''Nightingale'' is a

survival video game Survival games are a subgenre of action games which are often set in hostile, intense, open-world environments. Players generally start with minimal equipment and are required to Survival, survive as long as possible by finding the resources nec ...

by Inflexion Games. It entered

early access Early access, also known as alpha access, alpha founding, paid alpha, or game preview, is a funding model in the video game industry by which consumers can purchase and play a game in the various pre-release Software release life cycle, developm ...

on February 20, 2024. Players attempt to survive in a

gaslamp fantasy Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction that incorporates retrofuturistic technology and aesthetics inspired by, but not limited to, 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery. Steampunk works are often set in an alternative history ...

world set in the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

. It includes light

role-playing Role-playing or roleplaying is the changing of one's behaviour to assume a role, either unconsciously to fill a social role, or consciously to act out an adopted role. While the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' offers a definition of role-playing ...

elements, such as

quest A quest is a journey toward a specific mission or a goal. It serves as a plot device in mythology and fiction: a difficult journey towards a goal, often symbolic or allegorical. Tales of quests figure prominently in the folklore of every nat ...

Gameplay

After the Earth suffers a disaster, interdimensional travelers escape to other realms, each of which is

procedurally generated In computing, procedural generation is a method of creating data algorithmically as opposed to manually, typically through a combination of human-generated content and algorithms coupled with computer-generated randomness and processing power. I ...

. Players control one such traveler as they attempt to return to Nightingale, a human enclave created in the "Faewilds" before the emergence of the "Pale" that caused the disaster. ''Nightingale'' takes place in a Victorian-era

setting, which uses aesthetics similar to

steampunk Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction that incorporates retrofuturistic technology and Applied arts, aesthetics inspired by, but not limited to, 19th-century Industrial Revolution, industrial steam engine, steam-powered machinery. Steampun ...

. As a

survival game Survival games are a subgenre of action games which are often set in hostile, intense, open-world environments. Players generally start with minimal equipment and are required to survive as long as possible by finding the resources necessary t ...

, players must find food to eat, rest to recover their stamina, and gather resources to craft tools. Players can create simple items, such as a bedroll, easily. Bedrolls do not require shelter, though shelter helps to recover more stamina. When crafted, umbrellas allow players to glide around like

Mary Poppins Mary Poppins may refer to: * Mary Poppins (character), a nanny with magical powers * Mary Poppins (franchise), based on the fictional nanny ** Mary Poppins (book series), ''Mary Poppins'' (book series), the original 1934–1988 children's fanta ...

. Some creatures are not hostile and will only defend themselves when attacked. In combat, players can attack with either melee weapons or firearms. Players can engage in

dungeon crawl A dungeon crawl is a type of scenario in fantasy role-playing games (RPGs) in which heroes navigate a labyrinth environment (a "dungeon"), battling various monsters, avoiding traps, solving puzzles, and looting any treasure they may find. Video g ...

s and

raid RAID (; redundant array of inexpensive disks or redundant array of independent disks) is a data storage virtualization technology that combines multiple physical Computer data storage, data storage components into one or more logical units for th ...

-style combats.

Non-player character A non-player character (NPC) is a character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster (or referee) rather than by a ...

s can be recruited to assist during fights and gathering resources. Literary characters, including

Victor Frankenstein Victor Frankenstein is a fictional character who first appeared as the titular main protagonist of Mary Shelley's 1818 novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus''. He is an Italian-born Swiss scientist who, after studying chemical proces ...

and

Mr. Hyde Dr. Henry Jekyll and his alter ego Mr. Edward Hyde are the central character of Robert Louis Stevenson's 1886 novella ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde''. In the story, Dr. Jekyll is a good friend of main protagonist Gabriel John Utterso ...

, can be encountered and give

s. Once players have enough resources, they can travel between realms, which are hosted on dedicated servers. Realms can be based on different biomes, such as deserts, woodlands, and swamps, selectable by players using cards to customize the world and what resources can be found. It can be played single-player, or up to six people can play cooperatively. It supports first-person and

third-person view In video games, third-person (also spelled third person) is a graphical perspective rendered from a fixed distance behind and slightly above the player character. This viewpoint allows players to see a more strongly characterized avatar and is ...

Development

The developer, Inflexion Games, is an independent Canadian studio founded by Aaryn Flynn, a former

BioWare BioWare is a Canadian video game developer based in Edmonton, Alberta. It was founded in 1995 by newly graduated Doctor of Medicine, medical doctors Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk and Augustine Yip. Since 2007, the company has been owned by American ...

veteran. ''Nightingale'' was initially planned to be an

MMORPG A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a video game that combines aspects of a role-playing video game and a massively multiplayer online game. As in role-playing games (RPGs), the player assumes the role of a Player charac ...

, but this was abandoned in favor of a survival game. Unlike role-playing games, Inflexion said they intend to provide an interesting premise and lore rather than a strong narrative, which they said will allow players to create their own stories. ''Nightingale'' entered

on February 20, 2024. It will be available for Windows systems only. The early access period is estimated to last about a year. Responding to criticism about the game's always online state, Inflexion announced it was working on an offline mode just two days after launch.

Reception

Rock Paper Shotgun ''Rock Paper Shotgun'' is a British video game journalism website. It was launched in July 2007 to focus on PC game, PC games and was acquired by Gamer Network, a network of sites led by ''Eurogamer'', in May 2017. History ''Rock Paper S ...

'' compared the unconventional setting to '' The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind'' and said they enjoyed getting lost in the world and exploring. However, the interesting world made the traditional survival elements seem banal. They suggested the early access development focus on making the survival gameplay as interesting as the world and improve the user interface. ''

PC Gamer ''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games m ...

'' said they were eager to return to ''Nightingale'' after its launch to discover more about the story and explore the world. Although they said

software bug A software bug is a design defect ( bug) in computer software. A computer program with many or serious bugs may be described as ''buggy''. The effects of a software bug range from minor (such as a misspelled word in the user interface) to sev ...

s were probably going to be a problem during early access, they said nothing in particular bothered them during their gameplay. Although they found the early game less interesting, ''

Eurogamer ''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 alongside parent company Gamer Network. In 2008, it started in the formerly eponymous trade fair EGX (Eurogamer Expo until 2013) organised by its parent company. Fr ...

'' said the worldbuilding makes it promising. ''

GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition ...

'' said it has "the usual survival genre stuff" but felt ''Nightingale'' strength was its potential for exploration, which they hoped to see emphasized during early access development. Despite positive reception for its unique "Mary Poppins-meets-Stargate" concept, ''Nightingale'' struggled with server issues and low player retention, leading developer Inflexion Games to restructure and lay off dozens of employees while closing its UK studio.

References

External links

* * {{Metacritic video game Unreal Engine 5 games Upcoming video games Multiplayer and single-player video games Windows games Windows-only games Single-player video games Indie games Steampunk video games Survival video games Fairies in popular culture Early access video games Video games about parallel universes Video games developed in Canada