I just beat the game. Here is a little mini review:
Sky: Children of the Light (Switch Review)
If you’ve played Journey you owe it to yourself to at least play this game once.
Pros:
-Surpasses Journey in visual presentation:
The game is simply gorgeous! The game offers 7 distinct and incredibly vivid worlds to explore. From a desert coliseum of which you slide all the way down, lush forests of which you jump up giant mushrooms, barren wastelands where you avoid sinister creatures, surreal temples that rise 4 to 5 layers up, to incredible skies full of dream-like clouds the player will fly through!
I found myself in awe at the surreal scenery as I gazed at the swirling flowers as I moved about the open fields, looked in awe as I rode on top of transparent sting ray creatures levitating within ancient ruins or the sparkling sand as I slid down a winding slope surrounded by massive structures!
-Fun gameplay just like Journey:
Just like Journey you team up with other players to solve simple environmental puzzles and activate switches or event markers. Each level has a certain amount of spirits you must find. Some of these spirits require a second player to help unlock a door. Just like in Journey You can also find upgrades that increase your cloak so you can fly longer.
Which takes me to my next gameplay device. You can befriend someone by offering them a candle. When this happens the friend player becomes full of color and you can choose to form a team. Not just a team but a party of up to 10 players I believe. You can use simple expressions to communicate as well as making churps like in Journey. You can also jump, levitate and fly a bit as well.
-The game has a wonderful soundtrack:
The music is surreal and fits the game perfectly. A wonderful soundtrack which is on par with Journey and may even surpass it! The mood of the music fits each level very well and makes for a whimsical trek through the game’s 7 worlds.
-The entire game is free-to-play!:
That’s right I went into the eShop thinking I was going to pay for a full price game! Not so, as the entire game is free-to-play! And it’s a complete package as well. Meaning you can have a full game experience and see everything the story has to offer without paying any money!
Cons:
-Your experience depends upon the other players:
While you can definitely beat the game by yourself. I found myself missing a lot of spirits because the people I befriended decided to do their own thing and leave me behind. Which might be a major flaw of the game compared to Journey. There just might be too many players for a game that has such subtle communication.
During my playthrough It seemed like everyone had attention deficit disorder and wouldn’t follow any one person. With players always moving on to see the next bit of scenery over the hill, so to speak. It was incredibly difficult to convince just one person to come over to where I was to open a door I needed to get one of the many spirits, found throughout the levels.
-There are micro-transactions:
The micro-transactions are just cosmetic. Meaning you can unlock new clothes, emojis for communication and different appearances for your character. But there is a lot to miss out on if you don’t spend a few bucks. Not saying you have to, but there are still many aspects of the communication system in this game I don’t understand completely. There is also a season pass you can apparently buy. This seems like it may be an expansion to the main game that is coming soon. But, I’m not to clear as to what this is myself.
Conclusion:
My time with Sky took me just around 4 hours. And that’s without finding everything. I even had to go back to some previous levels at the end because I was missing 5 spirits out of 20 to unlock the final level. It wasn’t too hard to get and I did it by myself.
And that might just be the only flaw I can point out in this game. While Journey was simple enough to play with two people using teamwork, Sky brings groups of players in all at once, sporadically moving in all directions! And most likely in my case, not paying attention to a lone player who might need help. Maybe I was just impatient and need to make more of an effort to find a group that is willing to stick together. But, if you have a low patience threshold and are strapped for time, you might find yourself favoring Journey’s simpler co-op functions over Skies.
But in the end, Sky is a worthy sequel to Journey and has actually blown it out into space in regards to its presentation and graphics! Using teamwork, sliding, jumping and flying with a friend are just as endearing as it was in Journey. That is, if you can find someone who will actually stick with you.
My score: 8 out of 10
7.5 on a bad day
Flower is also worth playing and comes with the Journey Collector’s Edition. It doesn’t matter which order you play them in.
