Diving into a pre-release build ofNightingaleset up for members of the press, I wasn’t sure just what to expect. Sure, I’d seen the trailers detailing agorgeous mythic steampunk Victorian vibethat looks as impressive as it does unique, and I knew I’d be following Puck’s path to learn the secrets of the fey and how to unleash my own magic. But outside of those thematic elements, what was really going to make this a standout game?
Sure,there’s the Realm Cards, which are a huge selling point for me, with the Minor Realm cards giving me the ability to instantly alter my realm, changing its weather, lighting, or bounty of resources and/or monsters (all without any loading screens), or travel to a completely new realm all my own, with a biome and parameters that I can choose, right down to the little details. I love that aspect (and my friend Robert Zak wouldlove to give you his take on it), and that alone would have been enough to make the $29.99 price tag worthwhile. But as I worked my way through the early game, hoarding quartz like a goblin and hauling lumber to build my cozy little two-story cabin in the woods, I wondered what might lie in store in the later game.
Thankfully, my helpful guide Scarbs from the playtesting team set me up on a realm-skipping spree of a group play session, and while I had a lot of fun visiting higher level biomes and getting decked out with some pretty sick weapons and ammo, the last stop on our journey was by far the most impressive. Because this, my friends, is where we went hunting the most dangerous beast of them all: Humbaba.
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Once You See It, You’ll Get It
Full disclosure: my gaming laptop is just under the recommended requirements for this game, but even with my processor lacking, I didn’t have to wait long to jump into the realm where Humbaba awaited us. That said, I did get there last, and since I didn’t spawn in the exact location as the rest of the already assembled party, just happened to be the first to see it.
Well, “see it” doesn’t quite describe the situation accurately. What I actually saw first after hopping through the realm portal wasn’t a monster, but the edge of a deciduous forest full of trees so tall and slender that they kissed the sky. And then they started toppling over, all willy-nilly.
One Of The Biggest Bosses I’ve Ever Seen
Yeah, ya’ll. When I say Humbaba is a big boss, I mean it’s abigbig boss. It wasn’t angrily hucking bits of lumber about – nothing had drawn its aggro yet – it was just casually lumbering around, doing Humbaba stuff, and these really tall toothpicks just happened to be in its way. You know those TikToks where people stack pyramids of plastic cups in their hallway, and then a couple agile cats come through and gracefully jump over it, and then a big chungus just strolls right through the pile without a thought. Yeah. Humbaba’s that thick boi.
Except, for all that bulk, the chonkster sure can jump! Thanks to the protective waistcoat and very stylish white floral bonnet I was gifted, I managed to avoid being completely crushed underneath its plentiful mass, and once I let loose some ice-infused ammo from my shotgun (which Scarbs helpfully informed me will take down the big beastie the fastest), I was able to take a pretty sizeable chunk off its health bar without even having to reload.
Things were looking pretty easy. Almost too easy. And then the harpies came.
I’d love to give you a vibrantly detailed description of the harpies that Humbaba kept spawning, but I’m afraid that won’t be possible, because they came at me so quickly and furiously that I went down over and over, never really getting too good a look at just what was zerg rushing me into oblivion as I tried to focus on the more obvious threat. When your main opponent is about 20 stories tall, it’s hard to hone your attention on anything else, is what I’m saying.
I lined up my shotgun for one final blast but…
I’m making a note to say I “went down” and not “died,” because thankfully, my teammates (and I’m sure more than once, my NPC follower) were able to revive me, which is a feature I’m grateful for, because as utterly useless as I felt against this colossus and his little wingy friends with the zoomies, I wanted to be able to stick around and see how this one ended.
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With A Thud. That’s How It Ended.
Finally, I managed to free myself of the happy death loop with a tactic I picked up from Monty Python and the Holy Grail (i.e. “Run away!”). With its attention drawn to the other players who had actually been posing a threat instead of falling down on the stony ground and probably soiling themselves repeatedly, I lined up my shotgun for one final blast but… nah, I’d leave the killing blow for one of the party members who had actually earned it.
After Humbaba finally crashed to the ground,a warrior’s death earned, I wandered the length of its massive body, stopping to look into the face of fear and – oh. Well that’s disturbing. Instead of a demonic snarl, I was met with a pair of glassy, human-like eyes. Eyes that would never see again. And I’d played a part in dimming them. Even relishing in the thrill of victory, I felt a touch of guilt for helping the light to go out of them.
Reflections After The Battle
In the aftermath of the battle, I want to point out that I, along with the other two journalists in that battle, were definitely nowhere near ready to take on Humbaba as we were, and had we not been kitted out with high-level equipment, guns, and – most importantly – that ice-imbued ammo, we would’ve fallen faster than those trees.
And I think that’s a really nice touch for people who want to play with friends who might not quite be on the same level. Scarbs cautioned us that, since we hadn’t unlocked the recipes for any of that gear, once it had worn down or we’d burned through all the ammo, we wouldn’t just be able to fix it ourselves or make more, but that’s okay.
As thrilling as the boss fight was, the potential Nightingale gives for giving your friends a leg up (or vice-versa) so that they can catch up to you? Yeah, that’s another huge selling point for me. And it’s something I’ll keep in mind in the future, because the next time I see Humbaba, I’mabsolutely going to need backup. I think it’s earned that respect.
