Night has fallen over Nivalis. Rain pours relentlessly, and flying cars move like blood through the city’s arteries. A dense ceiling of clouds smothers the sky, pressing down on the towering buildings. Rania has just arrived in the city and is already aboard her HOVA, ready for her first delivery for Cloudpunk.

Cloudpunk Story and Setting

Cloudpunk, developed by Ion Lands and published by Maple Whispering Limited, is a narrative-driven indie game released in April 2020. Originally launched for PC, the game later arrived on consoles including PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.

The game tells the story of a single night in Nivalis, a rainy and somber cyberpunk metropolis set in an unspecified future, crisscrossed by an intricate network of lanes navigated by its inhabitants aboard flying vehicles.

One more thing, 14FC… Welcome to Cloudpunk.

Rania, codenamed 14FC, is a young woman who emigrated from the Eastern Peninsula in search of a better life in Nivalis. She has accepted a job as a courier for Cloudpunk, a mysterious underground delivery service that promises good pay. They have given her a HOVA to make her deliveries.

Driving Through Nivalis: Gameplay and Exploration

The game takes place entirely within the streets and multiple levels of the metropolis. Here, Rania speeds through city traffic to deliver packages. Similar to Lake, an indie game with a much brighter and more colorful tone, driving is essentially the only real gameplay mechanic. The game is deeply narrative, using deliveries as a pretext to explore the city and tell Rania’s story.

Two rules kid. Don’t miss a delivery and don’t ask what’s inside the package.

Rania proves to be ambitious and witty, bold and unafraid to crack jokes at anyone’s expense. She shows no reverential fear and faces everyone head-on. The dialogues are often humorous, maintaining a comedic tone that balances the darkness of the environment and the melancholy of some of the stories.

Cloudpunk’s graphics employ a voxel aesthetic. In particular, this modeling technique uses small cubes as 3D pixels to give the game an original and evocative look that complements the sharp lights of Nivalis. As for the soundtrack, a subtle electronic ambient score smoothly accompanies the story and gameplay. The sound of relentless rain and the echo of advertising slogans from the loudspeakers help create a deeply immersive atmosphere.

Cloudpunk‘s Cyberpunk World

Cloudpunk tackles themes typical of cyberpunk world-building, which become increasingly evident as the story progresses. Consequently, the analysis will focus on the pervasive capitalism of Nivalis, racism, and, above all, the massive gap between rich and poor. Only a very small elite live in the Over Cloud, at the highest levels of the metropolis. They are the only ones who can enjoy the luxury of seeing the sky. Like in Cyberpunk 2077, the city itself becomes a central character.

Lastly, if there is a heaven, then there is also a hell. The base of the social pyramid survives in the slums, in the forgotten districts, in the Marrow. The Lim, the local currency, is mentioned in nearly every dialogue. Almost every character Rania meets lacks enough limbs to make a life in the city, to leave, or even to survive.

Nivalis traps everyone between its towering buildings, under a roof of black clouds. Everyone is confined to the city, even without bars. The Lim rules everything. Wander into the alleys, talk to someone, and it becomes clear what the inhabitants are willing to do to earn a few of them.

I don’t think about buildings when I look up. I think about the people looking down on me.

City of Ghosts and the Future of Cloudpunk

Cloudpunk features a very simple structure but boasts a notable track record. The game received eight award nominations and won big at DevGAMM 2020. In 2021, it also claimed Best Game World at the Deutscher Computerspielpreis.

The universe of Cloudpunk did not end with Rania’s adventures; instead, it finds new life in the City of Ghosts DLC, a true sequel featuring new plot twists, underground racing, and a second protagonist, Hayse. Furthermore, Ion Lands has announced the release of Nivalis, a spin-off chapter. Expected in 2026, the protagonist will no longer be a courier but an inhabitant making their way through the metropolis by managing restaurants and nightclubs while cultivating relationships with clients.