There’s a new entry in the world of open-world survival crafting games, and it’s ditching the dangers of nature for the unspoken evils of mystical realms. It’s called Nightingale.
The upcoming indie title received a new gameplay trailer at Summer Game Fest 2022, giving us a deeper glimpse at its fantastical Victorian-esque world and survival gameplay. The 2-minute video shows a lot of mechanics that will be familiar from other multiplayer games, including picking shrubs, chopping down trees, and mining ore.
You’ll need to do your best to stay dry, rested, and fed, all while contending with the vicious beasts that stalk the forest. In a bigger twist, you’ll be able to activate “portal arches” that transport you to different, deadlier worlds. The multiverse gateways are unlocked by using resources to create “realm cards” that let you influence the resources, weather patterns, and challenges of the procedurally generated shared worlds.
The gateways will lead you through faewild forests, swamps, deserts, jungles, as you progress deeper in the uncharted lands of the magical world. Each realm you unlock will offer new opportunities for exploration, but also open the door to monsters from the “inter-realmic void”. These beasties are fairly gothic, and remind us of the twisted monsters of Brothers Grimm fairytales. It’s all very metaphysical, and all looks rather charming.
As you amass greater resources, you’ll be able to ever-expanding estates and camps. Several tilesets will be available, NPCs can be recruited, and some areas of production can be automated. The whole game can be played solo or through online co-op.
There’s no shortage of multiplayer survival games. While Valheim made a name for itself in 2021, the more recent V Rising has tickled a lot of people’s dancing. That vampiric crafting game hit one million players in only a week. Maybe Nightingale can do the same.