I started playing Cloudpunk. It's set in a large futuristic city in the sky that people get around in via flying cars. If you've ever wanted to dodge traffic and buildings like in The Fifth Element, this is the game for you. The flying is fun, the city feels alive, the atmosphere is great and the voxel-like art style is very appealing. I'm really digging the cockpit view that the developers recently added. That and the 1st person walking mode give a nice sense of immersion (though you can also go with 3rd person for both).
Unfortunately, there isn't much to the gameplay. Each mission involves picking up a package and taking it to its destination, with dialogue triggers at various points that develop the story. It's like a cross between Euro Truck Simulator and a story-driven walking simulator. The only challenge (if you can call it that) is avoiding traffic and finding a way to your destination. So, it's a casual game, which is fine, but I'm finding the story to be uninteresting and mostly irritating. The voiceovers don't sound natural, you usually can't skip them and you often have to wait them out to find out where to go next. If you're going to make me listen to 5 minutes of boring conversation between my character and another, give me the waypoint first, so that I can listen (or not) while I'm making my way to it, instead of banging my head on the steering wheel while parked. Little things like that go a long way in game design, but it feels like this may be the developers' first game and they didn't think the game design out from the beginning. It's like they created this lively world with a great aesthetic and atmosphere and then tried to think up some gameplay. It's a shame because there could've been a really awesome game here if the gameplay were as good as the style.
Still, in spite of the major issues that I have and quitting out of disgust each time, I keep loading it up because the world and the driving are cool. It scratches that cyberpunk/The Fifth Element/Blade Runner itch and there aren't enough games that do. I can't really recommend it, personally, but most reviews are much better, so it seems like I'm in the minority. If you need something to occupy yourself until Cyberpunk 2077 (or if your machine can't handle that), you might look into it. Just don't expect anywhere close to the same level of gameplay or story. It's for Windows, XB1, PS4 and Switch.
Unfortunately, there isn't much to the gameplay. Each mission involves picking up a package and taking it to its destination, with dialogue triggers at various points that develop the story. It's like a cross between Euro Truck Simulator and a story-driven walking simulator. The only challenge (if you can call it that) is avoiding traffic and finding a way to your destination. So, it's a casual game, which is fine, but I'm finding the story to be uninteresting and mostly irritating. The voiceovers don't sound natural, you usually can't skip them and you often have to wait them out to find out where to go next. If you're going to make me listen to 5 minutes of boring conversation between my character and another, give me the waypoint first, so that I can listen (or not) while I'm making my way to it, instead of banging my head on the steering wheel while parked. Little things like that go a long way in game design, but it feels like this may be the developers' first game and they didn't think the game design out from the beginning. It's like they created this lively world with a great aesthetic and atmosphere and then tried to think up some gameplay. It's a shame because there could've been a really awesome game here if the gameplay were as good as the style.
Still, in spite of the major issues that I have and quitting out of disgust each time, I keep loading it up because the world and the driving are cool. It scratches that cyberpunk/The Fifth Element/Blade Runner itch and there aren't enough games that do. I can't really recommend it, personally, but most reviews are much better, so it seems like I'm in the minority. If you need something to occupy yourself until Cyberpunk 2077 (or if your machine can't handle that), you might look into it. Just don't expect anywhere close to the same level of gameplay or story. It's for Windows, XB1, PS4 and Switch.
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