Cloud Spin Review

Cloud Spin is a quite gorgeous game to look at. Never skipping a beat visually, it uses the Unreal Engine well to provide a fast-paced and enjoyable racing game like few others already out there. Do be aware of slightly flaky controls, though.

Keeping it relatively simple, Cloud Spin offers a delightfully uncluttered interface. Straightforward instructions early on provide everything one needs to know. Flying around the screen is just a matter of swiping a finger in the relevant direction. Holding a second finger to the screen gives the player a speed boost, and that's pretty much all that needs to be taught. Then it's just a matter of gliding around each arena, collecting stars, dodging obstacles, and hoping to gain a precious medal at the end.

It sounds quite relaxing and therapeutic, but admittedly that's not the case here. Cloud Spin is a pretty fast-paced game and in order to gain medals, one has to be speedy as well as a risk taker. Points are accumulated through regular acquisition of stars, successful dodges, and flying through speed rings. Build these up towards a decent combo score and a medal could be flying one's way. Medals lead to the unlocking of a more soothing Free Flight mode, as well as a particularly tough level right at the end of the tournament listing.

It might initially seem like there aren't many levels to unlock but Cloud Spin is a reasonably challenging game so it'll take a while to truly get there. Unfortunately, some of this challenge comes from some niggling control issues. An exaggerated swipe to move often ensures that Lucky the flying rabbit goes too far in the desired direction for comfort. More subtle swipes aren't always more effective either as, at times, the game just doesn't respond as well as it should. It's not a complete deal breaker but it is something that could do with some tweaking.

Despite such issues, however, Cloud Spin is still quite the delight. Occasionally I found myself wishing to be able to buy upgrades and other filler, but it really doesn't need that. Working refreshingly well, free of micro-transactions and complexities, Cloud Spin is good, solid fun.