review | cloud bank | Jim Quarter

Somewhere in the far future there is a city called Nevalis. When the city reached its limits and they could not build more, they decided to build higher. How long it lasted is unknown, but eventually the buildings became so high that some rose above the clouds. The richer you are, the more you live. The higher the level of the city, the greater the chance of sun warmth that everyone desires. The deeper you go, the more populated the city. The permanent shadow on the ground made it unbearably cold. This bloated city is the biggest dream and nightmare of everyone who lives there. Big, light, busy and vibrant, but without a drop of emotion and depth. For example, listening to or playing jazz can pay for it, and the difference between rich and poor is huge.

When Rania comes to town, she gets a job serving the infamous and illegal packages Cloudpunk. The motto of this delivery company is: We send packages and don’t ask what’s inside. Couriers travel all over Nivalis in fast-flying cars to deliver packages to whoever orders them. To keep up with the ins and outs of her employer, Control, who is actually Rania’s manager, makes regular contact. It will soon become clear that it is not as easy as it seems to be an illegal parcel delivery method in this capital of the world.

Simple setup

Cloudpunk is a game released by ION LANDS in 2020, right after Corona took over the world. Then the game was well received and the inevitable console releases didn’t have to wait long. On August 19 this year, a PlayStation 5 version that was completely optimized for this console was released. People who ever purchase the PlayStation 4 version will get an upgrade at no additional cost.

As mentioned before, she plays the role of Rania. She has just arrived at Nivalis and has a new job at Cloudpunk. She has to pass through the city in a flying car. When she is on site she can stop the car and she will have to keep on her legs where she can deliver the package. This actually continues throughout the game. This sounds boring and sometimes it sure is. Fortunately, the game has something that allows for the collection, delivery and delivery of packages to attract attention. The story in this game is very well developed and there are flying cars, which will definitely be the dream of every driver.

You are flying through the city by car. There are special areas, you can call them highways, that make you go faster. Outside of these areas you go at a slightly slower speed, but you will have to go there to be able to park your car. The DualSense controller tweaked the adaptive triggers a bit, but other than that, this doesn’t seem like anything extra. The controls are also good. The bends are almost all 45 degrees, so the bend in the highway is always a little weird. While driving, the fuel meter may become empty. So you will have to refuel sometimes. The car can also be damaged and you will sometimes have to visit a repairman who also sells useful upgrades to the car. You can buy a system where you can be very fast for a limited time. To move up or down the car, you can use the left joystick to steer the car. This makes the driving dynamics distinctive. You can now override in several ways. Via the sides, but you can also go up or down.

When Rania reaches her final destination, she has to walk a bit. There are special parking floors where the car can be left behind and then walk across a platform to the final destination. With each platform in the game, there are different parts to collect that you can sell later or use for a side order. There are also many people Rania can talk to. Some of these conversations are a little cute and often lengthy, but there are some really nice conversations between them. For example, I was completely ripped out of my comfort zone when I saw a conversation in which the AI ​​was trying to seduce Rania. Artificial intelligence is a mix between Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory and the voice telling you the building is ready in Command & Conquer. It’s almost the way you’d expect an AI to try to hit a human woman.

long story.

And this is actually where we get to the most important part of the game. The very well laid out futuristic setup is good and driving in a flying car is great, but it’s nothing if it doesn’t have a good story. And this game excels when it comes to the story. There are many parts in it. You play a day in Rania’s life. I fled from the east, why? An artificial intelligence called Kamo travels with her. This friendly look was once a dog, but is now part of the dashboard that Rania uses as a PostNL flying car. There are many individual characters that you will encounter on your travels. Two aristocratic automata almost don’t want to understand what it means to be poorer than them, which makes them terribly arrogant. CORA’s name continues to appear throughout the match. Some Nivalese literally treat her as a deity, while others portray her as the robotic brain behind the city. I think the drawback of the story is that the conversations are sometimes too lengthy. They go over and over. Then the conversation ends and Kamo has to find something again, while you can’t continue during the conversation. It’s a shame as it takes you a bit out of the rhythm of the overall story.

Sometimes you have to choose. Then you will see two tags and you can choose one of them. The consequences are minimal. Maybe a change in dialogue with someone, but it kind of ends there. It’s not that the whole story of the game depends on your choices, but you don’t have to be with this game. It’s interesting enough to grab your attention, and especially in the last hours of the game, I really enjoyed the intrigue and the way this game takes you to get you where you want to go.

conclusion

Cloudpunk is now 2 years old. The differences between the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 version are noteworthy, but not huge. This does not matter. PlayStation 4 version owners can upgrade for free, so that’s okay. You spend about ten hours in the game to complete the whole story. It sounds like a lot and at times this sci-fi narrative can go on a bit with conversations, but it’s good enough to keep you screwed up and going. So I can honestly recommend this game to anyone who wants to play a movie with a good narrative that is fun to play.