Nivalis Nights is a cyberpunk life sim that stretches itself too thin
Nivalis Nights is full of potential, but the cyberpunk RPG needs a little more time in the oven for all its systems to click
I’m a citizen scraping by in Nivalis, a megacity ruled by the corps and infested with opportunists, gangs, and one very alarming serial killer. My normal life is suddenly interrupted when a stranger looking to skip town dumps his noodle bar and a business license in my lap. I’m doing more than just serving hot ramen and reading customer reviews; my association with the past owner has drawn a lot of attention.
I’m embroiled in intrigue and ultimately confronted with several choices, so the question becomes whether I’m going to become a corpo and climb the ladder on other people’s backs, or if I’m going to make a stand — and hopefully survive the serial killer in the process.
Nivalis Nights, from developer Ion Lands, is a life sim and narrative RPG absolutely dripping with atmosphere and style. The voxel environments are saturated in neon lighting, and the weather changes each day. Staying out past curfew turns familiar environments into tense stealth sequences, where the lights are switched off and you have to hustle past corporate drones to avoid being spotted. The vibes are absolutely immaculate. If you enjoyed exploring Cyberpunk 2077’s Night City, or solving crimes in Shadows of Doubt, then you’ll immediately feel at home on the streets of Nivalis.
The story also kicks off with an intriguing start. When the previous owner, Thaddeus, passed his business license to you, you also inherited his debt. If the idea of suddenly being given a massive financial obligation isn’t nerve-racking enough, the city is being haunted by a serial killer who targets debt-orphans just like you. Every day, the newspaper brings new speculation as to the serial killer, who is seemingly unstoppable despite corporate investigation and a continuous stream of crime scenes.