There’& rsquo; s not much gameplay deepness to ION LANDS narrative based journey in a cyberpunk open world, but there’& rsquo; s an excellent story loaded with conspiracy theory, hackers, and a rogue AI to untangle as well as explore to make up for it.
Originally released in April 2020 for computer, the “& ldquo; neon-noir story in a rain-drenched cyberpunk metropolis” & rdquo; Cloudpunk has actually finally made its means to consoles and also completion outcome is mostly good.
If you’& rsquo; re anxious for a cyberpunk open-world while you wait on the huge hitter, Cloudpunk offers up a strong experience.
Cloudpunk (PC, PS4 [Assessed], Xbox One, Nintendo Switch) Programmer: ION LANDS Publisher: Merge Gamings Released: April 23, 2020 (PC), October 15, 2020 (Consoles) ESRB Rating: M –– Mature MSRP: $24.99
In Cloudpunk, you play as Rania, a lady brand-new to the expansive city of Nivalis on her opening night as a chauffeur for the titular Cloudpunk distribution firm. It’& rsquo; s a business of questionable legality with a recent string of drivers “& ldquo; retiring. & rdquo; Cloudpunk has yet 2 regulations; put on’& rsquo; t miss a delivery as well as wear & rsquo; t ask whats in the bundle
. Rania will certainly ask what’& rsquo; s in the bundle, and also there are choices you can sometimes make pertaining to supplying the bundle or trashing it someplace as Rania struggles with the morality of providing these suspicious bundles in this city she doesn’& rsquo
; t like. Cloudpunk is a narrative video game embeded in an open-world with restricted gameplay. I put on’& rsquo; t mean limited in that you & rsquo; re primarily watching cutscenes, because that’& rsquo; s not below, but instead limited because the only point you can do is run around on foot or drive your flying automobile (the HOVA) to supply plans from factor A to point B.
It assists then that Nivalis is a suitable sized city with a lot of verticality to it, and also keeping that comes collectibles to get and plenty of interesting/funny/weird NPC’& rsquo; s to connect with. And while it’& rsquo; s not a challenge video game, occasionally identifying how to get to where you need to can seem like a little puzzle.
As you provide packages and find locations, you’& rsquo; ll gain Lims. This is the currency of Nivalis. With Lims, you can acquire food, beverages and also various other products. You have an apartment or condo that you can get decorations and devices for. But the major use Lims is for repairing your HOVA (since you will certainly harm it) and also getting fuel for your HOVA (which is a touch I like, I desire more games would certainly have a fuel gauge rather than cars that wear’& rsquo; t need gas). You can even purchase upgrades and also devices for your HOVA.
You’& rsquo; ll spend most of your time flying your HOVA to get a bundle and after that flying it elsewhere to supply the package. All the while, trying to find where to park, as well as paying attention to discussion from Rania, Camus (your car’& rsquo; s AI that you used to be your canine), Control(Cloudpunk dispatcher), and also various other characters (like the funny private detective right out of a noir film Huxley).
Since you’& rsquo; re listening to the tale and also attempting to assemble things together, the voice acting is necessary right here. At first I didn’& rsquo; t care for the monotone distribution of the Rania. It seemed like the voice actress was reading from a manuscript instead of acting. In time, it expanded on me as well as I began to appreciate exactly how the personality was being voiced.
Some of it fails, like the voice representing Camus, as well as others I appreciated a large amount (like Control, that reminds me a ton of the YouTuber Undoomed, as well as Huxley, whose noir narrating was constantly a delight).
The soundtrack is additionally on point with the synth songs that feels best for the cyberpunk, advanced setup of Nivalis and helps really feel in the moments when you’& rsquo; re flying around without speaking going on.
Cloudpunk sporting activities a voxel art design that looks incredible, and combined with the well designed city and the lights/color scheme you have a game that looks actually excellent graphically. Also if it rains a little too much for my preference.
Having actually initially released for computer back in April, the console port here does have some problems. The main one, and a lot of noticeable, is a stuttering/freezing after you fly right into a various area and also the video camera rotates back about. It’& rsquo; s rough, and also it does it every single time.
Additionally, I locate it a little disorienting when you park and your character is quickly standing away where you parked. Generally however, it runs well.
Cloudpunk begins slow-moving, however if you obtain curious about the narrative then you have a strong 9 hrs or more below. If you’& rsquo; re the type of the player who doesn’& rsquo; t care about tale whatsoever and also are simply gameplay concentrated, after that I don’& rsquo; t believe you locate much value below since the driving isn’& rsquo; t extremely enjoyable.
If you like the ambience and story, I think you’& rsquo; ll have some enjoyable with Cloudpunk. I definitely have actually been.
Cloudpunk gets a 3 out of five: GOOD.
* Review code provided by the publisher for review.