Cloudheim Review | A Fun but Safe Adventure Among the Clouds

Adventures across the land, decimating the corrupted and awakening the gods to bring harmony once again to the many worlds throughout Cloudheim, was a journey I was ready to endure. But did it live up to my expectations after playing its Early Access build as it now heads into full release?

It was bittersweet. After playing the Early Access of Cloudheim, I was ready to jump back in after waiting months for its full release on December 4th. I enjoyed my time with Cloudheim, but during my time with the full release of the game, I felt underwhelmed, with a desire for a more meaningful and rewarding impact. I saw the potential of the game during my time in Early Access and was wishfully hoping the full release would create that gameplay hook I yearned for. But something is missing - the magic!

Where’s the Magic?

The game is a solid experience, but a safe adventure. The combat is fluid and fun, yet it’s simple, almost too simple. Think of it more as a button-mashing weekend blast. It’s not stressful to play; its simplistic approach makes it easy for you and three of your friends to jump in, head out bashing creatures, pull off 100, 200, or even 300-hit combos, and fill your chest full of loot.

As I mentioned, the combat is fun and flashy, so much so that if you suffer from epilepsy, you may want to consider your playtime. During my time playing co-op, which worked well, the fights between us and our monstrous foes saw flashes of light cross the screen - sparks of bright white and flashing numbers seemed almost too much to bear in tighter areas of combat compared to being out in the open lands.

But where’s the magic of the gameplay loop? That hook or grind that keeps you wanting more. That desire to head out again and again for more loot? I didn’t get that sense of need, the desire to explore for more loot or to fight creatures that would drop incredible material that would make me rush back to the Odin Shell, your base of operations (a big turtle in the sky), where I could forge my next piece of legendary gear to help slay the beast I was outmatched against. That magical loop isn’t there.

Sure, the creatures drop loot, and chests are scattered across the lands with various forms of material and gear. I was never shy of having a full inventory. I could then head back to my shell in the sky and work on building my shop, sell the items I found to NPCs similar to Moonlighter, or forge them into some other form of gear. However, once the forge-eating monster is done crafting the material, it throws it out somewhere in front of you, just on the ground. The cleansing pool does the same - cleansing the corrupted items and throws the items out somewhere on the ground, scattered about, forcing me to run around and pick up all the materials that were just cleansed. It would have been nice to see these items go into some form of inventory slot attached to the forge or the cleansing pool. This is a strange mechanic that I would love to see patched.

Is That Zelda?

The world is bright and vibrant, colorfully lush with heavy pulls of inspirational ties to Zelda: Breath of the Wild or Tears of the Kingdom, even down to some of the creatures you’ll face. The art direction feels like it was pulled right from Nintendo’s legendary Zelda Studio team themselves. I personally loved it. The game’s art style is timeless and pleasing to the eye, full of life and personality.

Old Habits Die Hard

In my preview of Cloudheim, I mentioned a few issues I had with the game at the time of writing - were they addressed with the full release? Well, most of them were. Texture popping was certainly an issue that I am pleased to say has been addressed. I didn’t have any texture pop-in or texture tearing happen throughout my time with the game. BUT…during combat, I still had enemies fall into the world. Halfway through combat, beating down on a creature only to have it fall into the world, requiring you to completely eliminate all foes within a specific area - can most certainly ruin a good adventure. This forced me to restart the mission or die, to head back to a checkpoint in hopes of fixing the fallen enemy at hand. (Checkpoint restarts seem to work.)

After defeating these creative creatures, large and small, I was able to upgrade my skills with a single button press. There is no skill tree that you can work towards with a specific build in mind. Instead, you have classes that each feature a unique set of abilities and upgrades. When using a skill tied to a specific class enough times, it levels up with a press of a button, unlocking new abilities to use to change your loadout. Again, this keeps things very simple and easy to jump straight into, consider the game to be a RPG-lite experience.

Out of the Clouds

Cloudheim is just short of having that magical hook. I know why I’m here, what my drive and motivation is, but my experience left me feeling empty without the draw or desire that will often pull you back to a game. That, sprinkled with little annoyances throughout left me with hopes of just a bit more. The gameplay was fun, combat was easy and accessible, the world looks visually stunning, co-op works well, and exploring dungeons is enjoyable. However, I really wanted that WOW moment - that “I can’t believe this happened” water-cooler moment, discussing my adventure with friends about their journey as well.

I recommend Cloudheim but know what you are jumping into is a rather simplistic RPG-lite action adventure. There is an abundance of loot to sell, craft, upgrade, build your shop and lands to explore. But the game just falls short of that wowing magic that will keep you coming back for more with your friends.