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There are so many roguelike deckbuilders out there, but what about roguelike deckbuilders that can actually be played by anyone, including kids? Springfox Games‘ Nif Nif wants to offer something in that space which the whole family can enjoy, and it’s now on Kickstarter.
The game, which already has a Steam page up and running (together with a public demo), comes from a team led by Masha Mallet, “an entrepreneur mother who didn’t find many options among the strategy games suitable for her children.” The studio’s pillars, per its website, are “accessibility and non-violence, strategy for all, and diversity.” We can get behind all that, but how’s the actual game? I played the demo before its release and have some thoughts.
As teased by its latest trailer, Nif Nif has all the basic systems and mechanics we’ve come to expect from the genre it’s trying to break into. You must put together a deck filled with action cards and tools, progress through a procedurally generated map full of different encounters and events, and try to become as strong as possible before reaching the final boss. At least that’s what the demo presents.
One major roadblock for younger players or people who just want their video games to be simpler are overly complex user interfaces; they can often be overcrowded with information and numbers, or simply too visually cluttered. Nif Nif’s clean art style goes beyond the cartoony, cozy visuals and also shapes the menus and interface. Big letters and vibrant colors make everything pop, and there’s never too much information on display.
This ‘cleanliness’ also applies to the actual cards being played, tools you come across, and dishes than can be cooked with the right ingredients. At this stage, the full information display of each element might need some extra work, but it’s easy to discern quickly what every card does, whether it’s offensive or defensive. Together with the straight-to-the-point tutorial, which consciously avoids being too wordy, I could see anyone who can control a PC or Switch fully understanding the game within 10 minutes.
More surprisingly, the demo isn’t a walk in the park. Nif Nif does a great job of telegraphing what the enemies are doing next so you can plan out your limited number of actions per turn, yet a bad hand can partially ruin your adventure with more ease than you’d expect. Enemies (who are actually animals and other cute critters covered in goo that need cleaning) hit hard, and mindlessly throwing cards at them yields little results. In fact, I wandered into the final boss of the demo without many upgrades and was swiftly defeated, prompting me to restart with a different, more defensive build (you can equip permanent items at the start of each run) that healed me after each combat encounter.
Nif Nif is welcoming, but that doesn’t mean it’s frictionless. I underestimated it and had to return to square one. While I may not be its main target, I can appreciate what it’s going for and how well it might land with children and casual adult players if it continues development. Even if we put the (true) matter of an overabundance of violence in video games aside, certain genres are admittedly ‘restricted’ to more mature gamers, so I must agree with Springfox Games’ guiding sentiment.
If you’ve enjoyed the demo as much as I have and want (and can) support this indie venture, be sure to check out Nif Nif’s Kickstarter page, which will be up and running until September 13. Much of the development appears to be done already, but Springfox hasn’t had as much luck with publishers and could use some help. Anyone at Gamescom can also check out the game in person and talk to the team.