Sure, there are many life sim games where you are out there farming and living in a small town. But what if your escapism fantasy is the other way around, where you long to live in the middle of a cyberpunk urban jungle?
Nivalis, the upcoming slice-of-life sim game by developer Ion Lands and publisher 505 Games is selling you that dream. You’re no hero or mercenary in the cyberpunk city of Nivalis. You’re just a person, making a living, enjoying life in the city with nothing to worry about. There’s a serial killer on the loose? Nah, nothing to worry about.
The trailer shows the breathtaking voxel-based city of Nivalis, and what you can expect to do in it. Own an apartment and decorate it with furniture. Walk the city streets drenched in rain at midnight and see the glowing signs everywhere. Go fishing. Open and run a business. Socialise with people (with a chance to romance them- or make enemies). Take photos with a photo mode.
The only thing missing here is the ability to work as a courier driver, but that one was explored in Ion Lands’ previous game Cloudpunk.
Nivalis appeared at the recent PC Gaming Show and Guerilla Collective 2023 streams. Other than the new trailer, there’s also this new behind-the-scenes video. The game uses motion capture, interestingly.
Nivalis will be released in 2024 for PC (Steam, Epic Games Store).