Cloudpunk – City of Ghosts Review – PC

Have you ever watched Blade Runner and wished, just wished that you could exist in the city for a while? Like, not as Deckard, but just in the background. Flying one of the hover cars around the city. If so, Cloudpunk is for you. This game is the perfect emulator for just that particular desire.

Cloudpunk caught me off guard. I dug its retro-esque voxel-based graphical style. I immersed myself in the rain-streaked, neon-coated vibe of the city of Nivalis. I loved the characters and their many, unexpectedly poignant stories. I found myself surprised by the subtlety by which the game created tension without violence.

The game was pretty great when it first released and then, the developers added first person modes to the walking and driving portions, which just made the experience even more immersive. It was almost like playing a brand new game.

Then, they released City of Ghosts, which is a full story expansion DLC to the base game. It is so intricately developed and written that it is essentially a sequel to the original game. For those who played the original, you can look forward to picking up with Rania, Camus, and Pashta, discovering the next chapter in their story. Additionally, you will also play as a second main character named Hayse, whose attitude and character is very different from Rania’s.

Not only is there a whole new story to engage with, but the game itself has been upgraded with some improved graphical effects. Notably, the faces of characters are more detailed now, with more, smaller voxels making up the faces, giving them more unique appearances. Also, the customization options for your HOVA (hover car) have been given a complete overhaul, allowing you to tweak the look and feel of the car to your heart’s content.

And if you enjoyed the moral and ethical dilemmas that the first game presented you, you’ll be pleased to know that there are many more where that came from. Even within the first few minutes of the game, you’re making tough calls about how to proceed.

On top of everything else, I feel like profits from the original went toward hiring a higher tier of voice actors for the DLC, because the fully voiced characters sound much more natural this time around, which was probably one of my only minor gripes with the original game.

Overall, Cloudpunk has been one of those games that I thought I’d play for a couple of hours, experience the “gimmick” and then move onto something else, but this really got under my skin with its unique style, chill but engaging gameplay, and immersive storytelling and atmosphere. I keep going back to it and now that City of Ghosts is here, I’ve got plenty more Nivalis to explore and enjoy.

I can easily and confidently recommend this title plus it’s amazing DLC to anyone, whether you’re returning to Nivalis or exploring it for the first time, it is quite a treasure of a game to add to your library.

 

Author: Brice Boembeke
My first memories of gaming are from when I was 5 years old and my dad got a Commodore 64. It has been almost 30 years and my passion for gaming has only grown. I play a little bit of everything, but am particularly interested in the emergent and unscripted gameplay that comes from open world, sandbox-style online multiplayer games. It is a very exciting time to be a gamer, but I still feel like the best is yet to come. I can’t wait to see what comes next.

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