Nivalis has character on a macro and micro level that a foreigner like Rania has difficulty coming to terms with, even as it works its influence on her. The layered and twisted environments and ambient movement of people and traffic all work to give the impression of a vast, almost organic network of human and mechanical activity. Every street, plaza, block, and back alley is finely detailed to make it feel real and lived-in. The real star of Cloudpunk is the city of Nivalis itself. While running around, Rania will meet various citizens - gangsters, androids, hackers, hawkers, and other oddballs - that can offer side missions or just flavor. The times Rania has to foot-slog are also fun for the most part, though the locked camera can get kind of screwy. In theory, you’re just delivering packages from A to B, but things don’t stay that simple for long. Missions are handed out by Control, the company operator. There’s also no manual saving you have to live with it. The decisions you make don’t really change the flow of the game, but there are some tricky ethical choices that will leave you second-guessing. Rania herself, try as you might, likely won’t come out of this without getting her hands or her conscience dirty. It’s mostly the systemic, social kind perpetuated by CEOs, debt collectors, and corrupt authorities. There’s no combat in Cloudpunk, but there is violence. One of my favorite characters is an android who only speaks in gumshoe detective noir narration. Cloudpunk hits all the notes without getting too schlocky, but it’s not afraid to poke some fun. Nivalis is the kind of hyper-capitalist hellscape typical of the genre, ruled with a chrome fist by mega corps. Idiosyncratic AIs? Android-organic social tension? Bio-augmentation? Bizarre drugs? Cloudpunk has it all and then some. All the major themes and tropes are present. And kind of relatable.Ĭloudpunk‘s 2020 release inevitably puts it in the shadow of the hotly anticipated Cyberpunk 2077, but if anything, CDPR would do well to nail the genre half as well as this indie title. You’ll just have to navigate the walkways and elevators on foot. Often, by the time you find one, that item you spotted won’t be visible anymore. Objectives are easy to follow, but hunting for items for side quests can be a puzzle all on its own because disembarking to get somewhere requires dealing with that true element of urban hell – finding a parking space. There’s a mini-map that indicates things like vendors, items, and objectives. The freedom of flight here makes exploring Nivalis a joy, and you’ll be going up, down, and all around to see what each multi-layered area has to offer. Fuel stations are also common near the neon tubes that make up the main roads, so even terrible drivers (like myself) are never far away from help. At a later point, you even switch out the old junker for a new model of your choice. You can also buy upgrades for your HOVA that give a speed boost or add durability or cosmetic stuff like different colored contrails. Bash your vehicle too many times and you’ll be prompted to go to a station for repairs. This goes double for the few time-sensitive missions in the game, but most of the time you’re free to cruise around to take in the sights. This is simple enough on its own, but skillfully navigating busy traffic and tight spaces can get tricky. The actual gameplay of Cloudpunk centers around driving your HOVA. If you don’t pimp your ride for maximum lighting, what are you even doing here? After a promising hands-on with Cloudpunk at last year’s EGX Berlin, I was excited to fly freely around the city and see if it had real substance behind the neon glare. You’ll spend most of Cloudpunk piloting your HOVA, a flying car capable of navigating Nivalis in a full three dimensions. Along the way, our heroine will have a literal crash course in the highs and lows of Nivalis society.įortunately, Rania doesn’t have to make her deliveries Death Stranding-style. It’s her first night on the job at Cloudpunk, a shady courier company that delivers basically anything, to anyone, anywhere, from the burned-out wreckage of the vents to the glittering heights of the ultra-rich. Protagonist Rania is a fresh immigrant to the futuristic mega city of Nivalis. Cloudpunk, the futuristic flying car adventure/exploration game from Ion Lands, is a cyberpunk game that dispenses with gunplay and focuses on connections.
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