Summary
Nightingale, the debut from burgeoning studio Inflexion Games, is joining the vast assortment of co-op survival games. The game’s unique presentation, striking visuals, and promising features, alongside theimpressive credentials of Inflexion’sNightingaledevelopers, has made it a title to keep an eye on.
Massive co-op survival games, especially on PC, have exploded in popularity over the past few years. The craze arguably exploded whenMinecraftwas released, as it inspired a number of popular titles, includingConan Exiles,Valheim, andARK: Survival Evolved. The genre is certainly popular and full of unique potential, and there are several tropes and conventions – some good, and some not so good. With each new popular survival game that gets released, developers attempt to set their experience apart from the pack, andNightingaleis no different in this regard.Nightingale’s dimension-hopping structureand steampunk aesthetic are two obvious inclusions that make it distinct, but they aren’t the only ones.
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Nightingale’s Combat System Looks Different from Other Survival Games
There are countless survival games onPC, and there is one area that is often overlooked in almost all of them: combat. Nearly all major survival games have some sort of combat, but it can often feel like something of an afterthought. Based on the information available aboutNightingale, specifically its Gamescom trailer, the game seems to stand out in this regard.
Nightingalehas showcased a number of different melee weapons and firearms, each designed to fit the opulent, steampunk style of the game. Although combat is nothing new for survival games, with many games in the genre even featuring PvP, it is often rather shallow and clunky from a mechanical standpoint. There’s reason to believe thatNightingalewill be stepping PvP and PvE combat up, though, as gameplay footage shows a number of distinct weapons, many of which seem to have special or alternative attacks. For instance, the Gamescom trailer highlighted a revolver with a rapid fire option. If all or most of the game’s weapons have these special attacks, it could deepen the combat and expand the players' options dramatically.
The intrigue of the combat goes beyond the weapons, however. The Gamescom trailer shows the player characterfightingNightingale’s Fae enemieswith magic attacks in combination with physical ones. Ostensibly, these magic abilities will deal direct damage, stun enemies, or perhaps even inflict status effects. It’s unclear if these magic attacks are tied to specific weapons or not, as some guns appear to deal elemental damage, which could come from an additional enchantment or be tied to the gear itself. On top of this, combat-specific movement options appear to be included, as the player can be seen performing a quick dash in the midst of a fight with one ofNightingale’s animatronic foes.
By granting players these offensive magic abilities and more advanced movement options, combat has the potential to be a complex and enjoyable part of the experience.Nightingalewill likely draw inspiration from BioWaretitles when it comes to story, but many of those games,Mass Effectin particular, were known for having deep, satisfying combat. The success of the combat in these games was due in part to the various abilities and movement options on offer, so it would make sense for Inflexion to carry that trend intoNightingale.
Combat in survival games can be a tricky thing; the central focus of the game should be gathering supplies, base-building, and resource management, so fighting is generally not a top priority. Not the other hand, if it’s going to be in the game, it should be at least somewhat enjoyable.Nightingalehas a number of promising features, and hopefully combat will be one of them.
