Nightingale is a gorgeous survival crafter game set in a post-apocalyptic world spread across mysterious realms. I’ve been relishing the opportunity to explore this setting and enjoy the good vibes, but I have to admit that I can’t do it alone. I’m not playing with any friends, but I was lucky enough to find a character named Percy, and he is beasting his way through every challenge I could possibly face.
I start out Nightingale by making my character and running through a tutorial, where I learn how to cook food, build shelter, and skin creatures. After learning about realms and how to jump between them, I finally find myself in a peaceful forest, where I begin to build up my estate. Just a quick jog from my starting estate, I find a little camp of Victorian refugees. They’ve also fled the Pale, the apocalyptic event which has split the world into these realms, and they need help.
I build a few sleeping bags and a fire for their campsite, and that’s enough for me to recruit my first companion. His name is Percy, he wears a dapper little suit and cap, and he is a woodsman by trade. Percy is just a guy, and he doesn’t seem to be a particularly impressive or notable guy at that. But the more the merrier, so I decide to let him follow me regardless.
At first, I am completely unimpressed with Percy. His blank face doesn’t give me much to connect with, and his behavior isn’t much better. Percy helps out by cutting down trees, much like Kelvin in Sons of the Forest. Then I realize Percy and Kelvin have another thing in common, which is that they are also both fucking menaces who will chop down trees even if I’m in the path of the falling trunks.
Image: Inflexion Games
At least I can wrangle Kelvin; I haven’t figured out how to do so with Percy yet. The guy just loves chopping down trees, and he doesn’t seem to care whether or not I need wood, or whether I’m in the way of the falling trunk. If the urge strikes him, he will chop. Every time I stop to check my map or formulate a game plan, I can hear the thunk thunk thunk of him tackling a tree. It’s very unnecessary, but it seems to make him happy.
Despite my early doubts, I soon realize that Percy has a hidden talent that’s very impressive — he has no fear and he cannot die. Percy is going absolutely beast mode through my run, saving me from death on an hourly basis.
As I explore the realms of Nightingale, I encounter jumping man-sized crickets, massive kobold-like beasts, 30 to 50 wild hogs, clockwork guardians of lost fae secrets, and hordes of withered beasts known as the Bound. It doesn’t matter who I face; Percy will jog in and swing his simple ax. I’ve given up on any kind of tactics or strategy; if I’m even close to being overwhelmed, I just run. Percy will stay and fight on my behalf, like my champion.
I’ve come to admire Percy; he is unfazed by any of the strange and magical sights in the realms. I only have one bed, so he presumably sleeps on the floor. He lives a simple and humble life, but I can’t survive my adventures without him.
