Floating Cloud God Saves The Pilgrims in HD

The PS Vita has quickly become the one-stop shop for indie games, but the vast majority of these are ports from other platforms rather than Vita exclusives.

Floating Cloud God Saves The Pilgrims in HD is one of the rare Vita exclusives, although it's technically a HD remake of a PSP shooter.

Pedantry aside, this is a clever shmup/Missile Command mash-up that is well worth forking out for if you enjoy your side-scrolling shooters.

Godlike

You play as a floating cloud god who is - you guessed it - attempting to save his pilgrims from danger. You float above your followers, and shoot down any enemies before they can kill your flock.

But it's not quite as simple as that. Bullets will fly in all directions, and your pilgrims will only be killed if they are hit directly - hence the nod to the classic Missile Command franchise.

Note that you yourself can't actually die, so it's perfectly reasonable to use your body to block shots and keep specific pilgrims safe. As long as you have just one pilgrim remaining, the game isn't over yet.

There's also an upgrade system in the form of faith. As you kill enemies, hearts will come out of your pilgrims and expand in size. If you can collect some massive hearts before they fade away, your firepower will be increased immensely.

These twists on the base shmup formula are well-designed and enjoyable - the HD visuals in particular look gorgeous, while the new twin-stick controls are well-suited to the action.

Grim

Floating Cloud God isn't a particularly content-packed game. There are just over half a dozen worlds, and you can blast through them comfortably in a couple of hours.

There's some interesting level design on occasion, particularly in the boss battles, and the way in which the game tells you how many pilgrims you've lost a la Cannon Fodder is a nice touch. But, realistically, you're not going to get much more than an evening's enjoyment out of this game.

It's possible to earn special hats for your pilgrims if you manage to keep them all alive, but I'm not really the sort of person who gets excited about hats. Perhaps you are.

I also found the shooting arc to be troublesome at times. The game is very restrictive about which angles you can shoot at, and on numerous occasions I was caught out by enemies above or below me who I believed I'd be able to aim at.

And, notably, Floating Cloud God Saves The Pilgrims in HD doesn't really build all that much on the original - it's essentially the same game, but with souped up visuals and trophies. It's still a satisfying experience, though, and one that shooter veterans will enjoy.

Floating Cloud God Saves The Pilgrims in HD

Floating Cloud God Saves The Pilgrims in HD is a fine shmup, although it doesn't really offer much new over the original
Score
Mike Rose
Mike Rose
An expert in the indie games scene, Mike comes to Pocket Gamer as our handheld gaming correspondent. He is the author of 250 Indie Games You Must Play.