Nivalis Nights blends Cyberpunk 2077, Dave the Diver and Stardew Valley into one game, and the result works

Nivalis Nights asks a simple question: What happens when Cyberpunk 2077 meets Stardew Valley and Dave the Diver? The answer is a city full of neon, noodles, and submarines. And the response to it has been enthusiastic.

From Cloudpunk to Nivalis

Nivalis Nights comes from Ion Lands, the studio behind Cloudpunk. That earlier game was a neo-noir adventure where players flew through a dystopian city. Nivalis Nights takes that same world and turns it into a farm-life sim.

The result is a game where you own a noodle bar, solve crimes, and pilot a submarine. It sounds strange on paper. In practice, it works.

Neon-Streaked Lockdown

Your first day in Nivalis starts with a warning. The city is locked down. A serial killer is loose. You are told this by Ava, your government-mandated AI automata.

Five hours later, you are deep in trouble. You are helping a group of children escape a trafficking plot. You are running a noodle bar that is drowning in debt. You are falling for a CorpSec agent who wants to shut you down. And you are meeting a woman who writes new memories for condemned criminals.

All this, and you have only grown a single onion.

A Richly Detailed World

Nivalis Nights plays in first person. That means the city needs to hold up close. Ion Lands delivers. The world is made of jagged pixel-art edges, but it feels lived-in and full of life.

The soundtrack borrows from Vangelis, giving the city a sense of dread and wonder. The neon lights cut through the smog, and the hazy skyline is worth staring at for a minute before the game drags you back into action.

Owning a Noodle Bar

Your main job is running a noodle bar. You start with a run-down stand with no walls, all outdoor seating. Your cook splits duties between the kitchen and front-of-house.

To grow, you need to expand. You buy tables and chairs from the furniture shop. More space means more customers. More customers mean more cash. But more customers also mean you run out of ingredients, so you head to the market.

You upgrade your decor, hire new staff, and eventually take over a downtown greenhouse where you can grow crops, make cheese, and manufacture meat substitutes. You can even skip the market and cut out the middle man entirely.

Side Quests Everywhere

The story threads are everywhere. You meet an old woman who believes her dead husband’s personality lives inside a hooverbot. You chase him down and decide whether to keep his secret or betray him.

There is a hacker on speed dial. There is Danny Danetti at his doughnut shop, whose friendship your CorpSec agent wants you to end. There is Spartacus Doom, who wants you to teach him bare-metal boxing.

There is also a serial killer on the loose. You suspect your paths will cross soon.

Stealth and Romance

The game lets you wander at night. Breaking curfew opens a stealth path where you can rob your competitors blind while they sleep.

Dialogue is fully voiced and can be nudged in different directions. You can build romance, or you can build disgust. The choices shape how other characters treat you.

Rough Edges

The game is not perfect. The framerate is stubbornly wonky. There are bugs. The UI is fiddly, with overbearing overlays and waypoint markers that get in the way.

Even so, the game is refreshing. It does not try to be a pure farming sim or a pure noir adventure. It is both at once, and it mostly pulls it off.

What Comes Next

The game is still settling into its rhythm. The tutorials are dying down, and the full business empire goal is ahead. The writer wonders whether the game can stay compelling once noodle bar ownership gives way to running a full company.

The verdict so far is clear. Nivalis Nights is a bold, messy, charming package. It asks big questions and answers them with a noodle bar.

Key Facts

• Developer: Ion Lands
• Follows Cloudpunk, a neo-noir adventure
• Mashes Cyberpunk 2077, Stardew Valley, and Dave the Diver
• Features a first-person view of Nivalis
• Includes fully voiced dialogue and branching choices
• Offers a stealth path for nighttime exploration

Source material: “Nivalis Nights dares to ask what if Cyberpunk 2077 met Dave the Diver and Stardew Valley? And for now at least I'm loving the answer,” Eurogamer.

Cyberpunk 2077 · farming sim · game review · Ion Lands · Nivalis Nights