Cloudpunk from Merge Games is a voxel-based charming cyberpunk-noir game in which you take on the very dangerous job of delivering packages. Learn more in our Cloudpunk review!
In Cloudpunk from Merge Games, you will take on the very serious and dangerous job of delivering packages. You will play as Rania, who has just started to work on a new job with the Cloudpunk delivery service company – a semi-legal entity of sorts. You will explore the city of Nivalis, going as high – or low – as needed to be able to always deliver the packages you transport on time. The game is of the voxel-based variety, and it does a good job of making everything look gritty and dark, as you’d expect from a noir-style cyberpunk game.
You’ll move with the left analogs tick, steering as needed when driving your vehicle. You can use the L1 and R1 buttons to strafe left and right to avoid any danger, accelerating with the R2 button and hitting the brakes with the L2 button. The L2 button can also be pressed to walk slowly when you’re on foot. The right analog stick is used for ascending and descending when driving around, and you can zoom in and out by pressing up or down on the D-Pad. Pressing left will display your map so that you can see where you’re supposed to be going. You’ll collect items as you go about your day to day life in this cyberpunk world, and you can check your inventory with the Triangle button. The X button is for performing actions – such as interacting with NPC. You can also switch between a side view camera when walking and a third-person camera by pressing the Square button. There’s also the option of zooming in fully and playing in first-person.
You will notice as you start to play Cloudpunk that your HOVA will handle better and be faster when you’re driving over a highway. You should use this to your advantage when you’re in a rush to pick up or deliver a package so that you can build up more speed and momentum to get as close as possible to your destination before you take your HOVA off the road to find a spot where you can park your vehicle to go on foot to find whoever it is you need to talk to in order to keep things moving forward.
Exploring the city is key for you to learn what road leads to which area, as well as to find where you can repair your HOVA or where’s a good spot to grab a bite. Discovering new areas will also reward you with some credits, which you can use to purchase items, pay for the aforementioned repairs or meals, or get upgrades for your HOVA. You can also customize your vehicle, adding a red tracer so that it leaves a red trail behind it, or perhaps a retro antenna that looks just like the ones used by ancient vehicles.
Cloudpunk has a full trophy list with a Platinum trophy waiting for you, asking you to fully upgrade your HOVA, grab a bite at some point during your journey, and complete a dozen or so specific sidequests that are not part of the main story but that are just as important for trophy-hunting purposes. It’s a nice mix of Bronze, Silver, and Gold trophies, and you should pay attention to a handful of them that are very missable if you don’t manage to complete some missions during a very short timeframe.
Cloudpunk is a cyberpunk-infused noir-style adventure that I enjoyed on PlayStation 4. It has a very clear gameplay loop, what with you being tasked with taking on some very questionable deliveries for which you’re required not to make any questions about the package you’re delivering and to never miss a delivery – one case, in particular, has you transporting a ticking package that could be a bomb! Cloudpunk is one of those “love it or hate it” types of games, but if you know what you’re getting yourself into, you’re going to have a great time with this one. Cloudpunk is out on PS4 with a $24.99 asking price.
Disclaimer
This Cloudpunk review is based on a PlayStation 4 copy provided by Merge Games.
