Preview: Sky from ThatGameCompany

One of my favorite games on the PS4 is Journey from the developer ThatGameCompany. I had previously played their prior titles, Flower and Flow, on PS3, and anxiously awaited Journey, a game that was to be the last of their exclusive three game contract with Playstation. A few weeks ago, I received an email inviting me to test out their newest game, Sky, and I am very excited by what I experienced.

Sky is set to launch first on Apple’s iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV. No other platforms have been identified at this time, but I’m hopeful we’ll see it make its way to PS4.

In Sky, the player starts out as a small shadow child-like figure who soon is illuminated with color and shown to be a young girl. One of the main objectives involves fire. The player’s character carries a candle that she can use to light candles and interact with other parts of the world. As with previous games from this developer, the overall story or plot seems to be loosely presented and open to some interpretation. At the present stage of the game, it was difficult to understand some aspects of what I was doing within the game, but it’s important to note that this is a game in progress. Story elements were so loosely strung together at this point that I can’t really say I understood the overall point of what I was doing, but this is something that may very well change before full release.

In terms of the experience of this game, Sky doesn’t disappoint. The music is sweeping and whimsical and provides an epic and emotional feeling to the gameplay. The graphics look amazing so far. Bright, vivid colors are accompanied by glowing light and appropriate shadow. It’s really fantastic to look at. Different cosmetic aspects can also be unlocked, but it was unclear whether or not they provide any additional abilities. The player is also able to gain different emotes through activating totems throughout the world, and the Journey-established musical chirps can be used to communicate as well, all of which is relevant with the game’s most exciting feature.

I’ve saved the most interesting and unique aspect of this game for last: the multiplayer. ThatGameCompany dabbled with this in Journey, allowing a player to enter your game and providing you the opportunity to interact anonymously or to ignore them completely. In Sky, we see this mechanic return in a new way. While playing, there are many other players around you interacting with the world at their own discretion. As with Journey, you can choose to interact with them or choose to ignore them, but additional features have been added. Fire gained in the game is stored as candles. These candles can then be given to players in varying stages. Giving a player a candle establishes them as a friend, creates a friend totem at your home stage, and allows you to give your new friend a nickname of your choosing. Additional candle gifts unlock additional features, such as hand-holding to link up actions and the ability to hug your friend, and seems that a micro-transaction will likely exist to purchase additional candles and possibly other features. In my experience, linking up with another player was very seamless and felt very organic and natural. The player is also given the ability to connect with online friends or be placed randomly in an unknown player’s game at will. Together with friends, the player can interact with parts of the world that require multiple players.

As stated, Sky is a game in progress, so features will likely be tweaked and changed as it is developed. Already, the developers have patched, tweaked, and updated features of the game and released newer versions to test at least ten different times. It’s clear that ThatGameCompany is dedicated to crafting a unique experience, and that they truly do want feedback from their customers. I’m really excited about the potential of Sky, and I can’t wait to get my hands on the final version.

(And if you read this, thank you so much for the opportunity to test this game!)

As of this writing, Sky is still in a testing phase and does not have a set release date.