Cloudpunk is a supremely disappointing game. Having completed the entire thing, plus most achievements, this is my say:

While the game's graphics are interesting, recalling visuals from Minecraft, and the atmosphere works, nearly nothing else does in this game.

The gameplay is 90% go from Point A to Point B while being talked at by the characters. There seems to be little, if any, failure state within the game so if you were looking for any sort of challenge, you're wasting your time. You could try collecting items to sell... only to realize that there is nothing worthwhile to buy after you buy the 4 or 5 upgrades for your vehicle. You could do the ONE collection quest... only to notice the game doesn't actually require you to be observant or even diligent, since the game points out every collectable on the map and you don't even need all of them to succeed.

The story is pretty much terrible. The voice acting wooden and emotionless for 90% of the cast, this goes doubly so for the protagonist who can barely seem to muster the energy to sound anything more than several bland shades of sarcastic and bored throughout the game.

The story is preachy and hamfisted. The game seems intent to be so on the nose that it will practically look at the player and say "this is what I am mocking/criticising/parodying'. No need to actually show us complex issues, just have a livestreamer dudebro the protagonist can snark at. Or wealth people using the term 'hyper gentrification' rather than showing us the effects of gentrifying something. Or creating an obnoxious person who the protagonist can call out for cultural appropriation. It's absurdly shallow and the game takes every opportunity it can to nudge you with its elbow to make sure you 'get it' instead of actually using some degree of tact.

Worst, this applies to the game's 'moral choices'. More than once in the game you're faced with a moral dilemma. Except the protagonist (or her car AI) will not-so-subtly tell you what is the 'real' good option to take. And when I decided to actually go against this cajoling, the game's waggled its finger at me and made the protagonist whine about the decision itself.

If you're going to browbeat someone for making a choice in your game, telling them which choice you wanted them to take, then don't offer them a choice.

Keep in mind this is JUST about the game being hamfisted up until this point. I haven't talked about the actual story, which absolutely had potential (if it wasn't undermined due to the subpar voice acting and constantly nudging the player). Except it having potential doesn't mean it is actually good.

The story itself revolves around a conspiracy that the protagonist becomes invested in about a quarter of the way into the game. And then halfway through, the protagonist meets someone who is blatantly proving this conspiracy true... and the protagonist snarkily brushes them off. This absolutely stupid story decision made me walk away from the game for a period of time, blown away by how they undermined both the story up until that point and made it absolutely clear that the protagonist was an absolute moron.

When the best part of your game's story is, essentially, because of a side character, that's a big problem.

The game is boring and unchallenging, the metastory is insultingly unsubtle and actual narrative is a complete mess. If the gameplay is mediocre (at best) and the story is subpar, precisely why should anyone play this game?

I would not recommend this at all. Even on sale for $5, given how the game's writing drags it down.

Cloudpunk is a supremely disappointing game. Having completed the entire thing, plus most achievements, this is my say: While the game's graphics are interesting, recalling visuals from Minecraft, and the atmosphere works, nearly nothing else does in this game. The gameplay is 90% go from Point A to Point B while being talked at by the characters. There seems to be little, if any, failure state within the game so if you were looking for any sort of challenge, you're wasting your time. You could try collecting items to sell... only to realize that there is nothing worthwhile to buy after you buy the 4 or 5 upgrades for your vehicle. You could do the ONE collection quest... only to notice the game doesn't actually require you to be observant or even diligent, since the game points out every collectable on the map and you don't even need all of them to succeed. The story is pretty much terrible. The voice acting wooden and emotionless for 90% of the cast, this goes doubly so for the protagonist who can barely seem to muster the energy to sound anything more than several bland shades of sarcastic and bored throughout the game. The story is preachy and hamfisted. The game seems intent to be so on the nose that it will practically look at the player and say "this is what I am mocking/criticising/parodying'. No need to actually show us complex issues, just have a livestreamer dudebro the protagonist can snark at. Or wealth people using the term 'hyper gentrification' rather than showing us the effects of gentrifying something. Or creating an obnoxious person who the protagonist can call out for cultural appropriation. It's absurdly shallow and the game takes every opportunity it can to nudge you with its elbow to make sure you 'get it' instead of actually using some degree of tact. Worst, this applies to the game's 'moral choices'. More than once in the game you're faced with a moral dilemma. Except the protagonist (or her car AI) will not-so-subtly tell you what is the 'real' good option to take. And when I decided to actually go against this cajoling, the game's waggled its finger at me and made the protagonist whine about the decision itself. If you're going to browbeat someone for making a choice in your game, telling them which choice you wanted them to take, then don't offer them a choice. Keep in mind this is JUST about the game being hamfisted up until this point. I haven't talked about the actual story, which absolutely had potential (if it wasn't undermined due to the subpar voice acting and constantly nudging the player). Except it having potential doesn't mean it is actually good. The story itself revolves around a conspiracy that the protagonist becomes invested in about a quarter of the way into the game. And then halfway through, the protagonist meets someone who is blatantly proving this conspiracy true... and the protagonist snarkily brushes them off. This absolutely stupid story decision made me walk away from the game for a period of time, blown away by how they undermined both the story up until that point and made it absolutely clear that the protagonist was an absolute moron. When the best part of your game's story is, essentially, because of a side character, that's a big problem. The game is boring and unchallenging, the metastory is insultingly unsubtle and actual narrative is a complete mess. If the gameplay is mediocre (at best) and the story is subpar, precisely why should anyone play this game? I would not recommend this at all. Even on sale for $5, given how the game's writing drags it down.