Star Sky Review - Screenshot 1 of 3

Star Sky is not a video game. Well, not in the usual sense at least. It is described as being "similar to an interactive poem", something to experience rather than something to play - and that's a perfect description. There aren't many games that make you feel like lying down, grabbing a box of chocolates and wrapping yourself up in a blanket every time you play, but with Star Sky you'll want to do exactly that.

The object of the game is to take a stroll underneath the night sky, experiencing events that are triggered as you pass by. You can press B to walk or A to run and that's it. Only one finger is needed for the entire game, proving that this is about as relaxing as a video game will ever be and also meaning that those chocolates you just grabbed will be even easier to cram into your waiting mouth. As your character walks through the environment you need to listen out for a piece of music that sometimes begins to play. This means that an event might be about to happen and by standing still on the spot where you can hear the music you'll be able to initiate it. After the event plays out you are free to continue on your journey, listening out for the next piece of music.

Star Sky Review - Screenshot 2 of 3

There are 18 events to experience in total, although it is impossible to see every event in a single playthrough. As you reach the end of a playthrough a painting appears, indicating which events you saw on this particular journey, which ones you've seen before and which ones you're still yet to see, encouraging you to jump back in and try to do things differently in order to unlock something new. This is easily the best part of the game - or 'experience'. As you walk through the scenery over and over again you start to get a little more creative with your thinking and one by one you begin to discover all of the events until there are so few left that there is no way you can give up.

Walking through the world in which your character resides is charming at first. The game adopts that 'dark silhouette but with the odd, bright flash of colour' art style that seems to be getting increasingly popular these days and for good reason - it works really well. The land itself feels mystical, as if anything could happen and it's easy to get strangely attached to the nameless, mute, silhouetted characters that walk from left to right. It's a shame then that the magic is lost after a few playthroughs. The entire world is usually traversed in around five minutes and although there are a couple of alternate paths to choose from, you will be seeing the same scenery every single time you jump back in. Suddenly the feeling of "oh, this bridge looks like it could hold some awesome secrets" turns into "let's run over that bridge as quickly as possible because it definitely doesn't do anything".

Star Sky Review - Screenshot 3 of 3

Depending on how quickly you can work out what causes events to appear, the entire game can be seen in one to two hours, which is both a good and a bad thing. Good because you wouldn't want to be walking along the same path over and over again for much longer than that, but bad because ultimately if you're buying a game you want to get as much content for your money as possible. It's strange for a game to leave you wanting more, yet also leave you with the feeling of relief that it's over.

Conclusion

How much you enjoy this game really depends on the sort of person you are and what you take away from it. If you go into it expecting some platforming action and a storyline you're going to be disappointed. However, if you go into it with an open mind, full of imagination, you'll find a world where you can write the story for yourself and try to discover the meaning of the events in your thoughts. Perfect for some players, but the exact opposite for others. Irrespective of your outlook, it's hard to shake the impression that there simply isn't enough content here to justify the purchase, unless of course you're really keen to play a game which puts you in the mood for a deep sleep.