The survival multiplayer Nightingale has finally launched on Steam in Early Access. The player peak is a respectable 47,000, but the reviews are mixed. We have reviewed the Steam reviews and also tried the game.
What is Nightingale? Nightingale is a survival game that started in Early Access on Steam and the Epic Game Store on February 20, 2024. The game costs €29.99, but can be purchased for €26.09 until February 27.
The game immerses you in an alternate reality where you escape to a dystopian fantasy steampunk version of Victorian England. Your new home is the various worlds of the titular fairy realm, which you explore as a so-called Realmwalker.
Although you can play the game solo, your PC or Steam Deck must always be connected to the Internet. You can read all further information about the release here:
Mixed Steam reviews for Nightingale at launch
At the time of this news, Nightingale has 2,395 reviews on Steam. Of these, 1,343 are positive or very positive. The remaining 1,052 are negative. This results in a score of balanced
for the Steam reviews.
What is praised? Despite the early access and the many negative voices, players find much to appreciate in Nightingale. They praise, among other things:
- The world design
- The graphics
- The detailed character editor
- The weather system
- The story
Steam player Telagorn writes in his review: I am really excited. Great worlds, some details I really like (voices, fights). The graphics are noteworthy, the atmosphere is dense. The setting may not appeal to everyone, but I think that’s always the case.
He criticizes that all player characters are ugly. Otherwise, he finds the game worth the price.
I was one of those people who eagerly awaited this game and personally, I have not been disappointed yet
, writes player Kailo about Nightingale. He is particularly impressed by the character editor with the inheritance system.
In the review by Steam user Willis, Nightingale is praised, but the current errors are also highlighted: While the game is impressive, it suffers from problems that need to be fixed.
What do players criticize? The developers kindly point out the early access phase and the expected issues with a pop-up at the start of the game. Unfortunately, for many players, Nightingale is still too unfinished for a good rating.
They criticize, among other things, the following points:
- Many bugs
- Optimization issues
- Difficult controls
- Clunky combat system
- Online requirement
- Poor server connections
In a review, Steam user Ganlorth writes: I tried to like the game, but it’s a huge disappointment
. He further criticizes the lag on the servers, the poor optimization for him, and the long tutorial. Nightingale unfortunately also offers nothing new that other new survival games do not also have.
Player Andevar writes that he wonders what the developers were doing in the (allegedly) five-year-long development period. He dislikes the requirement to always be online.
Give me Bailey joins via Steam the criticism and adds: There is no pause option for single-player. You have to skip conversations, because otherwise you might get killed by monsters while listening to an NPC or reading hidden logs.
Nightingale played – What was our impression?
MeinMMO editor Sophia Weiss was also able to play Nightingale shortly after its Early Access launch. Here are her impressions:
I was able to download Nightingale directly at the start at 6:00 PM and start playing. For logistical reasons, I had to rely on my Steam Deck for my first impression – the game runs surprisingly well there (when it runs). Tonight I can finally take a closer look at it on my desktop PC.
Indeed, I can agree with both the positive and negative impressions of the players: Nightingale is a very beautiful game that has everything you expect from a survival game. It also has some cool innovations, like the inheritance system in the character editor.
Indeed, the mix of fantasy, steampunk, and Victorian/Edwardian spirit of exploration is exactly my thing. However, if the game did not captivate me because of its atmosphere, I would probably have a worse overall impression:
I needed 2.5 hours just for the tutorial, as the game kept crashing due to server errors. This was particularly annoying in the character editor, as I had invested a lot of time in my first draft and it is only saved after the editor. All that work was in vain.
In the game, I also encountered several bugs. For example, my second portal wouldn’t open, and I had to restart multiple times: I had done everything I needed to do. But the portal simply would not trigger. A combination of restarts and the “I’m Stuck” function finally helped.
I personally like Nightingale and will probably return to the game in the long run. However, I had far fewer problems with other early access games like Palworld (on PC as well as on Steam Deck).
My advice would therefore be to wait for a few updates and get the game in a few months, because: Nightingale is a good game that still needs a few rounds of good patch polish.
If you want to play the game on the Steam Deck, check out the following article. My colleague Benedikt tested the game on the Steam Deck and examined it technically. That could help you if you want to play the game on the go: I played Nightingale on the Steam Deck – What is good and what is not?
