Cloud 9
At first I wasn't sure what to make of
Above the Clouds and its over-the-top humour - somehow I even expected to be driven away by it within some minutes.
Well, I was wrong.
The dev manages to walk the fine line of being hilarious without becoming annoying.
Visuals
The renders are excellent with a lot of attention to detail (facial expressions, gestures, etc.).
Minor nitpicking: Some (unpainted) fingernails have an ugly greyish hue and in some scenes parts of clothes (like straps) seem to be "floating" above the character models.
Speaking of which:
The dev has an outstanding taste in attire - if you like well dressed characters, you're in for a treat.
Scene transitions are a class of its own. Perfection.
Animations are also well done.
Sound
Good music and sound effects - especially the latter fit perfectly with the visuals.
There's also a bit of unobtrusive voice work like exclamations and lewdy moans.
Characters
The characters in
Above the Clouds are well made and the female cast is very attractive.
Lucy (the older sister) is probably my number one so far, she's drop-dead gorgeous.
Minor nitpick: I think she looks older (late 20s) than she's supposed to be (early 20s).
But then, it's really hard to pick a favourite.
Helen (the angel?) is a little minx and almost equally (smoking) hot.
Hannah (the younger sister) is super cute (and totally 18 years old).
Evelyn (the mom) is also very beautiful, a MILF (almost) done right.
Considering she's Luke's mother and around Henry's age (who still has perfectly brown hair) I'm a bit puzzled why at an age of about 45 years her hair already turned completely grey. Odd.
Speaking of which:
I really like Henry. It's refreshing to see a likable and good looking dad in an adult game for once.
I feel kinda bad for him that "porn game logic" prevents him from having some fun with his wife, but people would likely start screaming "NTR" (no, it's not NTR when mom and dad get it on, but that's like explaining quantum physics to a layman).
The other female LIs (Mia, Nicole and Ember) are also easy on the eyes.
Luke (the MC) is unfortunately the least attractive character (besides Tim) in my opinion.
In some renders he looks downright hideous. He also looks too old.
I wished he would look more like a younger version of his father.
I like that each character has its own distinguishable personality.
Particularly noteworthy: Mia (I'm a big fan of the movie
Secretary, so a submissive character is a welcome addition).
Writing
Plausible incest stories require very good writing skills (something most adult content creators lack) and in my opinion only work
- if there's already a very close relationship which evolves into something more,
- within a setting where humanity stopped caring altogether (island, post-apocalypse) or
- by fully embracing the power of humour.
The lighthearted and self-mocking tone of
Above the Clouds helps a lot in that regard and makes the incest somewhat believable.
Other than that
Above the Clouds is pretty much an ordinary slice-of-life story - no more, no less.
There seems to be an overarching plot involving the father, but so far it's only hinted.
Fortunately, the dev also knows how to write appealing explicit scenes.
Many adult games treat sex either as a treadmill or a raw physical act, but there's more to it:
Reluctance, teasing, tenderness, eroticism and embarrassment (blushing!) make explicit scenes so much better - and it's done masterfully here.
The bathroom / shower scene with Lucy is just incredibly hot.
The English is decent, but there are quite a few typos and grammatical errors.
Choices
The choices so far don't seem to be very meaningful, but mostly for shits and giggles (and to unlock gallery scenes).
User Interface
The UI is rather simple and unobtrusive.
The dev abstained from using a text box - which leaves more room for the renders.
Despite the missing contrast (by the text box) the font is well readable.
As a bonus there's a small gallery with unlockable pictures and animations.
Conclusion
The biggest divisive factor about
Above the Clouds is its humour.
You probably either like and embrace it - or you despise it and walk away.
Fortunately, it worked for me.
But more than the humour I really like the characters, their interactions and the eroticism.
If you don't mind a VN that doesn't take itself too seriously, even gets cartoonish at times, check this out.