Is Nightingale Going to Revolutionize the Survival Game Genre?
Nightingale by Inflexion Games is set for release and many critics are already wondering whether it’s going to lead to a new type of survival game becoming popular. What does this game involve and how does it shake up the existing genre through a fresh approach to creating unique worlds?
The Main Details
The first noticeable difference from other survival games is that Nightingale isn’t played on a massive map. The developers have used procedural generation to create a series of smaller realms that each have a single biome. Players use portals to move across the realms, with Realm Cards used to discover new destinations.
These cards can be earned through completing quests, and it seems that there may be other ways of earning them that haven’t yet been specified. Depositing a card in a portal sees a new world generated to visit. There are actually three kinds of cards, with the Biome items determining the overall environment. Major and Minor cards are then used to generate other parts of the new world, such as the amount of resources in the area or the weather there.
Therefore, using the three types of cards together produces all of the different aspects for each new realm you encounter. However, the developers say that when two players use the same three cards, they won’t both access the same worlds. While many of the basic elements will be similar, the challenges will be different for every player.
The main objective of the game is to reach the city called Nightingale. It’s set in an alternate timeline of human history where people have learned magic from the magical Fae (fairies). Humans can explore the Fae’s portals and travel to their realms, but at the start of Nightingale, the player is stuck in a realm after a mysterious fog comes out of a portal and leaves the Earth uninhabitable.
The Fantasy and Magic Elements
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In Nightingale, the theme is described as Victorian gaslamp fantasy, so there’s every chance that it brings a new type of fantasy to the gaming world. It’s been partially inspired by the book Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke. This theme is brought to life thanks to incredible artwork and a guide known as Puck. For the moment, the survival aspect seems fairly standard, with players having to carry out tasks like chopping down trees and hunting animals to generate enough resources to survive.
Will It Be a Success?
The early signs are good, with many of the reviewers who gained early access to Nightingale giving positive feedback on the gameplay and the appearance.
It’s clear that procedural generation offers great possibilities for game developers, but there’s been a lingering feeling that other games like No Man’s Sky have failed to take full advantage of this technology. In taking an interesting new approach, the creators of this game may have discovered how best to harness the power of procedural generation.
By giving players the chance to choose their fates, based on the cards they draw, Inflexion Games has given their fans ultimate agency. As we’ve seen from other successful video games with a ‘choose your fate’ mechanism, this could be a game-changer.
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What Happens Next?
Nightingale is due to be released in 2024 on Steam, though players can request early access to an unfinished version (this has been possible for some time). The positive early signs and feedback suggest that a lot of gamers will enjoy the new offering.
