PREVIEW – It’s rare to find an open-world game that offers the kind of freedom that Aloft offers. It’s like playing Sea of Thieves, except you get to be the captain of a flying island. The game, which was released in Early Access, strikes a great balance between action, puzzle-solving, and appreciating the beauty of its surroundings.
A wise man once said, “Survival, crafting, open world, and Early Access: the four horsemen of the apocalypse.” While there are exceptions, the truth is that Steam is full of survival games that often promise more than they can deliver. However, in recent years, there have been a few games that have forged their own path and brought a breath of fresh air to the genre. Aloft is one of them.
Aloft arrived on Steam in early access on January 15th, and it brought with it a really interesting idea: instead of the usual flat, open world, we can explore an archipelago of floating islands left behind by a mysterious, lost ancient civilization.
Each island offers a puzzle, platforming section, or combat, for which we can collect loot or learn new lessons about the lives of its former inhabitants. In this way, Aloft is more reminiscent of Sea of Thieves than a traditional survival game.
There is also a bit of a planning phase in the game: you can’t fly across the map without stopping, you have to rest from time to time. When you reach a destination, there is almost always some activity waiting for you, even if only for a short time. However, it doesn’t feel as deep as Rare’s game: for example, I found a locked door and the key was lying right next to it; or clearing an island of monsters was solved with a few sword strikes.
Meaningful crafting and creative freedom
Aloft follows a similar philosophy when handling inventory and crafting, but with much more satisfying results: it is generous with materials, and the items created are useful, interesting, and fun from the start. More complex recipes are often made from things like wood, stone, or similar materials, so if you need something, you can usually just explore the environment a bit.
The flight mechanic, which is the real star of the game, also falls into this category. You simply craft a device, customize the colors and patterns of your glider (it looks more like an exosuit), equip it, and you’re good to go as far as the wind, weather, and body momentum allow. There are no restrictions in this regard: if you find a cliff to jump off of, you’re good to go.
A Floating Home with Friends
Even the way you discover recipes is unique: the game doesn’t force you to make unnecessary blueprints or items, but rather notifies you when you can make a new one from a given material. This allows you to simulate the crafting process without having to spend any resources.
Over time, you can even do extreme things like turn a floating island into your home, equip it with navigational aids, and freely move it around the sky alone or with friends – you can invite them to the game, or you can join each other via online matchmaking. There are also different world settings available, such as Creative mode, where everything is unlocked and there are no resource consumption, or Peaceful mode, where there is no combat.
Aloft probably won’t appeal to everyone, but it’s clear that it has found the right balance between traditional survival games and the “casual games” that have become fashionable lately. The elements of exploration, construction, and farm management are all present, but the real fun of the game lies in the sense of freedom it offers. Watching the grass bend in the wind, flying freely, or even moving your house in the sky with a rudder – that’s what makes Aloft truly special.
-Gergely Herpai “BadSector”-
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