Big changes are on the horizon for Nightingale, the innovative open-world crafting survival game developed by Inflexion Games, a team led by former Mass Effect developers. Dive into the details about Nightingale and the future plans that Inflexion Games has in store for this captivating game.
Former Mass Effect Devs Express Dissatisfaction with Their “Nightingale” Fantasy Game
Nightingale, spearheaded by ex-Bioware leader Aaryn Flynn, is set to receive a major overhaul this summer. In a recent YouTube video, Flynn and art and audio director Neil Thomson candidly discussed Nightingale's current state and their roadmap for improvement. They openly admitted their dissatisfaction with the game's overall reception and player engagement since its early access launch in February.
"We are not satisfied with where the game is at, we're not satisfied with the overall sentiment, we're not satisfied with our player numbers," Flynn confessed. The team has been diligently working on quality of life enhancements and bug fixes. A fan-favorite addition, the offline mode, was introduced a few months back. Now, their focus shifts to aligning the game more closely with their initial vision and rectifying its shortcomings.
Nightingale immerses players in the mysterious and perilous Fae Realms, offering an expansive open-world survival crafting experience. While open-world games are renowned for their extensive content and freedom, Thomson noted that Nightingale might be "almost too open world, too self-motivated in terms of goal-setting." To address this, Inflexion Games plans to introduce more structure, including clearer progression indicators, defined goals, and varied realm designs to combat the repetitive nature that players have reported.
"We do love the game very much, but we do think there's a lot of room to improve it," Flynn emphasized. "One big way that we want to improve it is to bring more structure to the overall experience. What I mean by that is more sense of you as a player progressing; a better understanding of what you can do, a better understanding of the differences between these Realms." The team is also re-evaluating core game elements and planning to increase build limits for more elaborate structures. Flynn hinted at previews of these enhancements coming soon.
Currently, Nightingale holds a 'Mixed' rating on Steam, but recent reviews show a promising uptick, with 68% being positive. Flynn and Thomson expressed appreciation for the community's support and encouraged ongoing feedback. "We played this new version really recently, and there's still a bit more work to do, but I think it's elevated it quite a bit, but obviously you'll all be the judge of that when we bring this thing out," Flynn concluded.
Game8 shares the sentiment that Nightingale could benefit from more guidance and simplification in areas like crafting. For a deeper dive into our thoughts, click on the link below to read our comprehensive review on Nightingale!
