Long ago, when YouTubers were beginning their careers, Thatgamecompany released a simple game that shocked the internet. When I say simple, I mean very simple. Journey has an incredible soundtrack and beautiful graphics. I watched a playthrough from Jacksepticeye a couple years ago, and I thought this was one of the prettiest games I’d seen.

Imagine my surprise when I saw that this same company had a free game in a similar vein on the Nintendo Switch. Truthfully, I am not impressed with Sky: Children of the Light. I was hoping for something that would draw me in and be as much of a mystery as Journey. What players have received is a far cry from the award-winning game from 2012. 

Show, Don’t Tell…But Sometimes Tell Me What’s Happening

As a reader, I love it when books give me little details to make the world I’m creating to make it much richer to imagine. Too many details, and I’m stuck reading three pages on how a hill looks wondering how this will advance the plot (Tolkien, I love your books, but we don’t need that many details about grass). 

I’m sure many of us have heard the phrase “show, don’t tell.” When writing a short story, I want others to use their imagination to bring the details to life. I feel like some authors don’t give readers enough credit to fill in some ideas. 

On the flip side, leaving your reader or player without enough details leaves things open for interpretation or jumbled pieces of a story that need more guidance. That is how I would describe the plot of Sky. Our character glides through the air with our cloak billowing out while we bask in the sun. 

Suddenly, a giant black monster flies down and hits us. He steals our power to fly, and we tumble to the earth. We venture into a small village, where a young boy greets us. He takes us to a mural that suggests that we are the only people who can restore light to the world. And then we’re led to six gates, the world open for us to explore. 

And that’s just the intro. The rest is a crazy mess. 

Let’s Go Find – *Your Friend Has Been Disconnected*

We can make online friends in the game but be prepared for the glitchiest chat and assistance you’ve ever experienced. You all can work together to find the lost spirits of the people in the land, but you have to start over if your friend disappears before the quest is done. 

Even when you all want to hang out on a peaceful hill, physics are not your friend. Any props you have could send one of you flying off the cliff’s edge. Not to mention, you can grab someone’s hand and let them fly you anywhere or get through a difficult spot. 

I’ve met a group of friends there, and we all share the same sentiment. This game needs improvement, and the developers are not making them. Why, you may ask? 

Sky‘s All About the Money

You can’t make something better if you don’t have money to make improvements. I think this is the downfall of this game. While the visuals and music are nearly perfection, the story and the user-friendliness are not there. Everything is too janky and feels very rushed in comparison to other games. 

There’s nothing wrong with making up a story as you go, but there needs to be structure to it as well. I have ideas for stories I want to write; the problem is I can picture a few scenes in my head without having the context of why the characters are there. I don’t want my readers to stumble around blindly without a structure and end goal. 

Would I recommend this game? Not in its current state. If the system were updated and people were willing to tie all the loose threads together, there may be hope for Sky.

Here are some YouTubers playing the game. Here is the link to where you can find this free game. 

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