Dying Light: The Beast vs Elden Ring Nightreign
One is a linear zombie-crushing sprint with a returning protagonist; the other is a run-based co-op roguelike that resets every 40 minutes — pick based on whether you want momentum or a loop.
Updated 7d ago
Punches above its $40 price tag — Crane's Beast Mode and the return to DL1's horde-dense streets make this the series' best since the original.
Solo and duos both work now — the launch reviews calling solo a death sentence are a year stale. Still worth $39.99 if you can live with six months of silence.
By the numbers
Prices checked Sep 28; they move faster than we refresh, so confirm on the store page.
Recent-review figures are Steam's own last-30-days window, read Sep 28.
| Measure | Dying Light: The Beast | Elden Ring Nightreign |
|---|---|---|
| Value Elden Ring Nightreign wins on value | ||
| Price now | $59.99 IndieGala Store | $34.99 −13% · GameBillet |
| All-time low | $26.76 | $26.37 |
| Cost / hour | $3.30/hr $59.99 · 18 h main story | $1.25/hr $34.99 · 28 h main story |
| Off its low | +124% low was Sep 2026 | +33% low was Dec 2025 |
| Main story | 18 h | 28 h |
| Health Too close to call | ||
| Steam reviews | 86% 73k reviews | 82% 192k reviews |
| Recent reviews | 79% 2k votes · vs 86% lifetime · souring | 80% 919 votes · vs 82% lifetime |
| Peak players | 8,007 Sep 2026 · ↑ 100% MoM | 34,386 Aug 2026 · ↓ 16% MoM |
| Launch peak | 7% of Sep 2025 launch peak · as of Sep 2026 | — |
| All-time peak | 120,949 Sep 2025 | 240,640 Jun 2025 · now at 14% |
| Support | ||
| Last patch | 3 weeks ago | 9 months ago |
| Patch cadence | 1+ in last 90 days, at minimum | 0 in last 90 days |
| Steam Deck | Platinum | Platinum |
Shared scale — same months across the bottom, same player-count axis up the side, so the two lines are directly comparable. A shorter line means a younger game.
What players say
Patterns from long-haul reviewers, taken from each game's verdict. Not live sentiment — each side is dated below.
Dying Light: The Beast
Beast Mode's brutal strength-spree is the obvious highlight, letting Crane tear through hordes with a ferocity that feels like DL1 turned up to eleven.
The dodge mechanic's unreliability and forced weapon-slot swaps during cutscenes keep tripping up even veteran parkour players.
from our August 2026 verdict
Elden Ring Nightreign
The 40-minute run — two days of scavenging, two night bosses, one Nightlord — and how well it holds up with two friends on a voice call.
Silence from FromSoftware. Reviewers with hundreds of hours file negatives asking for content rather than fixes, and July brought a wave of crash reports.
from our July 2026 verdict
Key differences
Which one is for you?
Pick Dying Light: The Beast if
- You want a focused 18-hour campaign with melee combos and high-speed parkour
- You loved Dying Light 1's Kyle Crane and want him back as protagonist
- You bounced off DL2's stamina-heavy parkour and want the old flow back
Pick Elden Ring Nightreign if
- You have two friends on voice chat ready for three-player co-op runs
- Forty-minute roguelike loops suit you better than a long campaign
- You dislike Elden Ring's build systems and prefer auto-leveling with mid-run gear
Bottom line
If you want a solo, story-driven sprint through zombie-dense streets, pick The Beast. If you have a regular trio and prefer 40-minute roguelike resets over an 18-hour campaign, pick Nightreign.