Nightingale

Very long post -- verdict -- Greatest potential in a game ever. Top rating.
Finally. I'm 70 years old and have been gaming since my Amiga computer in the '80s. I do NOT play 1st person games because I suck at them. I love crafting and building. However, my 2nd most played game (following Rimworld) is 7 Days to Die with 2600 hours. I don't really like 7DtD. I'm not into the whole zombie thing. I don't like the run-down broken environment. I don't like the whole horde attack thing. The character graphics really suck and, after 10+ yrs in EA, there's still no story at all. I do like the survival aspects, provided I can dial them down to grandma level, which I can do in 7DtD. And I love the voxel-based crafting and building that does not look like Leggo.
I always dreamed of a game where I could actually be a character in a beautiful world. Not a linear story RPG, but an RPG-like game with progression, good graphics, and Nightingale gives that. The gear-based progression is as good as any other system of character growth. The grind is the same as in any crafting/gathering game. And I actually get that "Gee, I wonder what that is over there!" feeling...often. Even though there's a lot of unfilled space, there are enough little encounters with animals and sites to keep the exploration great. I like the building mechanics; not as fiddly as the voxel-style. I don't see 3D irl, so this is much easier.
There are obviously issues. Some examples: The keyboard keys lose focus frequently (ESC stops working periodically...thank you for the Close button). It's 50/50 whether you load properly or get a tool bar of shovels (TAB, run cursor over them brings back the icons). The slight rest potion does nothing at all. How to close a window is very inconsistent. And I will very often lose connectivity when changing realms. So the game isn't what I would call "stable" yet. And if you remember the launch of any MMO back a few years, you'll recognize the feeling of frustration with servers that won't let you in. But the game works pretty well for me. Yes, I play on grandma difficulty, but the realm tailoring is what stands out. I can adjust difficulties in-game. The crafting system is quite fiddly -- OK by me -- and the interface is funky but I got used to it.
All in all, this is the game I've been waiting nearly 40 years for people and technology to make. Thank you Inflexion Games. I don't know how much time I've got left, but you've made the gaming ride worthwhile after all.

I Like It So Far....BUT
Have dropped a few hours in now and want to give some honest feedback.
The Good
First, the graphics are damn good, I mean their in the holy hell look at that category of good. The building mechanics are nice though early game your options do limit your creativity a little. The soundtrack similarly is very nice. Character outfits are great with the capacity for a lot of customisation.
The Okay
The harvesting mechanics though grindy are fairly easy to grasp. The weight of the melee weapons/tools feels good. It feels like your hitting stuff when you use it. The stamina system is not to punishing and makes you approach fights slightly carefully.
The Character creator is ok, but needs some more customisation options. In particular in designing the players eyes and jawline. It also needs a wider variety of voice options.
The Bad
The start of the game is dull, very frigging dull. This is very concerning as I can picture many players refunding the game before the time limit simply because of how dull the opening is. I hope the Dev's add some spectacle or drama to the start. I'm not talking Michael Bay levels of spectacle,but something that will grab a new player like say a Christopher Nolan movie ;P.
Tying into this, is the whole Puck as a guide thing. He is far from a likeable or interesting character. A central character such as this needs personality alot of personality. This again may put players off of the game. Though I get this is the aesthetic and style the Dev's are trying to imbue the game with, I would be concerned it may appeal to a limited audience.
The enemy AI is weak, very weak which is a shame as they look amazing.
I urge people to get past the opening stages of the game and give it a good try, though this does remove the refund option. Perhaps Steam should look at extended refund windows for survival crafters.......

Very much enjoying the game so far! I do see alot of negativity but almost all of it seems to be a lack of prior research into the game. For anyone reading this, i want to give a quick explanation on the basic mechanics and the pain points often mentioned, so:
Always Online:
Every "Realm" is a server, every combination of cards is like a server code basically. So, yes, the game needs to be online even if your single player, I sure wouldnt want my PC running the 5 different servers im going between at my base currently lol I can understand that some people are bothered by it, but I have also had no server issues at all in my experience so far.
Crafting:
This isnt a "Survival Lite" game. It is not palworld or Enshrouded at all. This game is like an older style survival with many layers of in-depth crafting and building. For example, One Saw Table can have 5 or more modifying building pieces. These are usually a fun decoration to go with what its modifyng, like a saw horse or a saw stand and things. Building these gives new recipes for the saw stand. If the Saw Stand has lights you put up nearby, and a roof, it modifies the crafting time! You also need to Realm-Travel for new recipes for the saw table, what wood you use on the table also changes the look of the outcome item, such as purple wood, or orange etc. Once you make a product, lets say its equippable, you then can make an augment for the product and also level up the product to increase its level. Augments have their own crafting station and there is tons of recipes to learn and make. These are like modifiers to increase damage, durability, weight, even playstyle on weapons and many other things. All of that to make one product your proud of on the Saw Table. Then, you can start going to even higher tier realms and find an even better table to do even more! So, with that small example, you see that there is a ton of depth to be had here that I have personally been looking for in a survival game for a while.
The Exploring:
It's fun and the environments are very pretty, there are dungeons to delve, Magical creatures to behold and even interact with, quests to follow, puzzles to solve, hidden caves to find, NPCs to aid and even recruit and bosses to find and defeat! As you get into higher tier realms, you start running into mobs with better ai and that are much more threatening than the grass hoppers trying to eat you in your desert starting realm. Mobs also take better damage from different damage types which can be a fun challenge when all you brought was a maul and this hippo could care less lol
Building:
The system I have also found quite enjoyable. It uses a blue-print system similar to Day-Z, so you can fully sketch out what you want to build first, and then you and your friends or even your NPC buddy can get the needed mats and just interact anywhere in the 3D blue-print. This will auto-take all those materials you carried and apply them. Rinse and Repeat and now your beautiful box, or family home, is complete :) You can find more detailed and better Tile-sets as you progress into harder realms. So yes, inverted roof pieces, pillars, railings, and triangle pieces exist for those builders who know the potential that means! There is also a farming system for my fellow players who get too caught up hand-watering 45 plots/flower pots and cooking things lol
Survival Jank:
It is a survival game. If you have EVER played one, there is a special jank that they all have sometimes. Like your NPC follower will teleport to your roof for some alone time, or a boss yeeted you down a mountainside, or your NPC vanished when you dismissed him and you come home to him trying to harvest your decorative trees much to your horror, or a tree monster has opted into the new air travel program. Sometimes you travel to your home realms starting point instead of your assigned Respite. It happens, and honestly, the jank in this game is much much less obtrusive than other games in the genre that have been out for years now.
The UI and Sorting:
It is a little different than other titles, which I like. We need more creativity and less copy-paste. It uses a folder system similar to current Ark's engram system when looking for blueprints, unfortunately, it defaults to some folders being open so it can get a little cluttered when trying to find the correct "folder". This is remedied by just using the search bar offered above the blueprints. The crafting table UI does have some quick buttons in the bottom, so I had no issue quickly making food or just quick inserting mats to make for a item I just needed in bulk. The quick buttons have a "Fill All Slots" and a button to make as many as you have mats for. You can take your time to put in higher quality or specific mats if you so choose for a higher quality or different looking item. The game does have a challenge system similar to Conan to follow for some simple goals but you do need to find it in the guidebook.The game wont tell you. For sorting, ive seen some pain-points about it but all chests have the ability to label them and when your in the chests inventory UI, or your own, you can change how you want to view the items as a sorting method. I.E ABC, Weight, Newest etc.
The Tutorial:
Its fine? Does it give you a good sense of the game? not really. It's a small lore intro to get you some context of the world and shows you the very basics of the game and as well as small bare-bones versions of 3 of the biomes. Magic was never really explained, nor how to use umbrellas, and the in depth crafting is up to the player to discover. This is very fine to me, but I see alot of people complaining about it. At least it even has a tutorial lol lots of Survival titles simply do not, especially in an early access launch.
The Combat:
Have you ever played Skyrim? pretty much that with a little extras. You can headshot, and heart shot for some extra interest, the knife has a built in dash/dodge, and guns can be pretty fun. The combat opens up once you get modifiers into your weapons. For example: An Augment can give you a dps boost after blocking, or the more you shoot with a gun on a crit spot, your dps stacks higher and higher, or your hammer now has a big aoe ground slam. But the early game, its gonna be the ol classic, dodge left and hit enemy, rinse and repeat. Your early mobs have very simple "jump at you angrily" ai until you get into some of your dungeons and harder worlds. The mobs also don't seem to have a proximity spawn to the player, so you will encounter them just kind of appearing on top of you sometimes when they spawn in. For what this game wants to be, its pretty decent overall! If you really want a fun an in-depth combat focused Survival game, thats Conan Exiles.
Followers:
You can have one NPC that you recruit. They carry ALOT of supplies. They can be given different tasks determined by what you equip them with (this is very limited though, they are not that great at it) Pick=mine stuff as you travel, Axe= Harvest Wood, A Weapon=help me fight, and so on. They also put the mats from their inventory into a blue-print that you interact with. Thats about all. Their AI is pretty lackluster overall and they dont speak. They have a short tether range to you and will teleport to you when you are too far from each other. They don't always finish harvesting what they were working on either. If they go down in a fight, you can just help them up and they will help you when your down as well. Needs a bit of work still but im happy for the helping hand regardless and its a good start for the devs to build upon.
In Summary:
I'm enjoying my experience with the game, but the game style isnt for everyone and thats okay! The Survival genre has all kinds of games with their own specific focus. I have already found the game worth the price and I haven't even gotten to Nightengale yet! haha
I might add more details and format better later on <3

I really feel sorry for these devs.
I have seen so many projects that are half baked or straight up asset flips go on steam in early access and get very positive reviews despite being bad/incomplete games. This is a good game and it doesn't deserve the hate it is receiving (especially some of it being just downright cruel and not constructive).
Here's why:
People always seem happy to pull out the "but, its early access card" when a game is sitting at positive reviews on steam, even if that game is a total scam/cashgrab. Here we have a game that is in early access, has a unique take on the survival genre and instead of painting it with the same brush as these other games, they state how the devs suck and the game should be better... in early access... explain to me why this is the case for other games but not this game?
Now I will say, having the game be online only at launch was a silly decision but the devs listened and have released an offline mode that they will now work on as well. THEY LISTENED unlike what a lot of games seem to do in early access which is either put it in the too hard basket or just run away with the cash.
This game has bugs, the game can lack direction but what the game doesn't lack is a clear sense of dedication. From the way the systems work in the game to the graphics you can SEE that there's a commitment there.
Summary
Now look, I am not saying this is the most amazing game I have ever played but I have been quite impressed and surprised. If you like survival games, then this game offers you an experience you haven't had before. You need to decide if you want to be a part of the current state of the game. If you do, then understand THERE WILL BE BUGS, THERE WILL BE THINGS THAT FRUSTRATE YOU. If you dont want that, add it to your wishlist and wait. BUT if that doesn't bother you or you want to experience it anyway then go into this expecting a fairly buggy early access game and yo uwill be able to see the potential.
TLDR:
I dont believe the devs deserve the hate they are receiving. This game is good, and whilst it is buggy and lacks some QOL, the dedication to the project is blatantly obvious to see from what there is so far, so if you're a fan of survival games and can look past the aforementioned downfalls then get this now, otherwise, wait till it is finished.

Nightingale is in Early Access but feels complete in so many ways.

The game is visually stunning. The curated realms in Realms Rebuilt take it to the next level. Skyboxes are incredible. Art designers of this game are at a different creative level than any other game I've played.

I love the fact that you can play melee, ranged, or magic depending on the materials you use to create your gear. You can even use different materials to take advantage of multiple gear builds that will give you combinations of the different playing styles.

I love that you can set the playing level of the game. You can choose whether you want to play at a level that allows you to concentrate on the beauty of the realms or throw caution to the wind and play at the highest level that will definitely challenge your skills.

I like that you can go to different realms at levels to gather materials. The build count limits have been update in the Realms Rebuilt, and I have plans for the most glorious base builds! Now I just have to learn how to do that. I am a newbie at these open world games.

I like the idea that you can play offline or online. You can recruit an NPC, play with friends, or just travel the realms solo.

For now, I play online as I've set up a Steam account for my grandson and bought him Nightingale. He's only 10, but he thinks this game is AWESOME!! Especially the umbrella :-)

Big shout out to Puck. Excellent choice for voice. I don't think I've been snarked at by anyone quite so profoundly. I look forward to interactions with him. He makes me laugh -- at least for now. There are things hidden with Puck. Adding voice to other NPCs is coming along and adds to the richness of the game play. The Realms Rebuilt added a curated ream with an imprisoned Empyrean. It was really well done. The language was beautiful.

I love the gas lamp feel and am looking forward to more clothing choices -- hopefully some dyes. They added a glamour station that will allow you to wear a higher tier clothing but change the look to one that might be lower tier, or designed for a different build (ie. melee, ranged, or magic). It opens up the clothing/armor look that characters can use to project their style in the Realms.

Game play has been uneventful for me. I don't have any issues with "glitches". My movement through the Realms is smooth.

I never knew that I didn't know so much!! This is my first open world survivor game. I was a babe in the woods. This really is a terrific game. I've put in more than 1100 hours in the game. I've played through past the Watch with my character and have helped my grandson get through on his. I love the fact that we can join groups to take on more difficult realms.

The Watch. Goodness. The first time I entered the watch with my big bad self. -- I mean, I was clobbering those bound on the Easy level of the realms. So... the Watch couldn't be that bad, could it? Welp... I was dead in 2 seconds. An Elite Knight got me. It wouldn't have been so bad, but he was laughing as I held down the "Give Up" button. After much reflection on my Nightingale life choices, I started gearing up to be better prepared. But, The Watch is challenging for solo players if you do not have the experience and the gear (along with really good fighting skills). The designers have provided Realmwalkers with Vault cards where they can set the difficulty and test themselves and their build before going into the public Vaults.

I am looking forward to the hinted Winter Realms and getting to Nightingale. I hope players will give the game a chance and try it out. There are hundreds of hours of great gameplay for less than the cost of a movie theater experience; and you can play in your pjs with a very large cup of coffee.

Until Nightingale -- Happy Exploring Realmwalkers!

This is a heavy Early Access review, just like the title itself. Please keep in mind - it doesn’t mean the game is bad, it’s just not finished yet.
The Good:
First of all, while the game is in the heavy Early Access, it is fun to play and has a lot of exciting moments.
Art - this game answers the question - what would have happened, if we discovered magic during Belle Epoque. Not surprising - it would have been awesome. Everything, from clothing and items, to shaders and VFX, and even some vegetation - is a work of pure passion and talent in this game. It can only be described as an “eye candy”.
Story - it is… Special. In a good way.
Without any spoilers - you’re being thrown away from the Earth world to those Realms, which were inhabited by Fae - a mysterious race of magical beings. Now there is a goal of finding out what actually happened to Earth, while constantly trying to find a way back. And you realize, that every event is somehow interconnected.
So far, it was very intriguing and fun to explore, but there is no conclusion or major revelations as of right now.
Sound is also very well made. And while the soundtrack is limited, it feels professional and very pleasant.
Building- oh it is good. You can build anything anywhere you want. Even setting your home base as simple as picking any place with a great view. There are plenty of architectural styles to pick from, so it’s completely up to you, what your home or a castle or whatever you want will look like.
The Neutral:
This might be a matter of taste, but…
Crafting - while the crafting itself is really well done, there are issues with it’s complexity. Now, it is truly amazing, that the whole item crafting system really depends on what materials you’re using - like, literally, it changes the appearance of a weapon or clothing, depending on which type of metal you have used, but it leads to… Crafting chains. I, personally, hate when a crafting depth exceeds 2 or 3, so you need to craft an intermediate material, so can craft another one and so on, until you can reach the actual item crafting.
And trust me, there are a lot of materials. Perhaps, too many, but it is a matter of taste.
Realm Variety - it is… limited. Yes, there are different types of “dressing”, like weather and props, but most Realms are represent by one of 3 types: Desert, Forrest and Swamp. And while they are beautiful on their own, it’s just isn’t enough. But i tend to believe this is an Early Access issue.
Combat - it is there. And since there is an enemy power-scaling, you typically want to cheese them with a rifle from some inaccessible point. But we’ll get to it later…
The Bad:
Optimization - it isn’t there yet. As i said, graphics do look amazing, but my machine struggles to get a stable FPS (Titan RTX, Intel i9 11k, 32Gb RAM) and usually gets a lot of micro-stuttering, which is annoying, but manageable.
And such issues also lead to a very, very long loading times, even on an SSD, which breaks the pacing even further…
Story Pacing - while the story itself is captivating, there are some pacing issues, most of which related to the fact, that it was initially developed as an MMO game. Because of that, there is barely any exposition, most characters are not voiced and it is a real shame. This game should be very cinematic, but as of right now - it isn’t. While developers are trying to make it more story focused, there is still a question, if they’ll actually make it.
Same goes for an in-game lore - it is mostly presented through text messages you find scattered through Realms, making everything feel disjointed.
Exploration - the previous issue also extends to any Realm you visit - there is no sense of exploration. Every world feels already explored, like there is no discoveries left for you, which is a real shame. You simply go in through the portal, visit all the POIs, and get out. The best thing you could find is a note, describing some past events.
Animations - and this goes for overall feeling of movement and combat - while animations aren’t necessarily bad, they are… Robotic? I mean it feels clunky, an MMO type of clunky. Your character barely reacts to anything happening in the world, there are no physical interactions, and it makes combat boring.
Conclusion:
Now, it might seem, that there I’ve written mostly negative stuff (might be guilty of that), but this game is very special. I rarely follow development of videogames in Early Access, or excitingly wait for any news to come. But with this one?
I read and play every update they make and always wait for more. Nightingale is a game i honestly want to succeed and it is a good one already, but i want it to be perfect, as there is definitely talent, passion and capability to do so in it’s development team. And i genuinely mean that, and wish them to continue making this project better and better, as it might become a new Skyrim one day - the game we want to replay and endlessly enjoy from time to time.
And is it worth buying right now? Yes, if you’re willing to excuse some of those issues. If not, at least put it to your wishlist and wait for a while.
Currently, i would rate it somewhere between 7 or 8 out of 10.
As for this review, I’ll probably change it a lot during the course of development, so it is only valid for current “Realms Rebuilt” major update.

Over 1300 hours in, been playing since EA launch, and I've been nothing but impressed.
<Pros (short version. I'm trying not to write a book, but it's hard)>
Crafting: I prefer games with building and crafting options in a sandbox world, and this definitely has those. It has some minor quirks, but for the most part it follows reasonable physics (you need supports if you want a second story to have interior walls) and has some great tilesets ("crude" stone and wood variants, as well as themes that include Tudor, Bhutan, Pagoda, Viking and "Regency"). You were able to build anywhere, including on top of ruins floating in the air (because magic), but since the new 9/12/2024 update you can put your "Estate" (your base that you can instantly travel to at any time) in any realm; the realms are beautifully crafted even when procedurally generated, so it's always nice to find the "perfect spot" and make it your home.
Crafting is limited to specific items, but the diversity of materials that you can use to craft them lets you create unique combinations of attributes that fit your play style, and each material changes the appearance of the item; using a gold blade with silver filigree on an axe actually results in a golden axe with silver designs. The same applies to gems, wood, cloth from fibre, and hides; animal hides and fibre (made from their meat!) produce interesting patterns and colors based on what their source was. You make both tools/weapons and clothing, and even though their recipes are fixed, again, the materials you can use within those recipes are pretty diverse.
Travel: "I'm Marry Poppins!" Magic umbrella lets you glide (but not fly). 'Nuff said. Also picks that let you grapple to new heights and scale cliffs like you're Sylvester Stallone in Cliff Hanger...sort of. Travel requires stamina, and while there are mitigation options such as a special charm that reduces/eliminates sprinting costs or "realm cards" (expendable items that let you manipulate the reality of your current realm in different ways) that reduce stamina use, you still have to be careful not to run out while gliding or, you know, scream-splat-respawn.
Realm design: It's hard to do it justice, but a major draw in this game is the beauty of the scenery. Waterfalls of different sizes, rivers that cut through terrain on their way to the sea, lakes, forests, swamps, deserts, desert oases, hills, rocky plateau-like minor mountains...and of course the sky! Each "realm card" has its own visual effects, such as fog, eternal day or eternal night, rain, and others. Even the "bland" skies are impressive.
Challenge: There are several difficulties, but they're not set in stone. Each difficulty increases the realm level, which increases the damage and health capacities of creatures, the quality of materials you will find (lower tier materials from lower difficulties), and some other aspects. You can start at the lowest difficulty and then decide to go higher, or start high and go lower, all pretty smoothly; you can either rest and set the realm difficulty for when you wake up, or create/reset a realm at whatever difficulty you want (proc-gen realms are randomized, so resetting makes them different every time. Storied realms are hand-crafted, so resetting just refreshes them as though you are first arriving).
I've spent almost all of my time playing the highest difficulty, and it presents a bit of a challenge. Sometimes you feel like a zergling, but if you're careful you can do it with much fewer deaths (you don't lose your progress, just RL time). With Realms Rebuilt, "Nightmare" difficulty is, well, a nightmare. It's probably intended for multiplayer adventuring, especially as you go higher.
Lastly, multiplayer: This is a pro and a con, as their multiplayer system is missing some key components (friends list, block/mute, not catching conversation while loading, no real public channels, and some others. It's pretty common at this stage to use Discord for most coordination; so far the community is pretty helpful and positive). You can invite your party members to whatever realm you're in, but you can't travel to where they are without an invite; that's good because you should be invited if they are in their home base. There is no friendly fire, though I think there's an option for it which both parties have to accept, which is great as a way to minimize grief-trolling. I haven't spent much time with multiplayer except in "vaults" (party dungeons), but loot is whoever picks it up first, making trusting and working with your team pretty important if you want fair distributions.
Note: Realms Rebuilt only just came out so I haven't had a chance to play it much, but the story is pretty engaging compared to what it was. Before you could largely ignore the story and just go through each realm until you got to last (available, sequential) ones, but now you have to unlock them by going through the story which is really worth going through anyway.
<Cons>
It's hard to think of any, so I'll leave most of that to others. As I said, multiplayer still needs some work, particularly with the social aspects. The game is still in EA, so there are bugs to squash, but they are usually pretty minor.
The biggest issue that I can come up with is balancing. Since they're still in EA the materials and item recipes need a lot of balancing. Since I've been playing they've made a few efforts, but there's still work to be done. Basically, the only real cons are standard EA stuff.
<Conclusion>
If you're into sandbox semi-open world games with crafting and building, that allows for melee/ranged/magic builds, an interesting story with lore, and that begs you to explore, then this is a great game. The devs are pretty responsive on feature requests and bug reports, so there's definitely a lot of potential that isn't being neglected.