This weekend we decided to take a look at this game that promises a lot. Rising Star’s and Coilworks’s Cloudbuilt has been greenlit and will be released on Steam Next month.
The first impression i got of the game was pure enjoyment, I can’t deny that the first thing that crossed my mind was “Omg, this is a Sci-Fi aerial parkour game, and it’s Animeish too. Sign me up!”. It should be noted that we played an 80% complete version and not the final version of the game, we still did get to see split toe parkour shoes though and that made us happy. The developers have commented that they will improve animations, enemy feedback and online features are yet to be implemented.
From what i was told by a developer of the game, the game was planned to be played with a mouse and a keyboard, the classic WASD to move around, space bar to jump and so on. Jumping down off a ledge feels odd by using CTRL, i feel this can and should be improved.
This build does not have support for gamepad, i was told they already tested control pad support, this will be enabled around the time game is released or post release. As the game was designed to work with a keyboard and mouse this will always be the best way to play it.
The game’s story seems to be based on events after one war or cataclysm that took place in this fictional world, your character lies in bed recovering from his wounds and you learn more of the events that transcurred as you progress through the game by unlocking electronic diary logs.
With quite intricate and unique levels to explore, the visual style of the game is quite remarkable, pencil cross stitch lines combined with a bit of cell shade and character design that is clearly influenced by anime, we can say that it’s a winning combination that looks great. Colorful and surreal scenery that is pleasant to the eye.
When you finish a level you get a rating based on the time and the number of times you died. I’m not really a big fan of this system but i guess it fits the fast paced gameplay of the game, although like i said this may not be everyone’s cup of tea.
The game takes elements from various titles and genres and mixes them into something quite special. Rocket boosting and jumping walls that remind us of Mirror’s Edge, wall running like in Prototype, fighting mechas that giving me aGhost in the Shell dejavu and more, Cloudbuilt is truly promising. Without a doubt a game that will appeal to gamers and anime fans alike!
I can’t wait to get my hands on the final release of the game, you should keep an eye for the release date as this is a winner.
