It’s a world where CEOs are inaccessible demigods living in the clouds, and where the technology that underpins the city is so ancient, so intricate, so muddled, that its maintenance engineers are more akin to priests of an unknowable deity. Nevertheless, Nivalis’ society is fascinating, what with its blend of cyberpunk science-fiction with a hint of techno-mythology. Some of the stories are a little hamfisted in their treatment of class differences, with caricatured characters standing in for the disaffected elite. As I went through the motions and let the delectable atmosphere sink in, I found it hard to pull away from Rania’s car, from the cosy voice of her handler ‘Control’, from her pet AI dog Camus, and from the many colourful characters whose stories I explored. I pushed on with Rania’s story instead, following easy waypoints and listening to the many conversations that I encountered along the way.Ĭloudpunk’s story might feel a little slow at the beginning, but the game works best as a long soak. Although the city is peppered with collectibles and merchants, I never felt obligated to go out of my way for them. The actual gameplay of Cloudpunk involves mostly driving and a little bit of running on foot, but on the whole, it’s fiercely obedient to its narrative. Nivalis is the heart that beats underneath Cloudpunk the game, and although the game is set over the course of a single night, it covers so much ground (or air), that like Rania, you’ll come to settle into Nivalis as an uneasy new home.
![cloudpunk car cloudpunk car](https://gamesinanutshell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/maxresdefault-8.jpg)
![cloudpunk car cloudpunk car](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/39/96/44/399644fc177cfdfe4db3f9c1596b55fb.jpg)
![cloudpunk car cloudpunk car](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Hwdz4tY-IFw/maxresdefault.jpg)
As you meet the many characters that eke out an existence in this dystopia, you will find hope and ambition intermingled with despair and depravity. You’ll fly your coloured vehicle trail across the stunning vistas of capitalist enterprise, and you’ll find the colourful contrasting with the dark. It’s rare to find a genuine 3D open world game in the indie sphere, but developer Ion Lands has mastered the craft in their very first go. Within each of these slices, you get to fly around in your beaten-down car and land in designated parking spots. Nivalis is chopped up into several slices, which are connected by Ascenders that take you up or down as necessary (but really just transition you from one map to another). Like Rania, you are new to the city of Nivalis, a place of towering skyscrapers, ominously moody rain, and the comforting glow of neon signs and lit windows. The jobs you get from this agency aren’t strictly legal, and your rules are simple: you don’t miss deliveries, and you don’t ask what’s in the package.
![cloudpunk car cloudpunk car](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ECxgerdYSCk/maxresdefault.jpg)
#CLOUDPUNK CAR DRIVER#
In Cloudpunk, you play as Rania, a newly-signed-on delivery driver for the illicit service known only in whispers as Cloudpunk. Crime Cities did feature dogfights and action, whereas Cloudpunk is a strictly peaceful affair, but that’s all the better: that’s what the appeal was for me, anyway. I was reminded of its dingy, crime-infested world and flying cars when I first read about Cloudpunk. I played it for an evening, and then mostly forgot about it for years.
#CLOUDPUNK CAR PC#
Does it deliver? Here’s what we think.Ī very long time ago, I played the demo to a visionary PC game called Crime Cities. 19 Jun, 2020 In Cloudpunk, we run possibly shady deliveries in the bowels of a rainy cyberpunk city.