When Sky: Children of the Light (or just ‘Sky’ in-game) launched back in 2019 on iOS, it was met with well-deserved critical acclaim. Some were dismayed that the follow-up to the iconic adventure title Journey would be shackled to the mobile world, but after laying eyes on the gorgeous visuals, simplistic gameplay, and inspired use of social interaction, there was but one question forming on the lips of players worldwide: “hang on… this is a mobile game?!”
Despite this, there was no doubt a good chunk of gamers (this writer included) that wished the game would eventually launch on console, if only to have better control of the protagonist without fear of their hands cramping up. Well, two years have passed, and Sky is finally available on the Nintendo Switch, retaining everything that made the mobile version so great whilst adding in fully button-mapped controls (and yes, we know mobile devices support controllers… just go with it).
Explaining the plot of Sky feels rather superfluous, given that you can effectively play however you like, but we’ll give it the old college try: taking place within a beautiful kingdom, you’re tasked with locating spirits within each of the game’s distinct locations. Finding and interacting with the spirits grants you new items like hairstyles, capes, and masks, in exchange for in-game currency. In addition to the spirits, you also encounter the titular ‘children of light’, who grant you upgrades to your flight ability as you move through the game.
Ultimately, the aim of the game is to explore the environment so you can obtain items and abilities that allow you to explore more of the environment. This might sound a bit pointless to some, but as with thatgamecompany’s previous titles, Sky’s appeal lies in its simplicity; gliding through the clouds, sliding down an icy slope, or just sitting around a campfire with other individuals.
The latter forms a big part of the experience. Social interaction is almost mandatory to make the most out of the game, but the good news is that it’s handled in a way that feels completely nonintrusive, and it incorporates cross-play with mobile users. You’ll see other players wandering about as you go through the game, some of which may be heading to the same destination as yourself, and others who could be going off and doing their own thing. Each player can be approached and greeted, and you’re given the option to befriend the player and give them a nickname of your choosing.
We met Bob fairly early on. Bob was new to the game, given that we’d met them in the initial hub world, and they were dressed up in the default outfit. After a bit of chirping back and forth, we took each other’s hand and set off into the world. Now, to be clear, we’ve no idea where Bob is based, how old they are, or what their real name might be. Sky wisely neglects to provide any of this information, instead focusing on the player interaction, and only the player interaction. We journeyed far and wide together, calling out whenever we lost sight of each other, and chirping away in happiness whenever we found our goal.
It’s a lovely experience to say the least, but of course eventually we had to part ways with Bob. In a weird way, we felt a slight twinge of grief at their departure. Sure, we could meet someone else and call them Bob, but it just wasn’t the same; it wasn’t our Bob. Much like Journey before it, Sky’s social aspect is deceptively deep, and you’ll be surprised at how quickly you develop a bond with your in-game acquaintances.
In addition to the exploration and social aspects of the game, there are plenty of options available to customise your character. These items are available in the hub world, and you can customise everything right down to the instrument your character will carry throughout the game. We opted for a charming little guitar, and what’s great is you can break out the instrument at any point during the game, with every single button on the Switch’s controller corresponding to a different musical note. You can create your own tunes, or play along to a selection of sheet music.
Of course, with such simplistic gameplay and a distinct lack of any challenge, you’d hope the game would at least look impressive. Well, it’s no overstatement that this is one of the best looking games on Switch. The lighting is absolutely wonderful, and combined with subtle yet effective lens flare effects each of the game’s worlds look incredibly well realised, if not particularly realistic. There’s also an option to alter the in-game display, so you can either lock the game at 30FPS and enjoy a higher resolution, or reduce this down for a smoother 60FPS experience. Can we also just reiterate that this game is free. Absurd!
In addition to the launch on Switch, there’s also an option to download the ‘Starter Pack’. This comes with two new capes, a vessel flute, a new hairstyle, and 75 candles (the in-game currency); now, with the pack coming in at £28.99 for the UK market, do we think it’s worth it? Well, no, not particularly; the game never forces you to purchase extra currency, and you can quite happily breeze through the experience having never bought a single additional item, but it’s there if you wish to receive a little boost to get you going.
The game also acts as a live service, with new seasons introduced periodically to add new content for players. The upcoming season introduces the game’s first cross-over event with the French children’s character Le Petit Prince, with an entirely new world to coincide with the collaboration. The only concern we have with the live service format is whether the simplistic gameplay has the staying power required to keep players engaged for weeks, perhaps months, on end.
Conclusion
We love free stuff, and Sky: Children of the Light is perhaps the best experience you can get for free on the Switch to date. The visuals are simply stunning, whether you’re playing in handheld mode or on the big screen, and the variety of the game’s different worlds provides more than enough incentive to explore. The social aspect is solid, and the game’s unique ability to foster bonds with complete strangers is frankly a marvel. The only real downside is that the gameplay is so simplistic in nature, so we’re not certain it will keep players around for long to experience any future updates. If it does grab your attention, however, then a magical experience awaits.
Comments 63
Great reminder that I need to download it.
@IronMan30 doesn't the review confirm 60fps is available on switch.
Now only if this would make itself Physical.
@kobashi100 You can play it on 60FPS with downgraded visuals, or 30FPS (which isn't objectively worse, it's just a different experience) with a slight boost to the graphics. I still play games in 20FPS from yesteryear, so it's going to be 30FPS for me!
Hopefully someone can help me with this. I have not found a way to play with my friends. I have been able to add them as friends, but I see no option to actually join the same lobby. I’m holding off on playing this game until I can figure it out.
Ooh! All about this.
When a game is free and generous with their content like this I’d like to support it with a few bucks, but when the next tier of support goes from $0 to $30 it’s a bit too steep. A couple $5 or $10 options and I would’ve happily volunteered some support.
@RobotReptile there are many ways to support the developers for different prices: in addition to the “starter pack” described in the article, there is an “adventure pass” priced at 11€, from what I understand, it gives you access to one exclusive “seasonal” (the upcoming one is Le Petit Prince season) item along with more of the seasonal currency. There's also way to buy candles starting from 6€ (for 15 candles, which I don't think is good value at all since you can get approximately the same number in one day just by playing).
Furthermore there is physical merchandising, most of which has some minor in-game effect, in a way similar to amiibo (it's expensive though).
this was a mobile game??? wow. i will definitely be checking this game out.
@Aryon Good to know. Thanks for the info 👍
@Shiiva 30fps is objectively worse than 60fps...thats not even debatable
Been having a bunch of fun with this over the last few days. I’m not entirely in agreement with the views on performance vs quality mode though. Blown up on my 65” flagship tv from a few years ago, quality mode looks staggeringly good for a switch game with the Prairie being a particular standout at times. On the downside however, whilst quality mode is fine for the earlier worlds, it’s downright horrible towards the end and even the ‘60fps’ mode failing to hold 30+ in places.
It’s well worth a play through or two. An interesting little mini MMO that’s not at all paywalled.
Can you download this game and play offline? Xx
Gonna give this one a try
@Dragonslacker1 unfortunately not, it's basically a MMO game, it requires constant internet connectivity
@SwitchForce Yep, I’d love a physical complete edition
Yeah, I'd love a physical complete collection that runs at 60fps. I played for about an hour and found it hard to put down even though it was dropping lots of frames. Journey is one of my favorite games. It's cool to have a sequel of sorts. There is so much beauty in this game's visual design, like I almost feel like I can feel the clouds.
Much too generous. Both Journey and this effort can’t even be called games- there’s no challenge and little interactivity
My first playthrough was an absolute joy and the social aspect was surprising. In particular I made a friend early on in a level, realized I wanted to change my look a little, and when I returned to the hub I realized they followed. Freya, you're the bomb.
Ok, what? I tried naving the menus w/ my left stick, but it's mapped to the right. The feck?
@Aryon cheers for the info, that’s me out then x
How are the social aspects handled? Free chat with strangers worries me (Dad of a 10 year old).
@4thHcier It is debatable, because 30fps is generally considered the 'cinematic' framerate, which is why so many old games that ran at that or slightly lower have a real weight to them (starfox 64, ocarina of time, SOTN, undertale, etc...), and 60fps is considered the 'smooth' framerate. They're both tools to aid in the presentation of games, and used correctly, can both produce masterpieces. There's a reason Mortal Kombat 11 used them both, because the story mode cinematics and in-game fatalities in 60fps look terrible (though you can enable it if you want), whereas in 30fps they look straight out of a movie, with much more presence on the screen.
TL;DR One is not better than the other, they're different presentation tools and both have their place in gaming today.
Started playing this tonight and woah, what a beautiful experience. Incredibly gorgeous world to explore and lots of stories to discover behind every nook and cranny. Another player exchanged candles with me and took my hand as we soared through the skies for a while until we had to depart with a hug. I'm not sure if the novelty will last but it's been a while since I've had such a wonderful experience with a multiplayer game.
@Shiiva The cinematic "argument" is complete nonsense and not even worth responding to. Games are not movies, they are played, not watched. We are not talking about cutscenes here, we are talking about gameplay. Every single game under the sun benefits from having a higher framerate. It's a smoother, more enjoyable experience overall. Saying that you don't have a problem with 30fps is one thing and that's fine (some people can play at that framerate, some people can't), but trying to claim it's somehow debatable when it comes to which fps is better is just foolish. If anyone opts for 30 when they could have chosen 60 then they have just never experienced 60 in that game. It's as simple as that. I say this as a type of person who has no problem playing 30fps games.
@ViewtifulJohtun As far as I've seen, identities are completely shielded and there's no chat but you can read messages other players have left in various spots. And I can't tell you what those are like because all the ones I've seen so far were in Japanese - I think. You can flag messages too, so hopefully any bad ones get deleted.
There's no way, as far as I can tell from about two hours playing, for anybody to communicate directly.
What I saw was actually really nice and wholesome. Like high fives and opening doors together with your cute little randomly selected friends.
Removed - unconstructive feedback
@TruthisRare Don't worry. You won't be missed.
I put about thirty minutes into this and then deleted it. I just didn’t find it fun at all.
@TruthisRare see ya champ. Truth is rare in you indeed Mr half a brain.. you could of just, ya no. Not worried about the article and let people talk about what they want to talk about..
I knew the 30 FPS mode sucked in handheld, but that's crazy it's not better docked.
@JasmineDragon thanks. Maybe I'll have a go myself first, I think she would love it.
@JasmineDragon @ViewtifulJohtun there are ways to directly chat: benches that let two players chat for a limited time, and actual chat that is unlocked with friends (but is pretty costly, haven't used it yet). From what I have read elsewhere I believe there are filters to block slurs and invitation to reveal personal details.
@Solomon_Rambling Once you have added your friends (via QR code, etc.) you can join each other any time you're both online. In the home world there is a stone platform, where you can access 2 menus: The spirit menu and the friend menu. Your QR code friends should appear right at the start in your favorites per default. If they're online, there will be a little spark orbiting their star, you just choose the star, and it should open a menu where you can see your friend's character, send them gifts and join them.
'Unconstructive feedback' or inconvenient opinion?
While I didn't necessarily agree with all of TruthisRare's comment, I share their concern about the political ideologies that have started creeping into Nintendo Life's journalism.
Some friendly and constructive advice; Much of your readership does not come here to have the authors political beliefs preached to them, they come here to read about all things Nintendo. Please remain apolitical. Thanks.
For me the multiplayer is similar to Journey: distracting, purposeless and detrimental to the experience.
Think of Zelda BOTW: you're in a shrine, trying to figure out what needs to be done and how to do it. But instead of this being a quiet, contemplative challenge, there's 4-5 other Links in there, hopping around and spoiling any sense of personal discovery. It's hard to play at your own pace; and when you reach the monk at the end you're just joining the crowd at the checkpoint as opposed to fulfilling the final wish of someone who has waited countless years for you and you alone.
Beautiful game though. But these kinds of atmosphere-focused games are just objectively ruined by multiplayer, and I can't understand why people continue to think otherwise.
@N64-ROX I think multiplayer here is kind of a mixed bag, much more than in Journey, where (at least when I played) players had one common goal and about as much of an idea of what was happening and how to get there than each other. In this case I agree this is distracting to a point. But also, there are some levels where the multiplayer really shines in my opinion (for instance, the very last level of the game, the Eye of Eden).
@Aryon I didn't know about either of those. Good to know.
@6thHorizon What political beliefs are you talking about - the fact that LGBTQ+ people exist and like to know which of the thousands of games on the Switch are supportive of their existence? Or that young gamer girls can find validation in a Nintendo game thanks to its strong female lead?
These things are not political. They're personal experiences related to video games. No one tbought it was political when NLife published lists of the best games where you shoot things that move, and no one objected to personal slice-of-life stories when it was just young straight dudes talking about how Pokemon saved their lives. But now that there are different perspectives appearing here, all of a sudden it's "we came here to read video game news, Y R U so political?!?"
@JasmineDragon
The deleted comment was not referring to that article, unfortunately its removal has also removed any context.
Sorry you wasted your time writing all that.
@4thHcier
I really don't think you can speak for everyone here.
I only prefer higher framerates over visual quality when playing competitive multiplayer games and racing games.
But I still find 30 frames a smooth experience, and I prefer the upgraded graphics in adventure games and single player games.
@Kiwi_Unlimited As I said, nothing wrong with finding 30fps smooth, but 60fps is always better. We are not talking visuals here, we are not talking trade offs, we are not talking cutscenes...It is about framerates specifically and 60fps always beats 30fps because it makes the gameplay more enjoyable.
@Noonatdawn
Thanks! I appreciate you taking the time to answer!
@Solomon_Rambling
I found a YouTube video that explains how to add friends: mobile-to-mobile, switch-to-mobile, and switch-to-switch. Hope this helps!
https://youtu.be/0KuuNMRMPrA
@Shiiva in handheld, it's objectively worse. It does nothing to make it look better except an inch of draw distance, but at a cost of lots of stuttering im the clouds areas. The textures themselves, from a graphic whore's perspective (me), are not noticably better, but the lower frame rate is very noticeable. The only way someone could want 30FPS in handheld is if they couldn't see the screen, or the frame rate at 60FPS was "too smooth", lol.
@RobotReptile there are options to buy candles for $10, & even $5 iirc, just not the starter pack.
Edit: sorry, i should have kept reading, someone already told u this.
@Aryon also, the seasonal gear is only available for that limited time (at least for now). I haven't seen anyone mention this. It would kinda incentivize people to pick up the game if the season is something that particularly interests them, or due to FOMO.
@Kiwi_Unlimited if you play in handheld, there's no tradeoff, the 30FPS adds nothing that i can tell. Maybe a tad bit better draw distance (a pinky length in the characters world, a negligible amount), but also lots of chugging near clouds. I tested in many instances, solely the graphical fidelity & frame rate, for over an hour in different areas, and couldn't notice anything gained by using the 30fps mode, but noticed a huge downgrade in how the game runs when in 30FPS. U can go anywhere &swap back & forth in real time & see the graphical differences & even move the character around while the menu is up, so it's easy to compare. I also ran around for a long time in each mode many times in case it took more time to swap, but it never did, every difference went into effect within 1 sec, in my experience. Ofc, if u play docked, it may have more of an impact when swapping (i didn't test that), but anyone that plays handheld would be doing themselves a favor to play in 60FPS mode.
@4thHcier to a certain extent. Over 120FPS is way too fast for me, i don't like it (no amount of FPS has ever made me nauseated or motion sick, tbc, so not referring to that aspect), so up to that point i agree, but i think it gets to some point where preference prevails & it's not objectively better. I can't say what that point is but 60 - 90 is my sweet spot.
@6thHorizon Yes it was. I saw the comment from "Truth" before it was removed. It was 100% what I said. Dude literally opened with "This is regarding the Metroid article that was comment locked."
Hard to believe this game has been around so long, it feels like a beta or a demo at best. Not impressed at all by the “game-play”. But I was pleasantly surprised it let me play without giving away more than my Nintendo ID (and IP of course). I guess I'll keep it installed for now, and give it another look in a few weeks. I wonder if the developers are actually aware of the quality of games Sky has to compete with, or if this is just a marketing stunt to get more subscribers on mobile!?
@TwirlyGirly
Thank you for the help!
@twztid13
@4thHcier
Now here's where the conversation gets interesting. I read an article that discussed that in fps's, at minimum, it was found that at any increase in framerate, players performed better than at lesser framerates. This even applied to absurdly high framerates versus really high framerates.
So, for example, I actually reduce every graphical setting that I can in PUBG just for every potential framerate advantage I can eek out of the game (because I'm aggressively mediocre at the game). However, I would absolutely find the experience better if it didn't look like a game from 15 years ago, but I need every advantage I can get.
So I don't feel the experience is objectively better, but the experience is absolutely as fluid as I can get.
So, 90+ frames per second has its place, but there are arguments for both sides of it.
@JasmineDragon
Your reply to me quoted another article too (which you have now edited!), which was as far as I read because you were already way off the mark.
What are you trying to achieve exactly? Do you have nothing better to do than to try to paint me as a bigot?
I stand by original comment which asked for politics to be kept out of a video game enthusiasts website. It is a trend that I have noticed over the last couple of years at it happens.
As much as you want it, I am not the bogeyman you are trying to make me out to be; I just want to read about Nintendo without a certain political slant being forced upon me.
I'd guess that most readers here do too, including the minority groups that you think you are fighting for the rights of but who I'd imagine mostly just want to enjoy their video games.
@Kiwi_Unlimited i agree with that but in my case, i rarely play multiplayer games anymore, so 60-90 is my sweet spot in that regards. Turn based jrpgs are my favorite genre, so i couldn't see it making a difference in a game like that (like, would I do better at 120FPS vs 60, for example, when "better" is just finishing the game & doing all sidequests?). I don't doubt that's the case in multiplayer, considering the player doesn't get physically affected by the faster frame rates (which i don't know is an actual thing. I know slower frame rates in VR cause motion sickness in many players, but the inverse, I'm not certain if it does negatively impact people, but i wouldn't doubt it).
@Kiwi_Unlimited also, i read "fps's" as frames per second, as in "on the subject of frames per second", and the example of PUBG is a 3rd person shooter, I'm pretty sure (?), but it's possible you mean 1st person shooters & i misread it (hence me bringing up jrpg's, etc. I wasn't intentionally bringing up things off topic in response to you).
@6thHorizon amen to your last post. I don't care enough to read the prior ones in the back & forth (& am not taking a side vs the other person you responded to), but i wholeheartedly agree that journalists should at least try not to cover anything from a partisan angle (they should actually try to read their stories from a devil's advocate perspective & remove anything that reveals their innate biases, imho. That's actually what i would do were i in the business), which is near impossible to find these days, sadly.
@N64-ROX wow, that was my experience exactly, described by ur last post. I wish there was a way to turn multiplayer off. I turn off ghosts in racing games & any other games that give the option, as that is a huge immersion breaker for me. Sadly, just like other things, it will continue to be forced om everyone even though only a minority of gamers are interested in that happening in "their" game.
@twztid13
Oh yeah, sorry. Pubg can be played as a first person shooter, with a mode that forces everyone to play that way. I'm a little better at that mode, and since not losing every engagement is my preferred way to play, I switched to first person shooter mode several months ago.
I game on an android tablet and you'd be surprised at the legit, quality games available for the device if you just open your mind. Actual video games its not all casual Candy Crush type nonsense.
There is a complete lack of information in this review and I think it deserves a second look. The reviewer does not seem to be aware that the "elf hair" and "vessel flute" are Link's hair and ocarina. There is also no mention of the exclusive area that having this pack gets you to. And as for the 30fps mode being worse? Well that is simply not true. The game looks VERY ugly and blurry in 60fps. Poor review, I give the review a 6/10 and I give this game a 9/10 pushing on 10/10. This game is HUGE for a free game and I think everyone should give it a try. It is beautiful and won awards for a reason
Also what makes the gameplay simplistic? You can do more than in Mario! It's a platformer, not a fighting game
@Solomon_Rambling In the Home area's stone pad, use the control button and your character looks up at the stars. Scroll through the pages and find your friend. Tap on the friend and then there's an icon to join your friend's location. Once you're together, if you go somewhere within a short space of time, you'll stay together, e.g. if you both decide to teleport to Home at about the same time, you'll be in the same Home space.
@4thHcier
I don't know about cinematic, but I know that while I will choose higher frame rates 99% of the time, in Doom it feels and looks much better to me to play at the original 30fps. Having the monster animations interpolated and/or having the game run 60+ feels responsive, but looks more 'fake' and cartoony (for lack of better terms) to me.
I also play Diablo III at locked 30 because it looks better to me. Probably if I'd never played old diablo or d2, then I wouldn't find the smooth animation so cheesy looking.
Those are the only games I alter to intentionally lower the framerate though. Well, Doom natively runs at that, but has to be enabled in source ports.
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