Nihilo is a post-apocalypse RPG where you scavenge a futuristic wasteland. While it features some aspects of traditional RPGs, it has its own spin on things that helps it stand out as something unique.

Let’s Talk About Assets!

This project uses a mix of custom and ripped graphics. I’m not familiar enough with the sources to say which are which, but the game comes together beautifully in a dystopian sort of way. It’s clear that a great amount of effort has been put into making detailed, atmospheric environments, but it’s a bit of a double-edged sword. While maps look impressive with many special effects and things to see, they’re also visually busy. It can be difficult to tell what you’re looking at sometimes, and the derelict world could seem like a mere mass of pixels if you don’t focus your eyes carefully.

This is more of an issue in some parts than others, and I think it’s mostly fine, but the author might do well to ensure there isn’t too much going on in every screen. It’s hard to say how much is too much, but I think it could afford to dial back a bit, especially since UI elements such as entrance markers can be difficult to spot. These concerns carry over to battle a little as well. There were a couple times where I couldn’t see the damage numbers on my heroes because an overlay was covering them up.

Apart from visuals, the game has its own music, and it’s effective at that. The tracks used compliment the atmosphere while exploring and the battle themes are sufficiently energetic. It’s always nice to hear some fresh tunes.

Let’s Talk About Story!

It’s hard to say much here since the game feels like it’s only gotten started. The scenario is pretty typical: a futuristic society had a cataclysmic event that brought them to ruin, and now the fragments of civilization are just trying to get by in whatever ways they can. You play as a young man named Estes on a journey to a settlement called Skuud. He’s accompanied by his friend Nikolai and a spherical floating robot companion nicknamed “Auxi.” Their goal is to make contact with other survivors as humanity tries to move on.

At the moment, there’s not much more to it than that. Our protagonists aren’t particularly intriguing. They haven’t had much time to develop beyond generic punky dudes, but it feels like the focus is more on the world than the characters. You encounter some mysterious things along your way and most of what happens is from a world-building angle. Whether the characterization will catch up or not remains to be seen, as the demo only contains the first chapter. There are some NPCs you meet who seem important, but this is little more than an introduction for now. Despite this, the writing is pretty solid. Dialogue is varied/sounds natural and there are few typos.

Let’s Talk About Gameplay!

This is where the game sets itself apart from the usual RM fare. It features fully custom menu and battle systems along with some non-standard navigation. You can sprint and there’s 8-directional movement. Select parts of the environment can be interacted with, like ladders or things to hop over. The menu contains a page for crafting and another for upgrades to your heroes and Auxi. The upgrades are especially interesting since you can reallocate your accrued points at any time out of battle. If you encounter a tough fight and decide you need some stats more than others, you can adjust your bonuses from that menu to try new strategies.

Combat works well and has a lot of things going on. There’s a gauge that fills to award experience multipliers depending on your actions, which is worthwhile to take advantage of since there’s no way to grind. The heroes have limit break meters that fill under different conditions. Estes’s goes up when he acts and down when he’s attacked. Nikolai’s works in reverse, and their movesets are conducive to making use of it. Reaching their limit gives them a super move, but when they both have it at once, they can launch a series of devastating tandem attacks. Auxi can contribute with its own skills and can’t be targeted by enemies, but it moves rarely. A turn tracker shows who is going next, but it’s only far enough to help you plan.

While extra characters can join the party under certain circumstances, you generally have only the main two and Auxi. They all have unique “MP” mechanics. Estes has a battery charge that his attacks use up. It builds back up gradually, but you can run out pretty easily. Nikolai depends on your various stocks of ammo, so it behooves you to keep an eye on your inventory to craft more. However, some of his moves don’t use ammo, including his limit break, so he isn’t totally screwed if you run out. Auxi has its own battery that it can replace when it runs out, but only a few times. While the party fully recovers between fights, Auxi’s charges are limited until you reach a location to replace them. On top of the “MP” gimmicks, the heroes also have different attack modes. Estes can apply an element to his sword or use it without one while Nikolai can change ammo types. This adjusts the effects of their skills, allowing them to exploit elemental weaknesses and inflict different statuses.

So there are many things going on in battle, but there’s only one real problem I ran into with it. The characters can only heal themselves. Since this is the gritty future, you accomplish this by injecting yourself with a healing item (or with Auxi’s magic healing laser). This might not be a problem if characters other than Estes were able to move more often. Generally, Nikolai and Auxi are so slow to move that it’s hard for Nikolai to heal when he needs to. Estes can preserve himself really well, but he can’t do anything to help Nikolai when he’s in trouble, and losing him often means Estes won’t be far behind. Not all combats are so lethal for this to be a big deal, but when it is, you can find yourself struggling to keep up. Pair this with Nikolai’s role as an aggro-drawing tank, and you can see how things get complicated. While it would take additional animations to convey heroes healing each other, I think it’s important to include in a battle system of this style.

Let’s Wrap This Up…

Overall, this game has a pretty promising demo. The visuals are impressive and the mechanics are engaging, but it’s showing room for refinement in both areas. The story will also need more meat not to feel generic, but it’s too early to make any serious judgments there. It was projected to be finished soon, but I’ve no idea if that’s accurate. For now, I give it a…

4/5


Every man for himself…?