Summary
2024 is turning out to be a big year for survival games, withPalworldandEnshroudedboth making waves in the industry and nowNightingale, Inflexion Games' fantasy survival game set in the Victorian era, bringing up the rear with a rather unique experience. All three games are currently in early access and are already receiving regular care from their developers, withNightingalebeing the most recent of the three to launch.
Of the three big survival games already released this year,NightingaleandEnshroudedare the most alike.UnlikePalworld, bothNightingaleandEnshroudedare heavily lore-driven, largely relying on their stories to shape their worlds and continuously nudge players forward. However, the two are also very different in their approach to the traditional survival formula, asEnshroudedleans more heavily into RPG and combat mechanics, whileNightingaleopts for a more casual approach and a greater emphasis on exploration.
Enshrouded and Nightingale Are Two Lore-Driven Survival Games With Different Approaches
Enshrouded Leans More Heavily Into RPG Mechanics Than Nightingale
In some ways,Enshroudedcould be considered a typical survival game; it features in-depth base building and crafting, as well as rewarding and often challenging exploration. However, there remains an ongoing debate about whetherEnshroudedreally is a survival game, as it not only lackstraditional survival mechanics like hunger and thirstbut also leans more heavily into RPG and combat mechanics than most survival games do. In fact, it emphasizes its RPG elements and combat so much that it could be considered an action RPG even more than a survival game. In this way, it differs tremendously fromNightingale.
InEnshrouded, players are dropped into the world of Embervale as a Flameborn, one with an “inner Flame” that allows them tosurvive a poisonous fog known as “the Shroud” for a short period. In the Shroud, players encounter more challenging enemies to defeat, and, if they venture deep enough, better rewards than they could find outside the Shroud. Such demanding combat and exploration mechanics require more from the game’s RPG elements, which come in the form of twelve different classes, each with a healthy number of nodes that unlock new skills and passive bonuses. This is perhaps the most significant way in whichEnshroudeddiffers fromNightingaleas well as most survival games in general.
Nightingale Is More “Survival” Than Enshrouded With a Greater Emphasis on Exploration
The main appeal ofNightingaleis its unique take on exploration, as players can essentially create one-of-a-kind procedurally generated “realms” usingRealm Cardsthat combine modifiers like biome and type/danger to craft a new realm. WhileEnshroudedcertainly rewards players for exploring,Nightingale’s gameplay loop primarily revolves around getting from one realm to the next. Even the story itself is constantly motioning players to the next realm, regardless of how much time they may want to spend in their current realm. Thus,Nightingale’s exploration emphasis makes it a bit more casual thanEnshroudedin some ways.
This doesn’t mean thatNightingaleis easy by any means, however, as it often proves to be a little more hardcore on the survival aspect of the genre than evenEnshroudeddoes. Not only doesNightingalerequire players to keep a constant eye on their hunger levels, as most survival games do, but they must also ensure their character remains rested at all times, or they risk losing valuable stamina. Additionally, harsh hail storms often happen inNightingale, which can damage the player and make them “wet,” which also reduces and inhibits stamina.
Despite being two of thebiggest survival games of 2024, and two of the most alike,NightingaleandEnshroudedstill have their differences. Namely,Enshroudedtends to feel more like an action RPG, whereasNightingalerelies on typical survival mechanics and a greater emphasis on exploration. Regardless, both games have their merits and will likely continue to improve throughout their early access periods.
Nightingale
WHERE TO PLAY
Nightingale is a PVE open-world survival crafting game played solo (offline or online), or cooperatively with friends. Build, craft, fight and explore as you venture through mystical portals into a variety of amazing and fantastical realms.You are stranded beyond our world, cut off by the collapse of the arcane portalnetwork. This catastrophe has left you fighting to survive in a labyrinth of beautiful and dangerous Fae realms.Your goal: become a skilled Realmwalker, and navigate the web of transdimensional portals. Only then can you discover your way to the magical city of Nightingale, the last known bastion of humanity.Prepare to make your way through Faewild forests, harrowing swamps, and shimmering deserts as you unlock the portals leading deeper into the lands of Fae. Cook meals, build shelter and muster the spirit to persevere in the face of adversity.
