Inflexion Games' new title Nightingale was first shown at The Game Awards 2021, and fans were excited to see what the team – which consists of some ex-BioWare developers – was capable of. Since then, news of the first-person shared world crafting game was a little scarce, but the recent Summer Game Fest has provided more than a few updates of upcoming games, including Nightingale. With a better look at the PvE action-adventure title, players were able to get a sense of what the ex-BioWare devs have been up to, and what they can expect from the new game.
Summer Game Fest was a big night for games, with trailers and gameplay reveals for several titles including the upcoming One Piece Odyssey. Even though E3 may be canceled, gamers will still be getting their fill of exciting gaming news throughout June with several showcases and events. Nightingale's feature during the recent event revealed much more of the title than players have previously seen and even inspired some surprising comparisons between the fantasy RPG and Hello Games' infamous No Man's Sky.
An Introduction To Nightingale's World
Nightingale is a survival game with a shared world, where players can experience the game solo or play cooperatively with friends. Set in a Victorian-inspired fantasy world, Nightingale sees the player stranded in a dangerous realm after the arcane portal network that links the various regions mysteriously collapses. Unable to return home, players must try to survive in the fantastical Fae realms, fighting off an array of diverse enemies while battling their environments, gathering supplies, and crafting shelters and items.
In addition to surviving the challenging landscapes, players must become Realmwalkers – individuals capable of traveling between the different realms through the portal network – with the aim of eventually making it back to Nightingale, the last true bastion of human civilization. This was detailed during Summer Game Fest with the Nightingale world premiere trailer which gave a deeper look at its innovative Realm Card system. Players can craft their own Realm Cards to open portals and reach new environments, but they will also be able to impact things like the weather and resources in these new procedural realms through the crafting system.
Similarities To No Man's Sky
On the surface, No Man's Sky and Nightingale couldn't be further apart. One is a colorful sci-fi exploration game centered around discovery, while the other is an atmospheric Victorian fantasy title with mystical realms and arcane magic. However, both games have procedural environments that players need to discover and successfully navigate through with action-adventure survival mechanics. No Man's Sky can also be played through a first-person perspective as gamers try to fight the various creatures, explore the uncharted regions, collect resources, and craft a variety of useful items and structures. They may look different aesthetically, but a lot of the core mechanics of Nightingale and No Man's Sky are the same.
No Man's Sky's numerous planets are procedurally generated, from everything down to the shape of the landscape and the fauna that it's adorned with. Just as the environments can impact players in No Man's Sky and deteriorate their suits and equipment, so too can the player's surroundings in Nightingale affect them in negative ways, and they need to make sure they stay "fed, dry, and rested." While No Man's Sky requires players to search out new planets for themselves, Nightingale lets them craft Realm Cards from rare resources and have a hand in creating the next location for their adventuring.
Nightingale may be strongly reminiscent of a fantasy-focused No Man's Sky, but hopefully it won't have a disastrous launch like the latter game. While No Man's Sky has completely turned its fortunes around after countless updates and years of hard work from the development team, players are hoping Nightingale has a more auspicious beginning.
Nightingale is coming to the PC in Q4 2022.