Excited to learn about the Nightingale release date? Nightingale is an upcoming open-world survival game from Inflexion Games. Like other games in its genre, it involves plenty of gathering and building. What sets Nightingale apart is its Victorian-inspired assortment of procedurally-generated magical realms and roguelite card system, supported by a post-apocalyptic origin story set in a parallel universe.
Although Nightingale’s early access release has been delayed, there’s already a new release window on the horizon. Meanwhile, the developers have been generous in their information supply, providing us with a ton of blog posts and videos on Nightingale’s progress. There’s so much to learn about the Victorian survival game, so here’s an overview of everything we know about Nightingale, which could eventually be one of the best PC games.
Nightingale release date speculation
Nightingale’s early access release date is currently scheduled for the first half of 2023. The game was originally meant to release in early access in 2022, but in August 2022, the developers announced a delay. One of the main reasons for the delay was the decision to upgrade to Unreal Engine 5.
For now, Nightingale remains a PC-exclusive game. You’ll be able to buy the game on Steam and the Epic Games Store.
Nightingale trailers
Nightingale’s reveal trailer, first shown at The Game Awards 2021, unveils a bunch of dreary, monster-ridden lands. As the voice-over explains, a malfunctioning portal is the reason why a bunch of people dressed in Victorian fashion suddenly find themselves stuck in this wasteland. The trailer also gives us our first glimpse of the base-building system, magical portals, and enemies. That unfriendly giant looks particularly troublesome…
Some advice from the Nightingale’s Summer Game Fest 2022 gameplay trailer: staying fed, dry, and well rested should be your priority. Since we’re talking about a crafting game, this probably doesn’t come as a major surprise, but yes; chopping down trees and hacking away at rocks are core aspects of Nightingale’s gameplay. Another important reveal in this trailer is the Realm Cards which influence world generation.
The Realmwalker’s Journey trailer, shown at The Game Awards 2022, teases more monstrous creatures, an umbrella-gliding feature that would make Mary Poppins jealous, and a collection of the latest Victorian fashion. Oh, and that masked floating guy with the golden horns? That’s Puck, our helpful Fae guide.
Nightingale story
In Nightingale’s alternate reality, humans have been living together with the magical ‘Fae’ for centuries. During that time, the humans learned how to use magic and also created a magical city called Nightingale. This city hosts portals that serve as gateways to other realms.
Unfortunately, the realms have been struck by a calamity known as The Pale. The survivors, who are scattered over different realms, are now trying to make their way back to Nightingale, believing the city to be the only place that may withstand The Pale.
Nightingale gameplay
Nightingale’s Victorian Realmwalkers shall be able to explore the lands of Fae from a first-person perspective. Described by the developers as an “online shared-world realmscape”, players won’t be stuck on a single map, but travel from realm to realm with the help of arcane portals.
Based on every trailer and development video we’ve seen so far, Nightingale’s gameplay features the following mechanics:
- Gathering (wood, food) and mining (stones, ore)
- Crafting, not just weapons and tools, but also Realm Cards
- Cooking
- Building large-scale settlements
- PvE combat against minor enemies as well as terrifying gargantuan bosses
Nightingale solo play and PvP mode
On the official website, Nightingale is described as a PvE game, which means players won’t be fighting fellow Realmwalkers in a PvP mode. However, there’s plenty of room to team up with others, as Nightingale is planning to support between six and ten players per server.
Although you’ll be able to join forces with friends and random players through Nightingale’s co-op system, it’s also possible to play Nightingale solo. During a Discord Q&A session in July 2022, the developers explained that their intention is to make the game manageable in solo mode, but they also warned that it will make for a “challenging experience”.
Nightingale Realm Card system
One of Nightingale’s most notable features is the ‘Realm Card’ mechanism which shapes the game’s procedurally generated worlds. In short, Realm Cards unlock new realms to travel to, and by influencing the type of environment, enemies, and resources, they help you find a destination that fits your current needs. As explained in one of the developer blogs, new Realm Cards are acquired through crafting, thereby using “magickal ingredients”.
In their video on Realm Cards, the developers name a few examples. If you want more enemies, you can use the ‘hunt’ card. If you don’t like nighttime, you can use a card that prevents the sun from setting. As shown in the gameplay trailer, using certain Reveal Cards combos can result in additional realm-shaping effects.
Nightingale news
Nightingale is the first game released by Inflexion, a studio set up by former BioWare General Manager Aaryn Flynn. The developer team has over 100 members, including other industry veterans from BioWare, Ubisoft, Capcom, and more.
That’s all we know about Nightingale so far, but keep an eye out on this page as more information becomes available. If you’re looking for an experience like Nightingale, you may want to read our list of the best fantasy games to tide you over.
