Cloudpunk review

    CLOUDPUNK is a game that I decided to pick up on a lark. I am a huge cyberpunk fan and never really can scratch that itch no matter how many times I try. Cyberpunk 2077 was something of a failure to that as the game was not nearly as expansive as it was advertised as being. Even if you ignored its copious flaws, the game was a very short 30 or so hours that didn't make use of its setting very well. So, I was eager to get into Cloudpunk just because it was another cyberpunk game setting.

    So what are my thoughts? Well, mixed. Cloudpunk has a lot going for it in terms of setting, writing, wit, and general enjoyment factor. It's also something that can barely be called a game when you get right down to it. It is a driving simulator where you move around the ultra-futuristic city of Nivalis, delivering packages as well as passengers for a variety of oddball characters. 

     The protagonist, Raina, has an AI dog inside her HOVA (cloud car) that she uploads since she had to sell her dog's robot body in order to avoid being destitute. Automatically, giving your protagonist a talking dog that is also a car is the best way to make them likable. Raina is a poor girl from the Southern territories and vaguely Middle Eastern. She is also incredibly snarky and provides much of the entertainment value of the game. 

    Cloudpunk provides all of the fun sarcastic social commentary that was largely lacking from Cyberpunk 2077. It is exaggerated and not necessarily true but it's certainly fun. The rich are portrayed as decadent fools with absolutely no common sense or use for their immense wealth. The poor are frequently wasting their lives trying to catch up to the rich (despite it being impossible in the current system) or monofocused on inane ways to pass their time. 

    The city of Nivalis is a wonderful science fiction concept as an immense sentient city that was set up to provide for the survivors of an apocalypse. Instead, it has degenerated into pretty much the same capitalist dystopia that so much of the genre predicts. The rich live in the skies above and the poorest live in the vents below. 

    As humorous as the game is, there's some genuinely touching and horrifying moments like when Raina is unable to protect an associate from freezing to death while fetching supplies. It's also a city breaking down because the public grew so used to relying on its ability to repair itself that they forgot to learn how to repair it. You can make a lot of money helping the rich escape a disaster or you can help the poor escape but even those choices are complicated. Some of the poor are jerks after all and some of the rich are actually useful to the maintaining of the city.

    Unfortunately, the big problem with the game is you basically just fly around your little car delivering packages the entire time and doing the occasional timed mission. You can buy things but only the maintenance of your car and objects for your apartment that you rarely visit. The game is voxel art, basically squares, but that seems to fit well with the many neon Blade Runner-esque buildings. 

    The game has a sequel-sized DLC called CITY OF GHOSTS. This is a darker and edgier version of the main game, more focused on drama than humor or satire. I really liked this and recommend that if you enjoyed Cloudpunk that you should definitely pick this up. The DLC is slightly better than the main game but is restricted to computers so far. 

    There is just not that much to say about the game. It is a very nicely designed city with districts and character but there's not much to really do inside Nivalis. Raina snarks at her stupid customers and oddball deliveries but really the majority of the game is driving from one part of the map to the next. Honestly, this might be a game better watched than played if I give my honest opinion. It says something the best character in the game is the talking dog car.

    In conclusion, this is an okay game that doesn't have much game variety and is mostly going from place to place. It is an excellent time waster but don't expect much from it in terms of gameplay. I suspect it is a game you shouldn't expect too much from but enjoy for what it is. It is on the cheap side and you get what you pay for.

7/10