Cloudheim is Gorgeous, Needs Polish

My first impressions of Cloudheim when I saw it was:

“Hot damn! What a cool looking game.”

While it leans towards a more anime/gacha visual style (not really my thing) I can’t deny how gorgeous it looked in screenshots. It reminded me a bit of Genshin Impact x Legend of Zelda, with creature designs that could be something out of Studio Ghibli.

However, games aren’t just as good as their visuals, and Cloudheim definitely has potential. But I can’t help but feel like Cloudheim is suffering from a bit of an identity crisis. Is this going to be a narrative driven game, or is it going to be an open physics-based sandbox? Who knows? It might even be both. 

Cloudheim definitely plays a bit loose with who you can play as. I’d argue it’s less of a role-playing game and more of a class-based open world co-op adventure game with some progression mechanics. Characters aren’t distinct entities. Instead, your class is determined by the weapon type you carry. There’s nothing wrong with this, per se, but those coming in expecting a more traditional role-playing game character creation might be in for a bit of a culture shock. 

The physics-based combat is as-advertised, and fun on its own. Environments are often destructable, and I found amusement by kicking my enemies off of ledges or into pillars–which break down appropriately. But the combat doesn’t feel polished and as engaging as I had hoped.

There’s a fine line with physics-based combat systems, and right now Cloudheim is teetering a bit more towards Goat Simulator style jankiness than what I would expect from a serious action role-playing game. But this is really just this author’s humble opinion–the community will be able to weigh-in soon enough.

There is also the clunky base building system. I felt like I was infodumped during the hectic tutorial, so there is obvious room for improvement there. I was tasked with constructing a number of buildings in a row with very little context for why. It would have been better if Cloudheim paced this out—perhaps having me build a station, complete a task in the world, and then return to introduce another aspect.

I really just wanted to get out there and explore, kick a few more enemies off ledges–you know, have fun.

On the upside, the fact that your base is built on the back of a giant flying turtle definitely earns points in my book. However, the effect is largely visual; in reality, you’re in an instanced environment disconnected NV from the greater world.

It's practical for game performance, but a bit disappointing for the fantasy. I’m hoping the introduction to crafting can be smoothed out as the game progresses through Early Access.

Cloudheim is going to be in early access for the next 9-12 months, as stated in the Early Access information box on its Steam store page. Developer. Noodle Cat Games promises regular updates as the community plays the game and provides feedback. I have some high hopes for Cloudheim, because developer Noodle Cat Games is founded by David Hunt, lead designer on Fortnite.

If even a small spark of that success touches Cloudheim Noodle Cat will have a winner on their hands. The Early Access roadmap is a bit vague on when, but it definitely has a long list of exciting things to look forward to, like new islands, weapons, enemies, dungeons, characters, class abilities–among many other items.

Cloudheim releases today on Early Access on PC, but there are also plans for Cloudheim to come to consoles on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S/X soon.