Nightingale is this week’s free game from the Epic Games Store

In addition to a few free packs for free-to-play game Firestone, this week the Epic Games Store is giving away a great open world survival crafter for free.

• Nightingale
  • Release Date: February 20, 2024 (Early Access, no release ETA)
  • Game Type: Open World Survival Crafter
  • POV: First person
  • Party: Single player, PVE co-op
  • DLC: Digital Art Book.

If you’re an open world survival crafter fan, you’ve likely heard of Nightingale, if not tried it. It plays a bit like Valheim, with art and perspective similar to Icarus, but with a unique steampunk-style vibe, especially with crafted items. It is still in Early Access, which as always means a bit of loveable jankiness and sometimes sweeping alterations or additions to various systems. Unlike many other games in this genre, there is a story to keep you somewhat on track. That sense of, “well, what now,” can be a tough thing to guide players to when there’s so much world out there to explore, but Nightingale gives players a helping hand in that department.

This is a title I’ve had my eye on for quite some time, but considering my current backlog I couldn’t justify picking it up. Now that Epic Games Store is giving it away for free, I don’t really have an excuse anymore. Oh no.