Cloudpunk is more an immersive mood piece than it is as a compelling video game. The sparse gameplay elements are more an afterthought, tacked onto a stylistically competent if cliche cyberpunk dystopia. To me it makes the creators seem almost desperate, more proud of the world they've rendered than eager for me to play their actually viable interactive game. The third person camera is pulled way back - so far that it is sometimes hard to discern the player character from the blocky denizens of this trite metropolis. They're practically begging you to take your hand off the keyboard to step back and marvel at the volume of voxels displayed.

But is the world truly that interesting? It's a one note cyberpunk megalopolis, where even though individual apartment blocks are visually distinct, they lack an emotional distinction. What remains is a muddy pastiche of obvious influences without a coherent design statement of its own. I searched for something to attach to here, but was left floating on the breeze.

I don't doubt that some will love the atmospheric driving, revel in the tales told on the radio, and fall into a complacent enjoyment of Cloudpunk's meager interactivity. Certainly this looked compelling enough for me to try it. But just like the city itself, looks can be deceiving. With a little more edge, a little more focus, and a lot more player input, perhaps Cloudpunk could have risen beyond it's mood board aspirations.