Thaddeus Carmunis is 92 & Wishes You the Best in Your Business Venture in Nivalis

Cloudpunk developer Ion Lands recently shared its September 2024 development blog post for its upcoming cyberpunk slice-of-life simulator Nivalis. The highlight, and perhaps most interesting new detail from the post, is a dude called Thaddeus Carmunis.

This 92-year-old is a business owner on the verge of retirement when you meet him early on in your journey in Nivalis. His key quote speaks mountains as to who he is and what he’s done in his life, and I’m already looking forward to meeting him. “I lived my whole life behind that hot plate. It was my whole world. Now it’s time for me to find another one.”

Build a Community or Climb on Everybody’s Shoulders

At the time of writing, I’ve not played Nivalis, but this development blog post seems to highlight how choices will impact your playthrough. Thaddeus apparently warns you that you’ve got two ways to succeed in the city of Nivalis: You can be kind and build a community who will support you, or you can be ruthless and climb higher on the shoulders of everyone around you.

According to Ion Lands, Thaddeus is a tired character, but one who respects you and sticks by you no matter what decisions you make. He’s worked his entire life and has little to show for it, and he knows what you need to do to survive as a human in an incredibly busy world, let alone a small business owner.

So what does this tell us about Nivalis? Well, for one, Thaddeus is an important character who will likely offer insight after you hit big milestones. We know you’ll build a business from a tiny noodle stand into a massive restaurant, but it’s how you do so that makes the prospect of playing this game so interesting.

If you’ve never played Cloudpunk, the game set in the sprawling megacity of Nivalis, then you won’t have experienced the strange cyberpunk twists it brings to the table. It’s very different from other sci-fi worlds like Caravan Sandwich’s. There’s an entire skyscraper of androids all working against each other for promotions who have no idea the outside world exists, and a head, yes a head, who is ecstatic about being used to clean hallways because he’s above other people and machines with even worse jobs.

I expect Nivalis to be filled with just as many twists and turns as Cloudpunk, subverting expectations with every quest and decision players must make. I wouldn’t like to guess what these might be, though, because I know Ion Lands will surprise us in ways I can’t predict.

Having Thaddeus as a first point of contact feels perfect for Nivalis. He’s been beaten up in the churn of the city and wants out, so he sells to you. He’s going to watch you try to succeed where he’s presumably failed and revel in your success, but how you reach that victory is up to you.

Before you go

Thank you very much for stopping by to check out the latest news about Nivalis. If you want something that’s still sci-fi but more tangible, then check out our news on Sega’s Alien Isolation and Lofi Girl collaboration.

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About the Author

Jamie Moorcroft Sharp

Editor

Jamie adores the indie games that you don’t hear about until you’re on a video essay binge at 3AM and suddenly the sound of them changes your life. He’s played games all his life and loves looking at the intricate details that make them magical and different. If there’s a wierd list, embarrassing feature, or something else far too out there on Bonus Action, there’s a good chance he wrote it. But that’s not all! He’s also an absolute fiend who never knows when to stop when he puts on his dirty robes and takes on his D&D persona as a Mud Warlock who acts on that tiny voice in your head when it wonders what would happen if you did something really dumb right now. He’s easy to beat in a TGC, though, just keep an eye out for his crazy card combos.

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