Look how many of Elden Ring Nightreign’s skins reference classic Dark Souls characters, and how much better they look here

Even before anyone was able to get their hands on Elden Ring Nightreign, we knew that it would bring back bosses, enemies, characters and more from classic FromSoftware games – including the Dark Souls series.

Dark Souls 3’s Nameless King boss could briefly be seen in an early trailer, and the final game has a lot more from those classic games. But how does the asset quality of their modern interpretations compare to the originals?

That is a very good question, and it’s one Souls dataminer and YouTuber BonfireVN attempts to answer in their latest video. The video focuses specifically on showing the Nightreign armour sets/skins that have history in earlier FromSoftware games.

For instance, it’s pretty clear to any Dark Souls fan that Wylder’s Abysswalker set is a clear reference to that game’s iconic Knight Artorias, just as the Guardian’s Sunlight Knight skin is an unmissable nod to that game’s Solaire of Astora. Even Patches makes an appearance, with his Dark Souls look having now become a skin (Black Leather) for the Duchess.

The video also uncovers several other, more obscure references to the classic games. Revenant’s Dragon School skin is a callback to Griggs of Vinheim, an NPC in the original Dark Souls. There’s also Ironeye, whose Sellsword skin is a replica of Dark Souls 2’s Chancellor Wellager attire.

In many cases, these armour sets have appeared in more than a single game prior to their recreation in Nightreign, which gives us an even better appreciation of the model’s evolution, and how much more detailed their latest incarnations are.

If you’re curious about how you can unlock skins in Nightreign, we have a whole guide that explains everything. For all your other questions – including boss fight walkthroughs – hit up our mega Elden Ring Nightreign guide.