Discovering Cloudheim: The Cooperative Action-RPG That Reimagines Physics and Exploration

One of the most frequent habits in the video game industry is the repetition of models: if a game is successful, you can be sure that a long series of similar titles will arrive on stores shortly to capitalize on the wave of the moment. Recent examples are countless. Often, a single successful game is enough to create an entire genre (think, for example, of what happened after Minecraft or Vampire Survivors). However, there are huge exceptions: although released way back in 2017 and immediately becoming a cult classic for critics and audiences, very few have dared to approach Zelda: Breath of the Wild and its style. At least until these days, when Cloudheim by Noodle Cat Games arrived in Early Access.

What is Cloudheim?

The plot of Cloudheim begins with Ragnarok, a catastrophic recurring event in Norse mythology through which the world is erased to begin anew. However, the rift created by Ragnarok has brought corruption to this world, through mysterious portals that open to other places and other times. Aware of the consequences of these events, Odin (a deity in the form of a gigantic flying turtle) and the goddess Sylf set out in search of old fallen gods to convince them to help them rebuild the new world, but in this mission, they need the earthly help of someone special.

Now, at this point in the story, in any ancient myth (but also modern; much of our contemporary narrative still adheres to these models, speaking of cycles and repetition) would come the moment of the destined one, the chosen one, the single individual possessing unique qualities on whose shoulders rests the fate of the world. In the case of Cloudheim, however, there isn't a single hero on a mission to redeem the world, but rather a handful of heroes... gathered in a party through an internet connection. Cloudheim, in fact, is (among many things) also a co-op action RPG.

It doesn't resemble it at all!

Despite the obvious reference represented by the graphic style, a cell shading in some elements strongly indebted to the imagery of Breath of the Wild, Cloudheim is a game quite different from Zelda. The first point of divergence is represented by the weight of the narrative in the game context: as far as we have seen so far (always remembering that we are at the beginning of Early Access), the plot of Cloudheim is rather stylized and simple, conceived for now as a pretext to get into action. At this moment, Cloudheim's structure is much more similar to that of an online role-playing game than to the classic RPG epic, right from the start where you have to decide whether to start your own game room (where you grant access via invitation or by leaving the door ajar for friends) or access an already existing one by participating in someone else's game in co-op.

The main difference, however, lies deeper, in a combat model taken from stylish action and fitted (very well from what has been seen so far) into the structure of an RPG, with the addition of physics-based dynamics. Clashes are based on accumulating combos (even between multiple players), which increase the damage dealt by attacks, where special abilities also find space. Among these, some are fixed regardless of the class (4 available, all very classic) such as the lasso and the kick, obviously designed to be used in combination. Combine this mechanic with widespread environmental destruction and you can easily imagine how battlefields often turn into a storm of goblins and pieces of columns flying across the scenario.

Between one mission and another, there are also more reflective moments, experienced on Odin's back, where it is necessary to deal with reconstruction. The various resources recovered in combat can be invested here to build your base and create weapons or other useful items. The evolution of weapons, in particular, is based exclusively on crafting, so it becomes very important to explore the areas of the different missions in detail to collect materials and discover rarities useful for creating more powerful and effective items.

Summing Up

Appearances can often be deceiving: despite the graphic style openly paying homage to Zelda, Cloudheim follows its own path that distinguishes it from other titles, while still re-mixing a series of familiar elements. The structure is that of a co-op RPG, where players can enter and exit, and while missions can also be tackled alone, they work much better in a group, shortening times (and thus repetitiveness) but also occasionally giving rise to unforeseen situations made possible by the strongly physics-based combat system.

The idea of introducing pure action mechanics within an RPG framework is intriguing and already works quite well, but other elements are still a bit unripe, especially the narrative component which is currently quite limited. However, it should be kept in mind that Cloudheim has only been available for a few days and in Early Access, a formula that, if well exploited, can allow Noodle Cat Games to find the right way to tie together the different souls of their new title, making the gaming experience more cohesive and fluid than it currently is. The potential for an interesting evolution during these months of EA, however, seems to be there.