{"id":2178377,"date":"2026-10-04T09:01:54","date_gmt":"2026-10-04T06:01:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2178377"},"modified":"2026-10-04T09:01:54","modified_gmt":"2026-10-04T06:01:54","slug":"nivalis-nights-dares-to-ask-what-if-cyberpunk-2077-met-dave-the-diver-and-stardew-valley-and-for-now-at-least-im-loving-the-answer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2178377","title":{"rendered":"Nivalis Nights dares to ask what if Cyberpunk 2077 met Dave the Diver and Stardew Valley? And for now at least I&#8217;m loving the answer"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article \" data-ads=\"true\" data-article-type=\"features\" data-article-group=\"feature\" data-paywalled=\"false\" data-premium=\"false\" data-sponsored=\"false\" data-type=\"article\">\n<header class=\"article_header\" data-component=\"article-header\">\n<div class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n<nav class=\"nav_breadcrumbs\" data-component=\"nav-breadcrumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\">\n<ul class=\"nav-links\">\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Home<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/features\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Features<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_details\" id=\"main-content\">\n<h1 class=\"title\">Nivalis Nights dares to ask what if Cyberpunk 2077 met Dave the Diver and Stardew Valley? And for now at least I&#8217;m loving the answer<\/h1>\n<p class=\"strapline\">Do androids dream of electric neeps?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_asset\">\n<figure class=\"headline_image_wrapper\">\n<p>        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"headline_image\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-header-brighter.jpg?width=690&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;dpr=3&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"Nivalis Nights screenshot showing the neon-drenched Ramen Noir noodle bar against the backdrop of a dystopian city.\" loading=\"eager\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-header-brighter.jpg\" data-lightbox width=\"690\" height=\"388\"><figcaption>\n          <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games<\/cite><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metadata\">\n<div class=\"avatar\">\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Matt Wales avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/1521645425.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"179\"><\/p>\n<p>  <img alt=\"Matt Wales avatar\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"1521645425.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"179\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text\">\n<div class=\"byline\">\n                  <span class=\"article_type\" data-slug=\"features\"><br \/>\n                    Feature<br \/>\n                  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"by\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/authors\/matt-wales\">Matt Wales<\/a><\/span>                    <span class=\"job_title\"><br \/>\n                      Staff Writer<br \/>\n                    <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"published_at\">\n<p>Published on   <time datetime=\"2026-10-04T09:01:54+00:00\" data-auto-time-zone=\"true\" data-year=\"numeric\" data-month=\"short\" data-day=\"numeric\" data-hour=\"numeric\" data-minute=\"numeric\">Oct. 4, 2026, 9:01 a.m.<\/time>\n              <\/div>\n<div class=\"comments\">\n      <a class=\"comments__link comments-bubble\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/nivalis-nights-now-playing?view=comments\" rel=\"nofollow\"><br \/>\n          2 comments<br \/>\n      <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"header_actions\">\n<p><button class=\"mypop-button button wide\" data-state=\"follow\" data-type=\"tag\" data-uuid=\"1e61e195-fdfb-4625-9d02-6203c617cd91\" data-name=\"Cloudpunk\" data-follow-text=\"Follow Cloudpunk\" data-unfollow-text=\"Following Cloudpunk\" data-aria-follow-text=\"Follow Cloudpunk\" data-aria-unfollow-text=\"Following Cloudpunk\" data-popup=\"true\" data-force-login=\"true\" aria-label=\"Follow Cloudpunk\" title=\"Follow Cloudpunk\"><br \/>\n  Follow Cloudpunk<br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n  <a class=\"button outline wide preferred_source_button\" data-component=\"preferred-source-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=eurogamer.net\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><br \/>\n    <span class=\"logo\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/span><br \/>\nPrioritise us on Google  <\/a>\n          <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\" data-autopogo>\n<p>As I throw open the windows on my first day in Nivalis, breathing in the city&#8217;s neon-streaked air and watching the smog roil across the blackened sky, my government-mandated AI automata informs me the district is in lockdown and a serial killer&#8217;s on the loose. Five hours later, I&#8217;ve become embroiled in a child trafficking plot (the good kind, apparently, seeing as I&#8217;m helping them get <em>out<\/em>); I&#8217;ve stumbled across an oil rig and befriended its city separatists; I&#8217;ve inadvertently struck up a romance with a CorpSec agent who&#8217;s trying to shut down my noodle bar; and I&#8217;ve met a woman who writes new childhoods for condemned criminals, in the city&#8217;s hope that implanting them will sort &#8217;em out. All this and I&#8217;ve only grown a single onion. Nivalis Nights, it&#8217;s fair to say, it&#8217;s not your average farm-life sim.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"aside right\">\n<h2>Warlock: Nivalis Nights<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Developer:<\/strong> Ion Lands<\/li>\n<li><strong>Publisher:<\/strong> 505 Games<\/li>\n<li><strong>Played on:<\/strong> <\/li>\n<li><strong>Availability:<\/strong> Out now on PC (via <a href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/1488490\/Nivalis_Nights\/\">Steam<\/a>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/aside>\n<p>It is, though, kind of fascinating as it starts from a familiar point and begins building outward. It&#8217;s also, for context, the follow-up to developer Ion Lands&#8217; enjoyable neo-noir delivery adventure Cloudpunk, taking that game&#8217;s stylish dystopia and reimagining it as the setting for a sort of mash-up of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/cyberpunk-2077\">Cyberpunk 2077<\/a>, Stardew Valley, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/dave-the-diver\">Dave the Diver<\/a>. It&#8217;s an odd mix, certainly, but it works.<\/p>\n<p>A lot of its early success is down to Nivalis itself. Cloudpunk&#8217;s city was mostly designed to be viewed from afar, but Nivalis Nights plays out in first-person, demanding a world that can withstand closer scrutiny. And Ion Lands more than rises to the challenge. This Nivalis might still be a world built from jagged pixel-art edges, but it&#8217;s a richly detailed, wonderfully evocative one (stubbornly wonky framerate aside); a chance to live your own little <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/blade-runner\">Blade Runner<\/a> life, right down to the Vangelis-inspired soundtrack.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"primis_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"primis_video\">\n<p><span class=\"embed_placeholder\" data-type=\"targeting\" style=\"display: none\"><br \/>\n<span class=\"message\">To see this content please enable targeting cookies.<\/span><br \/>\n<button class=\"optanon-show-settings link\"><br \/>\nManage cookie settings<\/button><\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption>Here&#8217;s a Nivalis Nights trailer.<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=nSTPmq2Czk8\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>But you barely have a minute to admire the way the hazy neon light cuts through the smog on your first day in Nivalis before your automata Ava summons you to the city&#8217;s culinary centre, Meridian Market. A short taxi ride later, amid the endless bustle and colour, you&#8217;re the somewhat begrudging new owner of a noodle bar, its previous manager saddling you with all of its debt as a parting gift too. This run-down food stand with its solely al fresco dining set-up is now your problem, but you&#8217;ve at least inherited its cook too. And so, across Nivalis Nights&#8217; first few days, a crash course in entrepreneurship begins.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>That starts with a trip to the furniture shop for a couple of new dining tables and chairs. More space means more customers; more customers means more cash. But more customers <em>also<\/em> means dwindling ingredients, so it&#8217;s off to the market you go. Meanwhile, your cook is splitting duties between the kitchen and front-of-house; taking orders, making orders, serving them up. But unfettered business growth is mandatory in this corporate-governed dystopia, and before long, you&#8217;ll be bolstering your menu, upgrading your decor, and hiring new staff &#8211; better cooks, more waiters, cleaners, even managers to look after the day-to-day tasks &#8211; so that customers stay happy and the cash continues to flow. Soon, you&#8217;ll be thinking about wages, schedules and staff morale; you&#8217;ll inherit a downtown greenhouse where you can grow crops, make cheese, manufacture meat substitutes, and cut out the marketstall middle men. Perhaps you&#8217;ll start a second business; maybe even open a nightclub too.<\/p>\n<div class=\"gallery\">\n<div class=\"image_wrapper\">\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-1.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7777777777777777\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"bounds_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-1.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7777777777777777\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<span class=\"loading spinner large\"><\/span><\/p>\n<nav class=\"pagination--hoverable\">\n<div class=\"previous\">\n<button class=\"button pagination-button\"><br \/>\n<span aria-label=\"Previous\" class=\"icon\" role=\"img\" style=\"--icon-mask-image: url(&quot;\/static\/solid\/angle-left.svg&quot;)\"><\/span><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"next\">\n<button class=\"button pagination-button\"><br \/>\n<span aria-label=\"Next\" class=\"icon\" role=\"img\" style=\"--icon-mask-image: url(&quot;\/static\/solid\/angle-right.svg&quot;)\"><\/span><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<\/nav>\n<div class=\"details_overlay\">\n<div class=\"counter\">\n<span class=\"current\">1<\/span> <span class=\"of\">of<\/span> <span class=\"max\">17<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"details\">\n<div class=\"button-wrapper\">\n<button aria-label=\"Toggle information\" class=\"toggle button outline\"><\/button><br \/>\n<button aria-label=\"Close fullscreen gallery\" class=\"close button\"><\/button>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"thumbnails-wrapper overflow-shadow-x\">\n<div class=\"thumbnails\">\n<button class=\"thumbnail active\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-1.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-1.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-1.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-2.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-2.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-2.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-3.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-3.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-3.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-4.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-4.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-4.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-6.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-6.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-6.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-5.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-5.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-5.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-7.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-7.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-7.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-8.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-8.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-8.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-9.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-9.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-9.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-10.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-10.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-10.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-11.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-11.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-11.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-13.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-13.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-13.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-14.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-14.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-14.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-12.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-12.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-12.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-15.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-15.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-15.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-16.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-16.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-16.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-17.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-17.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-17.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fullscreen_info\">\n<div class=\"caption\">\n<span class=\"label\"><br \/>\nCaption          <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"text\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"attribution\">\n<span class=\"label\"><br \/>\nAttribution          <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"text\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"inline-gallery-caption\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"advert_container\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>For all its cyberpunk ambience, Nivalis Nights&#8217; loop of expansion is a pretty familiar one. And while the money <em>does<\/em> seem to flow a little faster if I&#8217;m at the noodle bar pitching in, it&#8217;s surprising how little time I&#8217;m apparently expected to be hands-on with the business stuff. Take a taxi to Lowtown, a skytrain to Eastern Residential, or even a boat to the Stacks, and Ion Lands seems determined to distract. Down at the docks, there&#8217;s a sudden leftfield lurch into vaguely Dave the Diver territory once some grizzled sailorbot hands over his rusty old trawler, leaving me free to chart the city&#8217;s churning waters in search of exotic fish or ancient plunder. Which, if you&#8217;re wondering, is how I stumble upon that separatist oil rig.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"2\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>And I certainly wasn&#8217;t expecting to see so much story seeded throughout Nivalis. Early on, I meet an old woman convinced her dead husband&#8217;s personality has been uploaded into a hooverbot, which begins a new side quest. I chase him down, and get to decide whether to keep his secret or rat him out. Several hours later, I&#8217;ve got a hacker on speeddial, a burgeoning friendship with Danny Danetti at his doughnut shop (although my new CorpSec agent &#8220;pal&#8221; wants me to put an end to that), and I&#8217;ve somehow agreed to train Spartacus Doom in the art of bare metal boxing. And that serial killer thing? I suspect our paths will soon cross.<\/p>\n<div class=\"gallery\">\n<div class=\"image_wrapper\">\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-18.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7777777777777777\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"bounds_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-18.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7777777777777777\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<span class=\"loading spinner large\"><\/span><\/p>\n<nav class=\"pagination--hoverable\">\n<div class=\"previous\">\n<button class=\"button pagination-button\"><br \/>\n<span aria-label=\"Previous\" class=\"icon\" role=\"img\" style=\"--icon-mask-image: url(&quot;\/static\/solid\/angle-left.svg&quot;)\"><\/span><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"next\">\n<button class=\"button pagination-button\"><br \/>\n<span aria-label=\"Next\" class=\"icon\" role=\"img\" style=\"--icon-mask-image: url(&quot;\/static\/solid\/angle-right.svg&quot;)\"><\/span><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<\/nav>\n<div class=\"details_overlay\">\n<div class=\"counter\">\n<span class=\"current\">1<\/span> <span class=\"of\">of<\/span> <span class=\"max\">17<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"details\">\n<div class=\"button-wrapper\">\n<button aria-label=\"Toggle information\" class=\"toggle button outline\"><\/button><br \/>\n<button aria-label=\"Close fullscreen gallery\" class=\"close button\"><\/button>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"thumbnails-wrapper overflow-shadow-x\">\n<div class=\"thumbnails\">\n<button class=\"thumbnail active\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-18.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-18.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-18.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-19.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-19.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-19.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-20.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-20.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-20.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-21.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-21.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-21.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-22.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-22.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-22.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-23.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-23.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-23.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-24.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-24.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-24.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-25.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-25.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-25.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-26.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-26.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-26.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-27.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-27.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-27.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-28.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-28.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-28.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-29.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-29.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-29.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-30.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-30.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-30.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-31.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-31.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-31.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-32.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-32.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-32.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-33.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-33.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-33.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-34.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-34.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-34.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fullscreen_info\">\n<div class=\"caption\">\n<span class=\"label\"><br \/>\nCaption          <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"text\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"attribution\">\n<span class=\"label\"><br \/>\nAttribution          <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"text\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"inline-gallery-caption\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"advert_container\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>At this point, I&#8217;ve amassed a veritable shopping list of side quests &#8211; so much so I&#8217;ve barely even considered a carrot in hours &#8211; all accompanied by fully voiced dialogue you can subtly nudge in different directions, stoking romance perhaps, or an air of general disgust. And I&#8217;ve not even mentioned the nighttime swerves into stealth if you choose to break curfew and embark on a more nefarious path. To say, rob your competitors blind while they sleep.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"3\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Truthfully, I haven&#8217;t really figured out how all these disparate bits fit together, and how Nivalis Nights will evolve as the tutorials die down and it settles into its more regular rhythm. Or even if it&#8217;ll manage to remain compelling as noodle bar ownership makes way for the more extravagant demands of a full-on business empire &#8211; which appears to be the end goal. And there are some niggling issues: that untameable framerate for one, some odd bugs, and a UI that&#8217;s a touch too fiddly, a touch tempermental, with overbearing overlays and waypoint markers that aren&#8217;t exactly helpful. But even so, it&#8217;s enormously refreshing to sink into a life sim that doesn&#8217;t try and suffocate me with tweeness, and that doesn&#8217;t leave me dreaming deliriously of turnips.<\/p>\n<p>Yesterday, when I woke up for another day of entrepreneurial toil, storm clouds had gathered and the rain was ASMRing gently against my apartment window. Far below, crowds milled beneath translucent umbrellas and the rain-drenched streets had all but vanished in the mirrored neon glow. And as I splashed toward a flying taxi, Vangelis synths beginning to swell, I thought: for now at least, this weird little dystopia feels like home.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"poll_wrapper\" data-fixed=\"true\" data-hashid data-init=\"false\" data-poll-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\" data-autopogo>\n<p>As I throw open the windows on my first day in Nivalis, breathing in the city&#8217;s neon-streaked air and watching the smog roil across the blackened sky, my government-mandated AI automata informs me the district is in lockdown and a serial killer&#8217;s on the loose. Five hours later, I&#8217;ve become embroiled in a child trafficking plot (the good kind, apparently, seeing as I&#8217;m helping them get <em>out<\/em>); I&#8217;ve stumbled across an oil rig and befriended its city separatists; I&#8217;ve inadvertently struck up a romance with a CorpSec agent who&#8217;s trying to shut down my noodle bar; and I&#8217;ve met a woman who writes new childhoods for condemned criminals, in the city&#8217;s hope that implanting them will sort &#8217;em out. All this and I&#8217;ve only grown a single onion. Nivalis Nights, it&#8217;s fair to say, it&#8217;s not your average farm-life sim.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"aside right\">\n<h2>Warlock: Nivalis Nights<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Developer:<\/strong> Ion Lands<\/li>\n<li><strong>Publisher:<\/strong> 505 Games<\/li>\n<li><strong>Played on:<\/strong> <\/li>\n<li><strong>Availability:<\/strong> Out now on PC (via <a href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/1488490\/Nivalis_Nights\/\">Steam<\/a>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/aside>\n<p>It is, though, kind of fascinating as it starts from a familiar point and begins building outward. It&#8217;s also, for context, the follow-up to developer Ion Lands&#8217; enjoyable neo-noir delivery adventure Cloudpunk, taking that game&#8217;s stylish dystopia and reimagining it as the setting for a sort of mash-up of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/cyberpunk-2077\">Cyberpunk 2077<\/a>, Stardew Valley, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/dave-the-diver\">Dave the Diver<\/a>. It&#8217;s an odd mix, certainly, but it works.<\/p>\n<p>A lot of its early success is down to Nivalis itself. Cloudpunk&#8217;s city was mostly designed to be viewed from afar, but Nivalis Nights plays out in first-person, demanding a world that can withstand closer scrutiny. And Ion Lands more than rises to the challenge. This Nivalis might still be a world built from jagged pixel-art edges, but it&#8217;s a richly detailed, wonderfully evocative one (stubbornly wonky framerate aside); a chance to live your own little <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/blade-runner\">Blade Runner<\/a> life, right down to the Vangelis-inspired soundtrack.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"primis_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"primis_video\">\n<p><span class=\"embed_placeholder\" data-type=\"targeting\" style=\"display: none\"><br \/>\n<span class=\"message\">To see this content please enable targeting cookies.<\/span><br \/>\n<button class=\"optanon-show-settings link\"><br \/>\nManage cookie settings<\/button><\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption>Here&#8217;s a Nivalis Nights trailer.<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=nSTPmq2Czk8\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>But you barely have a minute to admire the way the hazy neon light cuts through the smog on your first day in Nivalis before your automata Ava summons you to the city&#8217;s culinary centre, Meridian Market. A short taxi ride later, amid the endless bustle and colour, you&#8217;re the somewhat begrudging new owner of a noodle bar, its previous manager saddling you with all of its debt as a parting gift too. This run-down food stand with its solely al fresco dining set-up is now your problem, but you&#8217;ve at least inherited its cook too. And so, across Nivalis Nights&#8217; first few days, a crash course in entrepreneurship begins.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>That starts with a trip to the furniture shop for a couple of new dining tables and chairs. More space means more customers; more customers means more cash. But more customers <em>also<\/em> means dwindling ingredients, so it&#8217;s off to the market you go. Meanwhile, your cook is splitting duties between the kitchen and front-of-house; taking orders, making orders, serving them up. But unfettered business growth is mandatory in this corporate-governed dystopia, and before long, you&#8217;ll be bolstering your menu, upgrading your decor, and hiring new staff &#8211; better cooks, more waiters, cleaners, even managers to look after the day-to-day tasks &#8211; so that customers stay happy and the cash continues to flow. Soon, you&#8217;ll be thinking about wages, schedules and staff morale; you&#8217;ll inherit a downtown greenhouse where you can grow crops, make cheese, manufacture meat substitutes, and cut out the marketstall middle men. Perhaps you&#8217;ll start a second business; maybe even open a nightclub too.<\/p>\n<div class=\"gallery\">\n<div class=\"image_wrapper\">\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-1.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7777777777777777\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"bounds_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-1.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7777777777777777\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<span class=\"loading spinner large\"><\/span><\/p>\n<nav class=\"pagination--hoverable\">\n<div class=\"previous\">\n<button class=\"button pagination-button\"><br \/>\n<span aria-label=\"Previous\" class=\"icon\" role=\"img\" style=\"--icon-mask-image: url(&quot;\/static\/solid\/angle-left.svg&quot;)\"><\/span><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"next\">\n<button class=\"button pagination-button\"><br \/>\n<span aria-label=\"Next\" class=\"icon\" role=\"img\" style=\"--icon-mask-image: url(&quot;\/static\/solid\/angle-right.svg&quot;)\"><\/span><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<\/nav>\n<div class=\"details_overlay\">\n<div class=\"counter\">\n<span class=\"current\">1<\/span> <span class=\"of\">of<\/span> <span class=\"max\">17<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"details\">\n<div class=\"button-wrapper\">\n<button aria-label=\"Toggle information\" class=\"toggle button outline\"><\/button><br \/>\n<button aria-label=\"Close fullscreen gallery\" class=\"close button\"><\/button>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"thumbnails-wrapper overflow-shadow-x\">\n<div class=\"thumbnails\">\n<button class=\"thumbnail active\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-1.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-1.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-1.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-2.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-2.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-2.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-3.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-3.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-3.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-4.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-4.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-4.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-6.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-6.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-6.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-5.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-5.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-5.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-7.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-7.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-7.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-8.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-8.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-8.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-9.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-9.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-9.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-10.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-10.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-10.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-11.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-11.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-11.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-13.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-13.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-13.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-14.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-14.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-14.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-12.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-12.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-12.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-15.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-15.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-15.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-16.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-16.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-16.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-17.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-17.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-17.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fullscreen_info\">\n<div class=\"caption\">\n<span class=\"label\"><br \/>\nCaption          <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"text\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"attribution\">\n<span class=\"label\"><br \/>\nAttribution          <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"text\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"inline-gallery-caption\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"advert_container\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>For all its cyberpunk ambience, Nivalis Nights&#8217; loop of expansion is a pretty familiar one. And while the money <em>does<\/em> seem to flow a little faster if I&#8217;m at the noodle bar pitching in, it&#8217;s surprising how little time I&#8217;m apparently expected to be hands-on with the business stuff. Take a taxi to Lowtown, a skytrain to Eastern Residential, or even a boat to the Stacks, and Ion Lands seems determined to distract. Down at the docks, there&#8217;s a sudden leftfield lurch into vaguely Dave the Diver territory once some grizzled sailorbot hands over his rusty old trawler, leaving me free to chart the city&#8217;s churning waters in search of exotic fish or ancient plunder. Which, if you&#8217;re wondering, is how I stumble upon that separatist oil rig.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"2\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>And I certainly wasn&#8217;t expecting to see so much story seeded throughout Nivalis. Early on, I meet an old woman convinced her dead husband&#8217;s personality has been uploaded into a hooverbot, which begins a new side quest. I chase him down, and get to decide whether to keep his secret or rat him out. Several hours later, I&#8217;ve got a hacker on speeddial, a burgeoning friendship with Danny Danetti at his doughnut shop (although my new CorpSec agent &#8220;pal&#8221; wants me to put an end to that), and I&#8217;ve somehow agreed to train Spartacus Doom in the art of bare metal boxing. And that serial killer thing? I suspect our paths will soon cross.<\/p>\n<div class=\"gallery\">\n<div class=\"image_wrapper\">\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-18.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7777777777777777\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"bounds_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-18.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7777777777777777\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<span class=\"loading spinner large\"><\/span><\/p>\n<nav class=\"pagination--hoverable\">\n<div class=\"previous\">\n<button class=\"button pagination-button\"><br \/>\n<span aria-label=\"Previous\" class=\"icon\" role=\"img\" style=\"--icon-mask-image: url(&quot;\/static\/solid\/angle-left.svg&quot;)\"><\/span><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"next\">\n<button class=\"button pagination-button\"><br \/>\n<span aria-label=\"Next\" class=\"icon\" role=\"img\" style=\"--icon-mask-image: url(&quot;\/static\/solid\/angle-right.svg&quot;)\"><\/span><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<\/nav>\n<div class=\"details_overlay\">\n<div class=\"counter\">\n<span class=\"current\">1<\/span> <span class=\"of\">of<\/span> <span class=\"max\">17<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"details\">\n<div class=\"button-wrapper\">\n<button aria-label=\"Toggle information\" class=\"toggle button outline\"><\/button><br \/>\n<button aria-label=\"Close fullscreen gallery\" class=\"close button\"><\/button>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"thumbnails-wrapper overflow-shadow-x\">\n<div class=\"thumbnails\">\n<button class=\"thumbnail active\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-18.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-18.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-18.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-19.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-19.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-19.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-20.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-20.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-20.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-21.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-21.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-21.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-22.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-22.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-22.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-23.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-23.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-23.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-24.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-24.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-24.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-25.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-25.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-25.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-26.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-26.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-26.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-27.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-27.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-27.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-28.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-28.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-28.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-29.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-29.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-29.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-30.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-30.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-30.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-31.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-31.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-31.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-32.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-32.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-32.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-33.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-33.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-33.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Ion Lands\/505 Games\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-34.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/nivalis-nights-34.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"nivalis-nights-34.jpg\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"2560\"><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fullscreen_info\">\n<div class=\"caption\">\n<span class=\"label\"><br \/>\nCaption          <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"text\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"attribution\">\n<span class=\"label\"><br \/>\nAttribution          <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"text\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"inline-gallery-caption\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"advert_container\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>At this point, I&#8217;ve amassed a veritable shopping list of side quests &#8211; so much so I&#8217;ve barely even considered a carrot in hours &#8211; all accompanied by fully voiced dialogue you can subtly nudge in different directions, stoking romance perhaps, or an air of general disgust. And I&#8217;ve not even mentioned the nighttime swerves into stealth if you choose to break curfew and embark on a more nefarious path. To say, rob your competitors blind while they sleep.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"3\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Truthfully, I haven&#8217;t really figured out how all these disparate bits fit together, and how Nivalis Nights will evolve as the tutorials die down and it settles into its more regular rhythm. Or even if it&#8217;ll manage to remain compelling as noodle bar ownership makes way for the more extravagant demands of a full-on business empire &#8211; which appears to be the end goal. And there are some niggling issues: that untameable framerate for one, some odd bugs, and a UI that&#8217;s a touch too fiddly, a touch tempermental, with overbearing overlays and waypoint markers that aren&#8217;t exactly helpful. But even so, it&#8217;s enormously refreshing to sink into a life sim that doesn&#8217;t try and suffocate me with tweeness, and that doesn&#8217;t leave me dreaming deliriously of turnips.<\/p>\n<p>Yesterday, when I woke up for another day of entrepreneurial toil, storm clouds had gathered and the rain was ASMRing gently against my apartment window. Far below, crowds milled beneath translucent umbrellas and the rain-drenched streets had all but vanished in the mirrored neon glow. And as I splashed toward a flying taxi, Vangelis synths beginning to swell, I thought: for now at least, this weird little dystopia feels like home.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"poll_wrapper\" data-fixed=\"true\" data-hashid data-init=\"false\" data-poll-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home Features Nivalis Nights dares to ask what if Cyberpunk 2077 met Dave the Diver and Stardew Valley? And for now at least I&#8217;m loving the answer Do androids dream of electric neeps? Image credit: Eurogamer\/Ion Lands\/505 Games Feature by Matt Wales Staff Writer Published on Oct. 4, 2026, 9:01 a.m. 2 comments Follow Cloudpunk [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,253],"class_list":["post-2178377","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-eurogamer-net"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2178377","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2178377"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2178377\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2178377"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2178377"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2178377"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}