Cloudpunk is a game about taking packages from one location and moving them to another location with a bit of cloak and dagger. Wait does this mean you play as Santa? No, but you do get to ride around in a hover vehicle while exploring an immersive city. Released for the Nintendo Switch on October 15, 2020, will it be a big hit or simply hover away from the neon spotlight? Here is our review of Cloudpunk for the Nintendo Switch.
Specs and Data
- Price: $24.99
- Release date: Oct 15, 2020
- Players: 1 Player
- Genre: Adventure, Action
- Game file size: 3.4 GB
- Publisher: Merge Games
- Play modes: TV mode, Tabletop mode, handheld mode
If you are a fan of dark cities with bright lights, Man, oh man! you are in for a treat. This game features just that. Sprawling cityscapes that showcase the neon-noir style with a bit of cyberpunk mashed in. Players play as “Rania”, a brand new semi-legal delivery driver for the company Cloudpunk. At first, you may notice the “Fifth element” inspiration with the whole hovering car vibe. This was a perfectly well-rounded touch that left me wanting to play more and experience all that the vibrant city of Nivalus has to offer. For the most part, the missions are simple and easy to follow with some complexity while needed to drive you to the next delivery.
Right of the bat, one of my favorite cliché’s, do not ask what is in the package! Seems like every game or movie that has anything to do with transporting an undisclosed package to an unknown destination and bases the entire plot on this very line. With that being said, this did not hinder my ability to enjoy this game. I found wandering around the city masked in darkness and pretty light up signs most appealing and almost relaxing. This was possible due to the remarkably well put together atmosphere created by the over of style, music, and sound effects. The traffic sounds and even the constant rain sounds added to the overall atmosphere. I would almost go as far as to say some parts could be downright euphoric.
The controls are easy to adapt to with only a slight learning curve. Since you are using hovercar players need to pay attention to not only the direction, they are going but the elevation as well. Players use the left stick to control the direction, the right stick for vertical controls. This can lead to players feeling a bit busy during gameplay. The vibration controls had various levels and could feel and hear the different vibrations for the type of impacts made during hovering.
Sporting the Minecraft/Lego block style textures and is visually appealing at both distances viewing as well as up close in the city. While I would have liked to have seen more smooth textures and even some edge blurring options in the menus, I found it personally simple and effective. The vivid color palette is right on the money with the dark textures and bright neon signs and effects draw immediate attention. Various NPC’s are roaming around each with their own story. Players can interact with different NPCs to change the story depending on their actions. One could say that each time you Cloudpunk you will never get the same experience.
Performance on the switch was very well implemented and only suffered from random and rare FPS Spikes. Sadly, Cloudpunk does not seem to make use of any of the movement functions that are available to switch users. This may be due to being multiple platform titles and devs did not want to develop additional elements. In-game users could find multiple unlock by exploring the city. This allows users to find additional items as well as items to change things such as the ion trail behind the hovercar.
If you are in the market for a mid-tier priced game, Cloudpunk is a great option. Priced at only 24.99 on the Nintendo marketplace this title has hit the ball out of the park for me. Since I have started playing this title, I have even found myself taking my Switch away from its comfy home on its dock and playing some relaxing sessions while on lunch at work.
