Let’s talk about something really obvious. Cloudpunk is beautiful. Just glance briefly at some screenshots or glimpse a few seconds of video and hopefully you’ll be nodding along in agreement. Cloudpunk has the type of alluring visuals that can put neon stars in your eyes. It’s a futuristic cyberpunk world brimming with gorgeous contrasts. Vivid lights in every colour masking the black depths beneath; torrential unstoppable rain pouring over a bustling luminous city. Nivalis is a metropolis in the sky and it’s in trouble. You play Rania, a delivery driver working her first shift for a decidedly dodgy courier firm by the name of Cloudpunk. Your task is to deliver packages, get through the night and deal with a few surprises along the way.
As I’ve already mentioned, Cloudpunk is a treat for the eyes. Close-up the graphics have an unusual but appealing Minecraft aesthetic. That might sound odd but mixed with the cyberpunk style it’s absolutely stunning. So yes, that’s the obvious “ooh it’s pretty” bit out of the way. What isn’t so obvious is what exactly this game is, so buckle up and engage those HOVA thrusters because this is where things get interesting.
Rania will get calls over the comm to pick up packages (and other things) and her job is to collect them and deliver to another point marked on your map. Essentially you’ll spend your time going back and forth, delivering from A to B in your HOVA, a flying car which can be upgraded when you can afford it and will need to be filled with gas when you run low. There are lots of other vehicles flying about that you can bump into but the HOVA controls are easy to use and even someone such as me who has an abysmal reputation for driving games was able to navigate around the city with minimal issues. In fact the flying mechanics feel really good, particularly when you get on the highways which automatically allows you to go faster. Once you’ve reached your area for collection or delivery you’ll have a little puzzle before you. Each area will have parking zones and those are the only places you can plop your HOVA before you get out and walk the rest of the way to your destination. It’s not always simple and you’ll need to assess the area for elevators up and down and back and forth. There are also tunnels that can transport you to different parts of the area otherwise not accessible from where you parked. It’s not complicated in any way and once you get into the swing of how the game wants you to play, you’ll find you can do it with your eyes shut (well, one eye shut and the other one open just a teeny bit)
At its heart Cloudpunk is a narrative experience. While you are flying here and there and puzzling out how exactly to get from your parking bay to the pickup points a story is playing out. The city of Nivalis is just what you expect from this genre. It’s corrupt and essentially rotten so no surprises there and while the story does take on quite a scope it’s also littered with small tales of the people who live there and of course Rania’s story. This is where the game really shines. The narrative is very well balanced and very well paced and it all plays out while you’re on the road so to speak. You are actively playing while the story is unfolding and the characters are speaking, which makes the game feel very fluid. It’s a remarkably clever way to deliver (haha) a story.
Another nice feature is that you get to make decisions, some small, some that are life and death and some that’ll make you feel guilty as hell. There’s usually no right answer, but hey that’s a gamer’s life these days. The consequences to your decisions aren’t generally huge but they do ripple throughout your game and inevitably some things will come back to haunt you while others will give a moment of feeling good about yourself before it kicks you in the teeth. There is joy and tenderness to be found in this game but there is also a lot of darkness.
Cloudpunk has already been out on PC for a little while and was warmly received with 88% of Steam users scoring the game as Very Positive. The PS4 version looks every bit as beautiful as its PC counterpart but I did run into a couple of performance issues which I believe the devs are actively working on. I had a bug at the beginning of the game where the delivery missions got stuck in an endless loop and I had to restart. I lost about half an hour of gameplay but this did not occur again. I had one crash (and not into the side of a building, thank you very much!) and I would say the framerate needs looking at – specifically for the few seconds when you exit the tubes used to transition to another level of the city. At the time of writing, the trophy for completing the game did not pop. Aside from the initial repetition bug, my enjoyment was not spoiled. Everything else ran perfectly and smoothly and we do know the dev is seeking to fix any issues.
So many of us are caught in the grips of Cyberpunk fever and we’re counting the seconds to the release of Cyberpunk 2077. Well Cloudpunk is a damn fine way to kill a good ten hours and perhaps even more if you’re looking to clear some bits and pieces on the side and grab a few more trophies. You can keep playing after the credits roll, although you won’t have any new deliveries. You can, however, continue to help the people of Nivalis. I have heard rumblings of potential DLC and I think that’s very exciting. I’m not ready yet to park my HOVA and walk away for good.
VERDICT
Cloudpunk is a stunning narrative adventure with a solid story and a satisfying gameplay loop. Some initial performance issues are being addressed by the developer, but on the whole, it’s made an excellent transition from PC to PS4. If you’re looking for a chilled ten hours, this is for you. Beautiful graphics, fully voiced, well-paced story. I strongly recommend Cloudpunk to absolutely everyone.
-S.J. Hollis
A review code for this product was kindly provided by the publisher. Reviewed on PS4.
