If there is one genre that there is a lack of titles in over the past few years it would be 3D platformers. Aside from Yooka-Laylee, there has been little in the way of games currently in development of that genre. As luck would have it, however, I was recently introduced to Cloudbase Prime, a game that fits into the genre but has more than a few twists to bring you something new.
Cloudbase Prime is a First Person Perspective 3D platformer with FPS elements, currently on Steam Early Access. It is being developed and published by indie developer Floating Island Games and released in Early Access September 21st, 2016. A full release is expected in early 2017.
Cloudbase Prime is a title that is full of humour, addicting and exciting gameplay and enough content to make it more than worth its asking price of $9.99.
Disclaimer: Cloudbase Prime is currently in an alpha stage of development. This article does not represent the finished product.
Not an average day at the office
You take on the role of a very talkative and excitable robot on a giant gas mining platform who has the ability to change its architecture by moving parts of it up. Just as your day begins, everything starts to go to hell. You come under attack by robots just like you but with their programming being corrupt.
You battle your way through the many malevolent robots eventually reaching the communications antenna which too shared the same fate as your once functioning friends. Upon defeating it, the platform breaks and you being to descend into the vast nothingness below.
Eventually, you find yourself on another platform, in a place completely alien to you. It is here that your journey begins as you attempt to uncover what happened above. What happened to the other bots? Where are you? Your only choice is to press on. It is anything but an average day.
The plot to Cloudbase Prime is interesting and quite different to anything else. As you progress through the game you begin to discover what happened and where it is that you are. That mixed in with the over the top characters of the protagonist and the other robots you meet, bring together a truly humorous and exciting plot that is as enjoyable from the start to the end.
Move the terrain and blast your enemies
In order to progress through the levels, you will need to move the terrain, allowing you to reach areas that would otherwise be impossible. When you stand on a platform and then move it, it fires you to great heights allowing you to glide your way to further platforms.
It isn’t just useful for getting to unreachable platforms by normal means. The ability too can be used as a weapon against your enemies. While an enemy stands on a platform, if you throw them in the air, it leaves them immobile for a duration, giving you the perfect opportunity to shoot them.
This all may sound quite simple so far but as you progress, things begin to become a lot more complex. You begin to encounter runways that you stick to and move you at exceptional speed. Later in the game, you need to move the platforms these are held up with adjusting their height to gain maximum speed in order to reach a specific area.
It gives certain puzzle elements to specific parts of the game, as you attempt to figure out how to get to certain areas. Some such areas contain upgrades, giving you new and better abilities, to help you blast away your enemies. Even with the game being in a relatively early stage of development, there is plenty of fun to be had from gameplay and levels.
There really is nothing else quite like it out there and if this is the exhilarating gameplay that is being produced this early in the game’s development, I can’t wait to see what the developer has in store as it progresses.
Upgrades and new abilities
A lot of the levels throughout the game contain hidden upgrades and new abilities for you to find. These upgrades come in two different forms, those being abilities that require fuel or upgrading your weapon. New abilities include Shockwave that causes a massive wave of platforms to move, causing anything in its path to plummet into the air.
Another example would be combust, that allows you to explode any enemy fire that is near you. Each time you use such a power, it uses fuel. Fuel is gained by flinging enemies into the air and then killing them.
As for weapon upgrades, you gain new attacks such as charged attack, that charges up your normal attack to greater size and damage. Another would be the homing attack, that allows you lock onto multiple enemies and fire a number of attacks at them in quick succession.
While none of the upgrades is essential to progressing through the game, they do make your life a hell of a lot easier. They also give the levels a bit more depth and replayability if you didn’t find an upgrade the first time around. Each of them is fun to use and are definitely worth experimenting with in various ways that they can aid you.
Simple yet effective level design
The levels in Cloudbase Prime take a more minimalistic approach to their design compared to most games. While this is the case this is not a bad thing. If the game was to have more detailed design it would lose its charm. It is using this design choice that helps make the levels all the more alien.
With big spacious areas with platforms of all sizes scattered throughout, that is at least what you find in the earlier levels. As you progress however you begin to see more alien sights such as giant floating jellyfish that you go inside and even a massive mechanical dragon.
The levels and sights in Cloudbase Prime are nothing like you have seen before and they beautiful to witness. Each of the levels also has objectives that you will need to complete. Most levels require you to find a number of fix bots.
Fix bots are small hyperactive childlike robots that fix things. They are required to find a certain amount of them to unlock new levels. Other levels have objectives like surviving a specific amount of time or destroying a massive evil robot factory with the help of robotic bunnies.
While the variety of objectives is a bit low, there are more planned for the game’s final release. If the levels are this much fun and varying at this point in development, I really can’t wait to see what new challenges the developer has planned for the future.
An amazing platformer
Cloudbase Prime may be an Early Access title but it is a game that has so much to offer, far more than most titles you will see in Early Access. While I have been fortunate enough to play some very entertaining and extremely fun titles over the past few weeks, Cloudbase Prime definitely sits at the top of Mt Fun.
It is a game that has unique, entertaining and fun gameplay, silly over the top yet light-hearted humorous characters and beautiful levels that are like nothing you have ever seen before. If this is the marvellous work that is being shown now at such as early stage of development, then the future of Cloudbase Prime is showing nothing but positivity.
Disclaimer: A copy of the game was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this preview.
Cloudbase Prime is available to buy on Steam for $9.99.
