I was profoundly interested in Nivalis Nights because it proposed something I never really knew I wanted—a chill life-sim set in a cyberpunk city. It’s a genre and a setting that feel so fundamentally at odds that trying to “live” in what is essentially meant to be a “worst-case scenario” of a technocratic society could actually be deeply engaging. The potential for interesting gameplay and storytelling is genuinely limitless, and I was really excited to see it in action.
However, Nivalis Nights takes what is a really interesting idea and doesn’t really build upon it in any meaningful way. It’s not a bad game by any means, but it falls short of what it could be by only taking the aesthetics of the cyberpunk genre, and not the deeper mechanics or themes. What results is a halfway decent business-management game with some life-sim elements peppered in, that gets kind of boring the longer you play it.
In Nivalis Nights, the player wakes up with no memory of who they were or what they were doing prior to the start of the game. An Artificial Intelligence unit named AVA explains to them that she, alongside a noodle stand, was gifted to them by their former boss—who is now seeking retirement. What follows is the player’s rise to power as they grow their operation from a humble noodle stand to an all-out business empire, potentially challenging the powerful corpos who rule Nivalis with a bureaucratic iron fist, or joining them.
It’s a decent enough story for what it is, but it’s a little too cut and dry for the genre it’s trying to be a part of. There’s this repeated sentiment as you’re encouraged to build your business empire that you can either lift people up, or step on them to get to the top—with little room for nuance or any kind of middle ground. It makes sense for capturing the baseline ideas of the genre (i.e. the rule of corporations, rebellion against them, etc.), but there’s so little in the way of choice that it makes you wonder why anyone would play Nivalis Nights as some opportunistic prick who’s only in it for the money.
Gameplay is similarly adequate, but mundane. Players begin the game running their noodle stand, setting the prices of menu items, and lending a hand in the kitchen if the hired staff isn’t moving fast enough. Players need to keep their ingredients stocked and do their best to keep customers happy—which could involve sweet-talking them or offering them a discount. In between, players can converse with named NPCs, pick up potential side quests, and even make friends (or lovers).
“Nivalis Nights borrows the look of a cyberpunk world, but none of the interesting elements.”
However, there really isn’t much to any one aspect of the gameplay. Working your shops is nothing more interesting than clicking on a kitchen tool, watching a lacklustre animation, and then bringing the food/drink to the customer. Talking to characters is kind of uninteresting, and it’s always hard to gauge which dialogue choices will make their friendship, love, tension, or business meters go up. It’s helpful because completing quests can unlock new recipes for players to use in their restaurants, but there’s no room to actually experiment with the cooking or make dishes your own.
Furthermore, there’s just nothing interesting done from a gameplay perspective that utilizes the genre of Nivalis Nights’ setting. You can’t get augmentations to help you move through the day faster or gain useful skills in the kitchen. You can hack terminals or utilize electronics in interesting ways to gain advantages against your opponents or benefits to your shops. As I said, Nivalis Nights borrows the look of a cyberpunk world, but none of the interesting elements.
And even the look is kind of all over the place. While on the whole it is a genuinely decent-looking game, capturing the look and feel of a cyberpunk city with aplomb, Nivalis Nights couldn’t seem to settle on a single aesthetic. Character models are smooth and detailed, while environments are all voxel, making all the characters feel totally out of place in their own game. In addition to this, the music can be a little overbearing, playing a kind of generic techno ambiance that plays constantly and kind of detracts from the vibe of the whole game.
Nivalis Nights doesn’t really do anything poorly, but it doesn’t really do anything remarkable given how much potential it could’ve had. Cyberpunk Story of Seasons is something I really want to see happen, but this just plays things a little too safely for my tastes. There’s definitely a lot to enjoy here for those who like a good business management sim, but if you’re looking for anything more complex, you’re better off just playing Cyberpunk 2077.
