Sky (video game)

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Sky: Children of the Light
Poster
Developer(s)	Thatgamecompany
Publisher(s)	Thatgamecompany CHN: NetEase
Director(s)	Jenova Chen
Artist(s)	Yui Tanabe (Manager) Jacky Ke Jiang (Director)
Writer(s)	Jennie Kong
Composer(s)	Vincent Diamante
Platform(s)	iOS iPadOS Android Nintendo Switch
Release	iOS WW: 18 July 2019 Android WW: 7 April 2020 Nintendo Switch WW: June 29, 2021
Genre(s)	Adventure, art game
Mode(s)	Multiplayer

Sky: Children of the Light (Chinese: Sky光·遇; pinyin: Sky Guāng·yù) (shortened to Sky in-game) is an open world social indie adventure game developed and published by Thatgamecompany. It was first released for iOS on July 18, 2019.^[1] An Android version was later released on April 7, 2020,^[2] and a Nintendo Switch version was released on June 29, 2021.^[3][4][5][6] A beta has been available since before release, and it is currently used by players to give feedback before a season or a change to the main game is implemented.

Gameplay[]

In Sky, players explore a once prosperous kingdom using a cape that gives them the ability to fly. The in-game world consists of seven unique realms, each with a different theme being represented as a stage of life and a variety of areas to explore. There is also Home, a small island which serves as the world hub and the starting place when the game is opened. Throughout the world, players encounter "spirits" that allow them to unlock items in return for in-game currency, and "children of light" that give players "winged light". When a player has collected enough winged light, their cape level goes up, increasing the cape's maximum energy and allowing the player to fly farther.

The game features a heavy focus on social mechanics. Players are able to meet and befriend one another, and can unlock new abilities such as chat and sending gifts as their friendship grows. There are also many cosmetic items to collect including capes, masks, hairstyles, hats, pants, playable musical instruments, expressions, and more. These items can be obtained using in-game currency or in some cases, are purchased with real life money. Some cosmetics, such as the original beta cape, are only available to select players, in this case, those who played the beta before the official global release.

Sky has multiple in-game currencies. "Candles" are the main currency of Sky, and are exchanged with spirits and friends in return for items and abilities. Candles are obtained by collecting pieces of light and forging them, or by purchasing them for real money. "Hearts" are the social currency of Sky, and are obtained when players receive gifts from other players and spirits when they give them 3 candles. Hearts are primarily used to purchase cosmetic items from spirits. "Ascended candles" are the rarest currency in Sky, rewarded to players for giving their winged light to "The fallen" at the end of the game. Ascended candles are exchanged with spirits for "wing buffs", which give players extra Winged Light, and to upgrade friendship and purchase various spells.

Seasonal Events[]

Sky also features ongoing seasonal events, which feature new storylines with unique spirits and items. Seasonal events are completely free-to-play, but some of the spirits' items require paid "adventure passes" to unlock. The seasons also have a unique currency called "seasonal candles", which can be used to purchase seasonal items and are converted to regular candles when the season ends. Seasonal spirits may return as "traveling spirits" in the future, and players can give their candles to receive seasonal items for a limited time, albeit at a higher price.

Many seasons add new areas and gameplay, with Season of Enchantment adding a spell shop, Season of Prophecy adding new challenges called "trials,"^[7] Season of Dreams adding a village, new races, and making improvements to previous game areas,^[8] and Season of Assembly eventually adding a feature in which players can decorate their own rooms.^[9], the Season of the Little Prince, a re-telling of the classic children's book The Little Prince in which players can interact with the book's characters, in celebration of its 75th anniversary. It is notable in being Sky's first collaborative season.^[10] The newest season, which premiered October 4th, 2021, is the Season of Flight, adding a new seasonal area above Hidden Forest, called The Windpaths. The season added four new spirits, and winter themed cosmetics.

Music[]

Sky features an orchestral score composed by Vincent Diamante, with some tracks performed by FAME'S Macedonian Symphonic Orchestra.^[11][12] Aurora also provides the vocals for the game's intro and outro songs.^[13]

Three volumes of soundtrack albums have been released. The first volume covers more recognizable music from the base game cycle.^[14] The second volume contains mostly ambient background music, and the third includes various pieces composed for Sky's Seasonal Events.^[15]

Charity[]

In 2020, Thatgamecompany held some in-game events in support of charity. First was the "Days of Nature" event, in celebration of Earth Day, during which a unique IAP (in-app purchase) was available. Proceeds from each purchase of the IAP was used to plant one tree per purchase, in partnership with the OneTreePlanted charity. This event resulted in a total of 40,576 trees planted across the Amazonian and Australian forests damaged by wildfires.^[16] In April 2021, Sky hosted its second "Days of Nature" event, using the game to promoting awareness towards plastic pollution of the ocean.^[17]

In May of 2020, Thatgamecompany hosted a "Days of Healing" event to help raise money for the Médecins Sans Frontières organization,^[18] leading Thatgamecompany to donate $719,138 to the MSF COVID-19 Crisis Fund.^[19] For the event, Thatgamecompany also joined the World Health Organization's #PlayApartTogether campaign.^[18]

In June 2020, Sky held its first "Days of Rainbow" event, featuring colorful rainbow items and spells as a way to celebrate pride month. The second "Days of Rainbow" event the following year gathered funds for The Trevor Project and the Global Fund for Women, with players raising $794,420 in total.^[20]

Reception[]

Metacritic awarded the game an 82 out of 100 based on 18 reviewers, as well as awarding it the number 1 shared iOS game of 2019, number 3 most discussed iOS game of 2019, and number 13 best iOS game of 2019.^[29] Game Informer scored the game a 8.5 out of 10 stating "Sky is a refreshingly moving and robust game on the iOS platform, and one best shared with others – especially folks who might not normally pick up a video game."^[21] GameSpot scored the game a 8 out of 10, giving exceptional praise to the visuals, animations and musical scores, however admitting that "return visits to previous environments aren't nearly as captivating as your first trip".^[22] IGN scored the game a 8.5 out of 10, likening the game to its predecessor as "a bigger and bolder follow-up that expands on what made Journey so great."^[23] Destructoid, like many other reviewers praised how it's a game that "most everyone should experience", was however highly critical of the touch controls and the lack of control it gave of your character, going as far to suggest that "most everyone should wait for a console or PC release" to play the game.^[30] Nintendo Life scored the Switch version 8 out of 10, sharing the same praise as other reviewers, though highlighting that the simplistic gameplay may not keep players engaged in the long term, and how the option to toggle the FPS from 60 to 30 is objectively worse and provides only minor improvements.^[25]

Accolades[]

The game won Apple's iPhone game of the year for 2019.^[31] On October 5, 2020, Gamasutra reported that the game had topped 50 million downloads worldwide.^[32]

References[]

External links[]

• Official website