Nightingale, a new co-operative survival game developed by Inflexion Games and led by former BioWare boss Aaryn Flynn, released in Early Access on February 20 and required an always-online connection from players even when taking on the game solo. Now, only two days later, the game is walking back its online-only requirement after players voiced their displeasure.
In the days since the game’s launch, Steam reviews have been mixed and one recurring gripe has been the online requirement. “This is a fantastic and fun game so far however, I’m playing single player and am often getting ‘network error’ due to having to be online ALL the time. I’ve spent 20 minutes this morning trying to get into my single player game with no luck at all.” writes one Steam user.
But in a February 22 post on the game’s Steam page titled “A Message on Offline Play”, Inflexion shared plans to rectify this issue. “We misjudged what some of you were looking for in your experience. We are now prioritizing and developing an offline mode that we plan to release as soon as feasible,” the post reads. The team explains that the decision to focus on co-op from the start of development was necessary to deliver the envisioned experience of “co-operative gameplay associated with having party members across multiple Realms,” referring to the wildly different worlds that the game can procedurally generate. This meant, however, that offline mode had to take a backseat. But now, with mixed reactions from players and the online-only requirement proving to be a particular point of contention, the team is pivoting in order to give fans the offline experience they want.
The team did not give a release date for the offline mode fix but has told fans to keep an eye out on the game’s social channels for updates in the coming weeks. Until then, you can still dive into Nightingale’s early access if you are willing to deal with the always-online requirement. The game blends survival, crafting, and shooting mechanics together into a fantasy, fae-inspired world. Like any early access title there are hiccups (as the always-online issue has shown), so don’t expect a completely polished experience just yet.
