The life sim genre is a popular—and fairly crowded—market in gaming. While the genre is dominated by juggernaut titles likeThe Sims, there are plenty of unique indie titles that take the life sim format in new directions. For anyone that wants tocarve out their own life in aCyberpunk 2077-style mega-city,Nivaliscould be the perfect solution.
Set to release sometime in 2025,Nivalisis a single-player cyberpunk life sim. In it, players will live in the city of Nivalis, a sprawling metropolitan area that stretches from oceanside docks all the way to the clouds. Rather than sticking to Nivalis’s seedy underbelly,players will explore the proper city, all while growing their own fledgling empire of small businesses.
Nivalis Is An Ambitious 2025 Cyberpunk Game
A Slice Of Cozy Life In A Dystopian City
Bringing a cozy feeling toa setting like cyberpunkmight be a difficult task, but from the trailers and images released so far,Nivalislooks ready to stick the landing. Conceptually, a game about building a community and connecting with those around you in a setting built entirely around ruthless megacorporations and unbridled capitalism might not seem thematically coherent. But this disconnect in gameplay and setting is exactly whatmakesNivalisso interesting as a cozy game, especially as it fully utilizes the slick neon aesthetic of a cyberpunk city.
In fact, other games havealready blazed this cozy trail into cyberpunk. In 2022,Straytook the gaming world by storm, sweeping award shows, including a nomination forGame of the Year at The Game Awards. That game featured no humans, just a desolate abandoned city landscape filled with quirky robots, which added a sense of melancholy to the game.
Nivalisfeatures a cyberpunk city in the prime of its life,showing the often-neglected pros of living in a mega-city.Exploring an endless city and growing a series of small businesses are exciting concepts, and even if the city is dangerous, players can create their own slice of techno-futurism heaven.
Nivalis Could Be Amazing For Life Sim Fans
Explore A New Niche In The Genre
IfCyberpunk 2077wasn’t cozy or immersive enough, thenNivalismight be the perfect title to scratch that itch. Rather than take on an entire city for revenge with Johnny Silverhand,players carve out their own little slice of the citywith small businesses like ramen shops and nightclubs. Players can focus on expanding their tiny empire by managing their stores and growing their own ingredients. Eventually, players can create their own monopoly over the city’s nightlife in true dystopian cyberpunk fashion.
If hustle culture isn’t what players are looking for, they can spend their timebuying and decorating a home and forming relationshipswith the other denizens of Nivalis. Like any good indie game,Nivalisalso includes a fishing minigame and allows players to explore the city by boat.
