Anyone who has been following Nivalis for years can breathe a sigh of relief: the game is really coming out, on September 29. In the meantime, though, it changed its name to Nivalis Nights, and that says something about the studio's intentions.
It's developed by ION LANDS, the German studio already behind Cloudpunk, while 505 Games handles publishing. The debut will be on Steam, with a later release on the Epic Games Store; there's no sign of a console version for now.
Compared to Cloudpunk's frantic flying taxi, the pace here slows down quite a bit. You start out as the owner of a humble noodle stand, and from there you slowly build a small empire made of restaurants and nightclubs, moving around the city on foot or by boat. There's also room to decorate your own home, get food, get involved in the community and, character by character, uncover the stories of whoever populates this cyberpunk city suspended between ocean and clouds.
The ethical choices about how to grow your business look like a central element, not just a side dish: running a nightclub in a world like this is rarely an innocent activity, and it will be interesting to see how far the game really goes on that front instead of just hinting at it.
Meanwhile, the numbers speak for themselves: a million wishlists on Steam, a solid base for a title that leans more on atmosphere and writing than on action. We at apocanow will keep an eye on the September 29 release, ready with tips and guides as soon as the game is out.
