to learn all the bosses," he concludes. "I'm glad fists aren't as bad as they are in normal Elden Ring lol."

If there's any silver lining here, it's that, yes, your fists are stronger in Nightreign thanks to the game's updated balancing. But punches are still quite weak compared to, you know, weapons.

Amazingly enough, star0chris isn't the only person, or seemingly the first, to have managed such a run,.

As a fellow fan points out in the comments, "skumnut," notorious "Elden Ring sicko" and YouTuber, has just managed to do the same. In his own thread, skumnut shows a video of his bare-fist run and says he completed it in under 30 hours: "I beat ALL eight expeditions and Nightlords in Elden Ring Nightreign using only my BARE FISTS. World's first all Nightlord bosses bare fist only full run in less than 30 hours. Thank Gwyn, I'm free."

It's nothing new for the Elden Ring community – after all, the original game has seen the famous no-hit saxophone player using a real-life instrument, the fan who completed a no-hit run at uncapped New Game+1,000, and the real-life Psychonaut beating the game with only her mind. Nightreign devotees are already pulling off no-hit playthroughs, too.

It's still amazing, nonetheless. As our Elden Ring Nightreign review puts it, "reaching any of the Nightlords is difficult, and beating any of them is even tougher" even with weapons.

Here are some of the other most exciting new games this year and beyond to keep an eye on.

Anna Koselke
Anna Koselke
Staff Writer

After spending years with her head in various fantastical realms' clouds, Anna studied English Literature and then Medieval History at the University of Edinburgh, going on to specialize in narrative design and video game journalism as a writer. She has written for various publications since her postgraduate studies, including Dexerto, Fanbyte, GameSpot, IGN, PCGamesN, and more. When she's not frantically trying to form words into coherent sentences, she's probably daydreaming about becoming a fairy druid and befriending every animal or she's spending a thousand (more) hours traversing the Underdark in Baldur's Gate 3. If you spot her away from her PC, you'll always find Anna with a fantasy book, a handheld video game console of some sort, and a Tamagotchi or two on hand.

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