Nihilo

PLOT

"The time before the Calamity already seems like a dream, so happy and so distant. Yet, we all know there’s more to come. The world will evolve until we can no longer call it ours. Not unless we learn what’s going on.."

Estus was just ten years old and dealing with the loss of his father when the Calamity occurred. Objects of unknown origin had struck near Borealis, the capital of Autenon, with the force so great the dust blotted the sky out and led to three months of cold and unrelenting snow. People died of cold and starvation, and only a few isolated enclaves lived to see the Months of Blizzard end as suddenly as they started. During this time, many plants and animals were also decimated or driven to extinction. In their place, new and dangerous creatures appeared to fill the void, many with a mysterious link to the Calamity itself...

Ten years later, Estus and his friend Nikolai are sent out from their home town of Jupa to make contact with survivors further north, and learn what they know of Calamity. Estus also hopes to see Makal, his formerly beautiful birthplace, while Nikolai is searching for the man who betrayed his father. Their journey will take them halfway across the barren lands of Autenon and grow more complex than anyone had imagined...

VARIABILITY

While Nihilo is certainly a deep, character-driven experience, the player is more than a silent spectator here. At certain moments in the game, you will be allowed to make choices that will not only directly influence the events before you, but will also resonate later on. There’s no right or wrong in the strict sense of the word, but no choice can please everyone, and so you’ll make allies and enemies in equal manner. As the choices you make stack up, you’ll see the personalities of protagonists change as they confront what they have done, and different playthroughs will leave them as different people by the end of the game, resulting in multiple endings.

In addition, every NPC can be conversed with through a 3-response dialogue tree, allowing you to gain further insight into their character or the lore of Nihilo. If NPCs are involved in a sidequest, there will usually be multiple ways to resolve it, which can also resonate at the end of the game. Even during battles, many sentient enemies can end up running away or surrendering if the circumstances are right, and it's up to whether you want that to happen.

COMBAT

Nihilo is still a turn-based RPG, but there are significant improvements made to the typical formula. Firstly, there are no random encounters and most of the enemies can be avoided on the map. When the combat does begin, you’ll enjoy completely animated monster sets and character graphics, with detailed attack and idle animations. The players start off with several weapon skills, and more are gained later. Enemies have skills of their own, as well as resistances and vulnerabilities (i.e. high dodge of flyers against melee attacks) that reward tactical combat.

And as the players get closer to Borealis, outright magical abilities will become available for party members, even as they face the superior psychic might of local monsters. While difficulty tends to drop off near conclusion in many rpg maker games, Nihilo is not one of them. To turn the tide of battle in your favour, you’ll get access to a wide range of wearable equipment, and items like grenades and tonics. The signature weapon of each character can be also upgraded by masters in settlements, with mutually exclusive upgrade pathways giving you a greater range of freedom.

GAMEPLAY FEATURES

○Running, Non-Linear Jumping and 8-Way Directional Movement
○Entirely Original Soundtrack & Spritework
○Extremely Cinematic Cutscene Events With Tons of Sprite Animations
○Lots of Environmental Descriptions
○No Treasure Chests Just Lying Around, Items On Maps Will Only Be Where It Makes Sense
○High Quality x2 Filter (built in game)
○Mini Games Galore
○Automatic & Custom Saving System
○Obtainable Trophies via GameJolt!
○15-20 Hours Of Gameplay
#rpg