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![]() I’m not completely sold on its “live game” style of service approach, but the content that’s there is well worth experiencing, whether alone or with a buddy. Sky: Children of the Light is a unique game with an utterly gorgeous look and intriguing social features. No purchases ever felt necessary, though, and there’s no real competitive component to the game, so personally, I am not worried about any kind of “pay-to-win” scenario developing. Playing the game, and participating in limited-time events earns these items, which can be used to deck out one’s avatar. More limited are some of the cosmetic items available as part of a “pass”-like progression system. Candles can also be gifted between players, to give a friend (or stranger) a bit of a boost. These candles can be earned in-game quickly enough that only players in immediate need or a great hurry ever need think about shelling out for some. Players can access the in-game store to purchase bundles of candles. As a free-to-play title, the game is supported by in-game microtransactions. This kind of interaction is also a key component of Sky: Children of the Light‘s business model. This emphasis on more awkward, indirect communication works in Sky: Children of the Light‘s favor, putting up a mild buffer to hold at least some of the more toxic parts of online gaming at bay, while adding a sense of mystery to any given player encounter. Friends can see and join each other’s sessions more easily, as well as access special expressions. ![]() Players can also spend candles (which act as an in-game currency) to “upgrade” their chance partnerships into more permanent friendships. This leaves communication to the realm of emoting, and occasionally sending out little musical tones with a button press. Text and voice chat are also locked out by default, except when two players choose to sit beside each other on a special, relatively rare, stone bench. Players can offer a candle to another to bring them into their game session, interactions like holding hands, hugging, and other “expressions” then become available for use. Unlike Demon’s Souls, though, these outlines can be interacted with. As players go through the game they’ll see the ghostly outlines of other players going about their business, kind of like Demon’s Souls. ![]() Rather than insisting players find a friend to play with, such as in dedicated co-op games like It Takes Two or A Way Out, Sky: Children of the Light bases its social features around more incidental, ad-hoc encounters. While some of these puzzles take familiar forms: For example, a door that needs the weight of two players to push open, Sky‘s approach to social interaction is more unique, and interestingly low-key. Jolly cooperation is at the heart of Sky‘s play, and many of the puzzles scattered throughout the world require the involvement of more than one player to complete. thatgamecompany has fulfilled its promise to make Sky a “social adventure” game. The players of Sky: Children of the Light aren’t alone in their quest, though. To that end, you’ll explore six large and distinct areas solving puzzles, lighting candles, and inferring stories from poignant tableaus. Gather up the scattered light and return the constellations to the heavens. As one of the titular Children of the Light, you’re given a task. You wake up in a world where the stars – and thus the spirits of the ancestors – have fallen to earth. Indeed, the core idea remains largely unchanged. Sky: Children of the Light capably holds more features, systems, and activities than Journey did, without compromising that sense of exploration and wonder that made its inspiration so beloved. Perhaps the better way to think about it is to see Sky as a proving a concept of its own: That the gameplay design of Journey could be expanded upon. This isn’t to imply that Journey felt incomplete, mind you. By that measure, Sky: Children of the Light feels like that “final product”. To some it felt like a proof of concept, as opposed to a final product. If there was one criticism of Journey that could stick, it was that the game itself was fairly thin on the sort of mechanical complexity that characterizes most traditional game designs.
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