Cloudpunk

Cloudpunk is a fantastic sci-fi dystopia, with some great writing and voice-acting which helps bring the stories of the people of Nivalis to life. Whilst the experience can get a bit repetitive the excellence elsewhere ensures it is worth experiencing.

While it may have small performance issues and a stripped back graphical style some people may not enjoy, I adored Cloudpunk. I simply could not stop playing it, I was heavily immersed in Rania's story and was taken back by how invested I got in this dank, dark world. I am even thinking about playing it no and hopping back in to mop up the remaining trophies. Right that's it, I'm off to Nivalis.

Even when taking the game’s minor foibles into account, Cloudpunk provides a brief journey into a deceptively fascinating city in the clouds. Rushing through the story means avoiding the game’s best bits, because Nicalis’ real stars are its residents. Now that a patch has addressed the major bug that blocked progression, there’s little reason not to recommend a foray into the dark world of this futuristic dystopia.

Despite some technical issues, Cloudpunk remains a memorable game with an atmosphere that almost makes you forgive the technical issues. You will thoroughly enjoy the story and some questions about human nature will remain with you even after the credits. Sadly, the traffic on the skyways and the moments when the NPCs are affected by amnesia will break the spell and yank you out of the immersion. But there is nothing a patch could not fix, restoring Cloudpunk to a hidden gem worth experiencing by everyone.

Regarding this catastrophic failure of infrastructure, a wearying, cynical malaise of ‘Eh, what can you do about it?’ pervades Rania’s early forays into the city and proves just a little too real for us. The game’s own answer to this question is ‘carry out individual acts of kindness’, as with each one Rania makes Nivalis a slightly less miserable place for at least one person she encounters on her rounds – and sometimes that’s enough. [Issue#182, p.156]

Cloudpunk reaches higher and achieves more than I thought it would, barely missing a spot among the giants of its genre.

Just thinking back on the time spent flying around the skies of Nirvalis in my HOVA is getting me all relaxed, and for that feeling alone Cloudpunk is a worthy purchase. If you have a PC I’d definitely recommend that version over any console port purely for the draw distance (it seriously makes a difference), but if that’s not an option for you just go ahead and snag it where possible. Cloudpunk is a joyride worth taking, so if you have 10 or so hours to burn and need a chill experience, be sure to sign for this delivery on the dotted line.

Cloudpunk delivers the look and feel of a cyberpunk city, it just doesn't fill the city with anything of interest. The story is okay and there's some side conversations to keep you amused, but once the novelty of driving around Nivalis wears off, you'll recognise that this is a game made entirely of fetch quests. The city looks gorgeous, it's just a shame it doesn't have more attractions.

Cloudpunk has a lot of character and charm going for it. The voice acting is well done, the design of the city is great, the ambient sound design is absolutely fantastic, and the rainy atmosphere is wonderfully evocative. Such joys were sadly short-lived in the aftermath of losing all my progress because of a mysterious bug that I have no idea how to reproduce and avoid. There’s nothing worse than having a game break down in such a way that pretty much kills all enthusiasm and motivation to keep playing. Cloudpunk is a really neat piece of software and if you’re keen to try it yourself, I strongly recommend waiting until it gets the necessary patches.

The console versions of Cloudpunk then are, at the time of writing, buggy and a little broken in places they shouldn’t be, but if you’re lucky enough to power through without any major issues, you’ll lose hours to the fantastic narrative, terrific central character performances and gorgeous neon-soaked visuals.

There's a bunch of minor technical problems, and a recurring annoyance in which you're often given your next location at the end of a conversation, meaning you've got to just sit there hovering waiting for them to tell you where to go rather than telling you first and then talking on the way. But at least you've got sweet tunes to listen to as you drive in the form of Cloudpunk's stellar synth soundtrack.

It’s surprisingly touching, and the way the tension slowly ramps up makes for a really interesting experience. Interesting enough to make up for all the ways Cloudpunk is lacking, though? Your mileage on that will obviously vary. For me, it was, if only barely. There’s some engaging stuff going on here, but you need to dig through some pretty iffy stuff to get there.

Overall, the idea behind Cloudpunk has the potential to be a great cyberpunk game. Although the game's world is visually appealing and offers a limited opportunities for exploration, minor technical issues disrupt immersion, making it difficult to appreciate the few good elements that the game offers. Cloudpunk is a good game to pick up every once in a while for short sessions, but its lackluster story and monotonous dialogue may put off players from investing long hours into the game. In the end, Cloudpunk is able to capture the essence of a cyberpunk game despite its issues, but gameplay that mostly comprises of fetch quests may not be everyone's cup of tea.

Cloudpunk is miles away from being an enjoyable ride in a pixelated cyberpunk world.