Mass Effect Devs Criticize Nightingale's Open World

Inflexion Games, the studio behind the open-world crafting survival game Nightingale, is making significant changes based on player feedback and the developers' own assessment. This follows the game's early access launch in February.

Former Bioware leaders acknowledge shortcomings

Summer Update to Address Key Issues

In a recent YouTube video, Inflexion Games' Aaryn Flynn and Neil Thomson addressed concerns regarding player numbers, overall sentiment, and the game's current state. They openly admitted dissatisfaction with Nightingale's performance, announcing a major update slated for the end of summer. This update aims to rectify existing problems and better realize the studio's initial vision. While the team has focused on quality-of-life improvements and bug fixes since launch, including the addition of a highly-requested offline mode, they now aim for more substantial improvements.

Addressing the "Too Open World" Criticism

A key area of focus is the game's open-world structure. Art and audio director Neil Thomson described the game as "almost too open world, too self-motivated in terms of goal-setting." The upcoming update will introduce more structured progression, clearer objectives, and improved realm design to combat the perceived repetitiveness.

The developers are also re-evaluating core game mechanics and plan to increase build limits for more complex structures. Teasers of the new content are anticipated in the coming weeks.

Positive Momentum Despite Challenges

Despite currently holding "Mixed" reviews on Steam, Nightingale is seeing a rise in positive feedback, with approximately 68% of recent reviews being positive. Inflexion Games expressed gratitude for the community's support and ongoing feedback. They acknowledged further work is needed but expressed confidence in the improvements made.

[Link to Game8 Review (Insert Link Here)] Game8's review echoes similar concerns about lack of guidance and overly complex mechanics, particularly in crafting.