Nightingale introduces highly-requested offline mode in new early access update

3 weeks ago 44

Plus quests from Joan of Arc and Edgar Allan Poe.

Female Nightingale character in Victorian clothes and hat looks over a misty vista Image credit: Inflexion / Eurogamer

Nightingale now has an offline mode as part of its latest update.

The early access survival crafting game's update 0.3 also introduces new quest NPCs Joan of Arc and Edgar Allan Poe among others, as well as new tiered creatures, Bound enemies, and questlines.

Developer Inflexion stated earlier this year that offline play was a priority, despite the game's focus on co-operative exploration.

Nightingale - Offline Mode Update Gameplay OverviewWatch on YouTube

"Our vision for the game since inception was to create an interconnected series of Realms, with the idea of allowing for co-operative exploration in mind - a universe bigger than a single Realm or server," the developer said at the time in a Steam blog. "That meant we made a choice early in development between supporting co-op from day one or focusing development on an offline mode."

As such, it chose to focus on co-op, with an offline mode planned for "as soon as feasible". Now it's here.

The offline mode allows for solo play without an internet connection, even during server maintenance. Other features to complement this are on the way, such as cloud saves, character migration from online mode, and continuous performance enhancements.

"Since the early access launch, we've been hard at work implementing feedback and creating a better player experience overall," said Aaryn Flynn, CEO of Inflexion Games.

"The introduction of offline mode is a significant milestone in the early access journey and one of many exciting updates we have planned for the coming months. We already feel like we've come along leaps and bounds since we launched just three months ago and we look forward to sharing more updates in the future."

The update brings plenty of changes, though quest NPCs Joan of Arc and Edgar Allan Poe are perhaps the most exciting as part of the game's "gaslamp fantasy" setting.

Elsewhere, there's a new build-from-storage option, tweaks to the character creator, new weapons, UI and UX changes, and various bug fixes and performance improvements, as per the full patch notes. There's also a new community event to celebrate.

Nightingale launched into early access in February, but currently has a 'mixed' reaction on Steam.

"Somehow, I've spent nearly 40 hours playing Nightingale, but I'm still searching for the fun," reads Bertie's impressions of Nightingale. "Mostly, I've been in dogged pursuit of an excitement that eludes me, hoping it'll be around the next corner I turn, in the next gear tier I unlock. But every corner seems to just bring another corner, and so around and around I go, getting somewhere but never there."

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