Elden Ring Nightreign Is Perfect for Handheld Gaming PCs

Elden Ring ran extremely well on the Asus ROG Ally X, but with the release of Nightreign, handheld gaming PC nerds (like me) are desperate to know if it continues the trend. After all, Shadow of the Erdtree was more demanding than the original, and that was an expansion built into it. Considering Nightreign is a standalone title, it has the potential to take things up a notch. But I have great news: It runs even better than Elden Ring.

That seems surprising, but it shouldn’t be: Elden Ring Nightreign is limited to a small map called Limveld, meaning there’s far less on the screen at any time. It helps that the environment is based on Limgrave rather than anything from Shadow of the Erdtree, which came out two years later and had more complex visual effects that gave my Ally a run for its money.

Can the Asus ROG Ally X Handle Elden Ring Nightreign?

I tested the game primarily in the castle at the center of Limveld. It’s the largest set piece on the unaltered base map, where giants can throw enormous pots of magic at the player. This is where my framerate consistently dips to its lowest points, so I’m using it as a baseline for performance. I also started a new match between each graphics preset (as recommended by the game).

I set my ROG Ally X’s Operating Mode to Turbo (30W) and plugged it into an outlet, allowing it to output the maximum amount of watts into performance. I also allocated 16GB of RAM to the GPU to get the most of its hardware, which is a unique advantage of the Ally X, as it’s built with 24GB of RAM. Most other handheld gaming PCs feature 16GB of RAM and can only allocate 8GB to the GPU. These settings allow the Asus ROG Ally X to run at its best.

The game runs well on the handheld, but Elden Ring Nightreign can struggle when there are a lot of enemies and visual effects at the same time, especially in more open areas. So, if you’re being ganked by several blood-infused enemies set to self-destruct on your position, all while overlooking Limveld from the top of ruins, the frame rate will take a massive hit. However, in enclosed spaces, like a dense forest, the game fares much better, particularly if you strategically point the camera towards the ground.

My ROG Ally X maintained an average of 30 fps at 1080p on the Maximum preset, with occasional drops down to 27 fps (usually after being bombarded by magic pots). The only other preset that dipped below 30 fps was 1080p on High. It hit an average of 35 fps, but dropped to 28 fps a few times when battling atop the castle. Otherwise, no other graphics preset dipped below 30 fps once. 1080p at Medium settings came in at an average of 39 fps. Low averaged at 43 fps, with a low of 39 fps.

The game runs much better at 720p, even reaching 60 fps occasionally. Maximum at 720p averaged 41 fps, with a 1% low of 38 fps. High came in with an average of 44 fps, with 40 fps at the worst. Medium and low look crunchy, but yield excellent performance.

Elden Ring Nightreign Is Perfect on the Asus ROG Ally X

Nightreign looks great at 1080p with Maximum settings, and plays decently enough. I enjoyed sessions from start to finish on this preset, and while occasional stutters were bothersome, it’s pretty smooth otherwise and often hovered over 30 fps. 30 fps isn’t enough for everyone though, and those willing to take a hit to resolution will likely find a better balance playing at Maximum graphics and 720p, which hovers around 41 fps, hitting a midpoint between smoothness and quality.

Players clamoring for 60 fps on their Asus ROG Ally X will have the best luck at 720p, but you’ll have to reduce the graphics presets to Medium or Low. Even then, the machine cannot maintain an average of 60 fps, and only reaches that high during less demanding encounters, like in enclosed spaces. It doesn’t look great, though, as Limveld appears flat on Low especially. The island loses its complex shadows, and each structure is low-poly.

Claire finds joy in impassioned ramblings about her closeness to video games. She has a bachelor’s degree in Journalism & Media Studies from Brooklyn College and seven years of experience in entertainment journalism. Claire is a stalwart defender of games as an artform and spends most days overwhelmed with excitement for its past, present and future. When she isn’t writing or playing Dark Souls, she can be found eating chicken fettuccine alfredo and gushing about handheld gaming PCs.