Sky: Children of the Light

Genre: 3D Exploration

Players: 1-8 (Online)

The Nintendo Switch 2 Difference

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Review:

WARNING: THIS GAME HEAVILY PUSHES MICROTRANSACTIONS

Sky: Children of the Light is a 3D Exploration game from the folks at thatgamecompany, the developer best known for PlayStation platform games like Flow, Flower, and Journey. First released on iOS in 2019 and ported to Nintendo Switch in 2021, Sky feels very much like a spiritual successor to Journey, sharing many of that game’s mechanics, having similar aesthetics, and similar themes. However, Sky expands on Journey by adding progression elements, character customization, and expanded communication options, all wrapped within a package that is free-to-play supported by microtransactions.

So if you’ve already played Journey, I can say that this game plays a lot like that, albeit complicated a bit by new elements I’ll get to later. If you haven’t played Journey, I’ll start by saying that like Journey, if I had to describe Sky: Children of the Light with one word, it would be “beautiful”.

Sky is one of the most visually-stunning games on Nintendo Switch. Those who played thagamecompany’s previous works may be less surprised to hear this, because Journey was similarly stunning when it was first released (and I would argue that it still is). Sky takes many of the elements that made that game an absolute wonder – the great lighting, beautiful reflections of light off of surfaces, glinting sand and snow, flowing grass, and of course the wonderful use of color and a simple but elegant art style. This time around, these lovely visuals are supplemented by additional effects, not the least of which are the game’s impressive flowing clouds, which aren’t just pretty backgrounds but actually form much of the architecture of the levels at times. Players will find themselves heading into forests of clouds, cave systems of clouds, everything moving impressively in ways that make the world feel alive.

On Nintendo Switch, Sky offers players a choice between a 60FPS performance mode and a high-resolution 30FPS mode. Both look fantastic, though I tended to prefer the high-resolution mode – these are visuals that demand to have every detail taken in. I will note that at least on Nintendo Switch these visuals aren’t always perfect – I did notice a bit of pop-in and occasional clipping, but overall these issues were minor and didn’t spoil the overall look of the game.

This amazing visual spectacle is supported by an excellent soundtrack with wonderful placid orchestral themes. For good examples, check out Isle of Dawn Opening Music, Butterfly Catcher, Hidden Forest – Waltzing in the Rain, Vault Fifth Floor, The Light Beyond, and Credits. Yeah, I just linked to about one third of the soundtrack, sue me (thatgamecompany, if you read this, please don’t sue me).

In short, I’d say Sky is absolutely a showpiece game for the Nintendo Switch. It’s a feast for the eyes and ears.

When it comes to the gameplay, Sky has many of the same great qualities that Journey had. The game has good pacing that moves you quickly enough from setpiece to setpiece while slowing down in between to give players an opportunity to explore. That’s an element that this game highlights far more than Journey – in each of the game’s areas, players are encouraged to seek out various “spirits” needing help, as well as other places where they can gather one of the game’s currencies. These currencies are used to upgrade your character’s number of jumps, but can also be traded to spirits to upgrade each of their “skill trees”, which I put in quotations because mostly it’s not skills, but aesthetics, emotes, and the like. Players looking for a shortcut past the hunting and gathering can opt to pay for microtransactions, though I never found myself especially compelled to open my wallet for these.

This game also puts a focus on constrained communication between players in a way that expands on what Journey did. Throughout your own individual journey, you’ll run across other players going through their own journey, and can opt to move with them, “friend” them, or communicate with them by calling out much in the same way Journey allowed. You can of course also make use of the emotes you’ve collected, or you can even enter a chat session with another player on a designated chat bench, or leave a message in some spots for random other players to find.

While the expanded options do give players more freedom to act, I actually tend to feel like the simplicity of Journey may have been preferable, as the limited communication in that game helped to keep things abstract in a way that I felt was really beautiful. In fact, this game’s inclusion of written narration seems almost like a betrayal of the simple aesthetic that thatgamecompany was known for in prior games, and while I can’t fault the game for trying to convey its mechanics to players in ways they’d hopefully be more receptive to than pantomime, subtle camera gestures, and creative game design, I kinda’ felt like the way it was done here was clumsy, and left me confused about just what the heck all of these mechanics were for, at least for the first few hours I played the game.

My initial experience with the game was a persistent feeling of “This is all really beautiful and I’m thoroughly enjoying myself… but I don’t really understand what I’m doing or why I’m doing it”. And overall probably my biggest complaint about this game is that it doesn’t seem quite as polished and elegant as thatgamecompany’s earlier works. Between the rushed introduction of various game elements and the loss of the beautiful simplicity of those games, Sky never quite hit the same feeling of beautiful perfection of Journey and Flower, nor did it ever quite connect with me on the same emotional level.

However, while Sky may not quite measure up to its impressive legacy, it’s still an outstanding game, a beautiful experience, and a game that I feel that every Nintendo Switch owner should download. It is, after all, a free game, and one that features a gorgeous world to explore. Even if it’s lacking the simple elegance of its predecessors, Sky: Children of the Light is an experience on Nintendo Switch that you will not want to miss.

tl;dr – Sky: Children of the Light is a free-to-play 3D Exploration game that follows directly in the footsteps of the developer’s prior game, Journey. While it never quite reaches the level of simple elegance or the emotional heights of that legendary game, Sky is nevertheless an audiovisual masterpiece and an experience that every Nintendo Switch owner should have, especially with the price tag of “free”.

Grade: B+

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This game has been nominated for one or more of eShopperReviews 2021 Game Awards:

Winner:

Best New Free-To-Play Game – Many of the biggest-name free-to-play games this year fell flat, but Sky: Children of the Light is a game that could have easily been sold for $10-$20 and no one would have batted an eyelash (well, if it wasn’t already free-to-play on mobile devices too). While it’s a bit short, this is a beautiful experience that is an absolute delight to play on Nintendo Switch, and its monetization doesn’t hinder the experience.

Runner-Up: Best Graphics, Best Misc. Game

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The Nintendo Switch 2 Difference

Sky: Children of the Light

Genre: 3D Exploration

Players: 1-8 (Online)

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Review:

WARNING: THIS GAME HEAVILY PUSHES MICROTRANSACTIONS

When I originally reviewed this game on Nintendo Switch years ago, I said it was one of the most visually-stunning games on Nintendo Switch. I stand by that claim, but I would have to add some extra qualifiers to that, because looking at the game years later, whether it’s because my TV setup is better now or I have a more discerning eye, it’s easier to see the seams.

There are framerate issues in places, and an overall low resolution, though to some extent this will depend on your settings – I’m not sure if I missed this in my earlier review, but there are now multiple independent graphical settings, and you can actually independently set the graphical quality and framerate cap. And that is absolutely something that seems like it could make for a lot of potential when playing the game on Nintendo Switch 2 via backwards-compatibility.

When playing this game on Nintendo Switch 2, I noticed some good, and some bad. Let’s talk about the bad first. One of the more recent events the game has been updated to include kicks off a cutscene, and on Nintendo Switch 2 this played like an absolute slide show for a few seconds. It was honestly kinda’ shocking. Also, this game has some sort of filter or static-like pattern overlay that’s easier to see when the screen is dark, and this pattern has been enhanced when playing the game on Nintendo Switch 2, making dark scenes seem… well, oddly staticky. Neither of these is a deal-breaker, but it’s important to note that Sky: Children of the Light doesn’t transition as smoothly to Nintendo Switch 2 as some other games.

That said, players can now feel free to set all of their graphics settings to their highest and get a nice resolution and smooth 60FPS framerate during gameplay, even in areas where I noticed framerate drops when testing the game on Nintendo Switch. In fact, this can make some textures that haven’t been upgraded stand out by contrast.

Ultimately, I do think Sky: Children of the Light benefits from being played on Nintendo Switch 2 more than it is harmed by it. The complaints I have are minor, and mostly you’ll encounter those issues at times when it matters the least, when you’re not engaged in gameplay. That’s absolutely a trade I’ll make for better, cleaner, smoother visuals during gameplay, and if you’re wondering whether to play this game on Nintendo Switch 2, I would tell you that it’s definitely something you’ll want to try, especially with it being free-to-play.

tl;dr – Sky: Children of the Light is a free-to-play 3D Exploration game that follows directly in the footsteps of the developer’s prior game, Journey. While it never quite reaches the level of simple elegance or the emotional heights of that legendary game, Sky is nevertheless an audiovisual masterpiece that on balance looks better on Nintendo Switch 2. It’s certainly worth a try for those who are curious, especially with the price tag of “free”.

Grade: B+

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