Earlier this month, Nightingale developer Inflexion said it wanted to bring “more structure” to the game so players will have a better idea of where they’re going, what they’re doing, and why they’re doing it, and also to help reduce the feeling of repetition between the game’s different realms. In an update posted today on Steam, the dev team offered a deeper insight into what it has in mind, including the introduction of new “handcrafted realms,” a new campaign, and—everyone’s favorite—boss fights.
“The Storied Realms are handcrafted Realms set within the existing biomes, each designed with its own theme, aesthetic, and challenges,” Inflexion explained in a new Steam update. “Storied Realms will be introduced as part of a new campaign that will arrive with the next update (more on that below). As you progress through the main questline, you’ll unlock unique Realm Cards—each leading to a new Storied Realm to discover and explore.”
The addition of handcrafted realms doesn’t spell the end of the procedurally generated realms that have thus far provided the backdrop for Nightingale. Procgen realms “will still play an important part in your journey,” Inflexion said, and will continue to function as they do now: Players will use Realm Cards to open portals “and explore each location for further adventuring, new challenges, collecting valuable essences, and to harvest rare resources.”
The “more structured” main campaign, called Realms Reborn, will see the addition of new Sites of Power dungeons, which will feature “engaging combat encounters and intricate puzzles” and culminate in new boss battles. More “points of interest,” with new activities and challenges, are also being added.
Taken altogether, it sounds like quite a shift from the original vision for Nightingale, but it’s one the studio feels is necessary. Inflexion’s art and audio director said in the most recent early access update video that Nightingale in its original form “was almost too open world” and “too self-motivated in terms of goal-setting,” and so now the studio is aiming for something “a bit more traditional.”
And it’s not the first big move in that direction: Nightingale was envisioned as a shared-world game built around “an interconnected series of Realms, with the idea of allowing for co-operative exploration,” but in response to player demand the studio released an offline mode in May. The offline mode was generally well-received by players, but unfortunately it hasn’t had any impact on Nightingale’s concurrent player numbers, which remain mired in the low-hundreds.
Nightingale’s Realms Reborn update is currently expected to roll out later this summer. Inflexion also teased “a sneak peek at what’s to come” at Gamescom, which kicks off with the big Opening Night Live showcase at 7 pm BST/2 pm ET on August 20.