One of the more frustrating trends that game developers have tried to force on players is the fact that they sometimes “always need to be online” to enjoy a title to the fullest. The video game age has indeed provided wonders thanks to having online capabilities, but that doesn’t mean that everyone wants to be online “all the time” just so they can play a game that should be able to function without it. Yes, certain multiplayer-focused titles need it, but then, with games like Nightingale, it’s more like an “option to have it,” and players have been telling developer Inflexion the reason for the difference.
The team is headed up by Aaron Flynn, who happens to be the former head of Bioware! His game is meant to be an expansive experience that allows players to jump from realm to realm and experience incredible wonders while also having the option of building the realm up to be what they want it to be. Like many games of this nature, gamers can enjoy it with a party, or they can venture off on their own. The game recently hit Steam Early Access, but fan response made it clear the “always online” approach was hurting the experience.
Several reviews noted that while they were “always online” and playing by themselves, they were getting kicked off for “inactivity.” Others noted that they would craft things within the game by themselves, and then when they returned to it, nothing was saved.
After hearing all these complaints, Inflexion made a post on Steam noting that they understand player frustrations and they’re working to fix things:
“We’ve seen a lot of discussion in recent days around our decision to make Nightingale online-only at our Early Access release. We understand that this can be frustrating for a number of reasons,” Inflexion said on its page. “We are now prioritizing and developing an offline mode that we plan to release as soon as feasible.”
They further noted that they didn’t intend for this to happen but wanted to have a seamless and truly “interconnected” set of realms that players within Nightingale would build up, and thus, they felt not having an offline mode would ensure their vision would be intact.
What game developers seem to forget more often than not is that not everyone has a stable internet connection! Plus, things sometimes happen to the internet, and that’ll cause players to lose the ability to try things. Offline mode should be offered in every game possible to ensure players don’t get frustrated when things go wrong online.
