Simulation games are a hotbed for creativity in the indie space, and an upcoming Steam game called Nivalis is further evidence of this. The sleek and luminescent first-person sci-fi game, which has been getting a good bit of buzz ahead of its 2026 launch, promises to be a unique experience in the cyberpunk space, perhaps even offering something that genre leaders like Cyberpunk 2077 cannot.
Cyberpunk 2077 is a fantastic game, but it's not exactly a dyed-in-the-wool RPG. There are certainly choice-based elements, and its progression/build-crafting are clearly inspired by the action-RPG formula, but it's not as open-ended as, say, Baldur's Gate 3 or Fallout: New Vegas. Those RPGs, those of the western, DnD-influenced variety, place a hefty premium on freedom, allowing players to hand-craft their own stories within certain confines. These confines are typically an action-adventure tone and the gameplay conventions that accompany it: you can't exactly choose to forgo your main mission in favor of starting a humble street food venture. But that's exactly what Nivalis allows you to do, which actually makes the Steam title more compelling than its competition in some ways.
Ironically, Cyberpunk 2077 was spawned from a tabletop RPG with a level of freedom similar to Dungeons & Dragons, though the flexibility of this pen-and-paper origin isn't translated to the video game adaptation.
Nivalis Aims for Compelling Management Gameplay in a Fantastical World
Nivalis is a city built on the sea, its monolithic skyscrapers stretching far beyond the line of the clouds. Like the best cyberpunk cities, it's messy, multilayered, and improvisational, feeling almost like a living organism: addendums are made to shabby homes in the slums as needed, new businesses materialize and disintegrate in the blink of an eye, and everyone is in constant motion. It's terrifying and imbalanced, but also beautiful due to its awe-inspiring size and density.
Nivalis shares its setting with Cloudpunk, a delivery simulator that developer ION LANDS released back in 2020.
You play as a newcomer to this dazzling metropolis, a friend of yours having left you a noodle stand in one of the city's less affluent neighborhoods. You're in charge of the stand's day-to-day operations, able to enhance it with various upgrades and customization options. After some time, you can expand into other business ventures, such as upscale restaurants and nightclubs. By spreading through the ever-changing city of Nivalis, you will leave your footprint on the culture.
But while many business management simulators will give players godlike control over a sandbox, presenting the game world as a sort of diorama or a series of menus, Nivalis wants to make players and the setting inseparable. Indeed, the Nivalis protagonist is very much in and of this sci-fi world, having to exist as a human being as well as a business owner.
Life Sim Conventions Make Nivalis a Uniquely Immersive World
The blend of voxel graphics, simple-but-sleek 3D character designs, and dense, atmospheric lighting make Nivalis a visual feast, one that's elevated by life simulation aspects. Instead of just clicking on your business and getting to work, you have to wake up in your apartment, get a basic idea of what you're going to do over the course of your in-game day, and then travel by foot or train to where you want to go. Nivalis is a management game at its core, but its presentation and moment-to-moment gameplay make it feel more like a story-focused life sim than something like Frostpunk or Two-Point Hospital.
Nivalis offers a number of excursions beyond purchasing and operating various businesses. Some of the side activities you'll be able to engage in, per the Nivalis Steam page, include:
- Managing a greenhouse to grow your own ingredients
- Driving a boat in real-time to explore Nivalis' waterways
- Fishing
- Purchasing personal real estate
- Decorating your various homes
You'll also be able to engage in social simulation mechanics, which will purportedly include romance. All these different gameplay avenues, while ostensibly simple mechanically, promise to make Nivalis a well-rounded gaming experience, not focused on just one idea or group of systems. It looks like ION LANDS' main goal is to make Nivalis as immersive as possible, fleshing it out as a plausible and detailed fictional world for players to inhabit. Players can be exceptional, but within the civilian sphere. In other words, you can become a business mogul, but not a legendary mercenary traveling with the soul of a terrorist on a computer chip.
This (relatively—Nivalis appears to have a serial killer plotline) reserved approach to the cyberpunk setting is one that's not often seen in gaming, or film and television for that matter. On the one hand, it kind of makes sense, because cyberpunk cities aren't supposed to appeal to the average Joe; they are often best suited for tales of high adventure, corporate espionage, and political intrigue. That's always the assumption, anyway. In reality, there's something unusually cozy and alluring about the likes of Night City and Blade Runner's LA, despite their dystopian and dangerous qualities. If Nivalis wants to focus on those cozy elements, rather than running, gunning, and hacking, then it could wind up being something quite special.
- Released
- 2026
- Developer(s)
- ION Lands
- Publisher(s)
- 505 Games
- Number of Players
- Single-player
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Unknown
WHERE TO PLAY
Welcome to Nivalis! Making it in this cyberpunk city isn’t easy. The gangs want to harvest your organs, the Corps will fine you for breathing, and the whole time, the ground under your feet is crumbling. This city could fall into the ocean tomorrow, so you better make your fortune today.
You’ve got to start small: a food stall, a noodle stand, a stim store. Build your way up to a bar, a restaurant, or even a nightclub. Eventually, you’ll own all the nightlife in Nivalis. You’ll own the night!
In Nivalis, you choose how to spend your time in the city. In this unique slice-of-life sim with realistic weather simulation and night and day cycles, you can grow your business, meet strange and diverse characters, form friendships and experience the danger and wonder of this cyberpunk voxel city.
