On the fringe of the chatter of terraforming and occupying Mars, is a select number of scientists suggesting we as a species first set our eyes on Venus, building floating cities in the dense atmosphere miles above the surface. In lieu of a thick, noxious atmosphere with roaming acid clouds, Black Skylands provides a fantastical, steampunk setting among floating rocks and massive airships.
The debut title of a small yet dedicated indie development company named Hungry Couch Games and published by tinyBuild, Black Skylands is touted as an open world, steampunk, sandbox game. That’s certainly what you’ll get on the surface level, and these themes carry throughout the game. The nitty gritty is heavy in resource management and RPG elements. There’s also a heavy pirate feel as you sail the skies in your upgradable airships and pillage enemy goods. Having recently released in Early Access, Black Skylands presents is an incredibly expansive and challenging experience.
Visual World Building
Black Skylands centers around a girl named Eva Mills who lives on a large flying airship with an entire town living on it called the ‘Fathership‘. In the very beginning she’s an eleven year old girl with one eye. Her father is a famous explorer who comes home one day with a mysterious creature. Said mysterious creature inevitably attacks a group that Eva’s father shows decides to play show and tell, and – in a moment of panic fire – there’s an innocent casualty. This one act in the tutorial section sparks one of the major conflicts in the game, as a schism is formed among the community that spreads to all the surrounding islands. The rest of the game takes place seven years later. Eva is eighteen and a capable pilot and fighter who also, somehow, managed to grow an eye(?). The faction that split off in anger after that night refers to itself as the ‘Falcons‘, and have been spending the ensuing years taking island after island by force. But as humans fight humans, another threat grows in strength. That strange creature in the beginning of the game came from somewhere…*dun dun duuuuun*. A little bit of the lore to the world of Black Skylands will be fed to you through files found throughout the islands. Other parts can be inferred through the dialogue. But for the most part, you’re kind of left to fill in the blanks on your own. If anything, that’s to this game’s benefit. That air of mystery adds a bit of intrigue to the world you’ll traverse.
There’s a brutality and beauty to the pixel art of this game. Blood splatters from bodies you kill while fighting on the ground. When enemy ships are destroyed in battle, bodies will rain to the surface. But on the flip side, the view from your airship while sailing the skies is visually stunning. Islands, airships, and fantastical creatures occupy a lower altitude in the sky, giving the scale of how far off the surface this game takes place. Throughout the game, there are two enemy factions you’ll go up against. One is the Falcons, mentioned above. They don black armor and their airships will always charge straight for you. The other is called the Swarm. That’s where the creature from the beginning of the game came from. They are mostly worm-like in appearance with rows of razor sharp teeth and bladed appendages. While you make the effort to reclaim islands from the Falcons, allies of yours are studying the Swarm and trying to find ways to counteract the inevitable spreading of the creatures throughout the skies. And how will you be fighting against these foes?
By Land and By Sky
The game is played in a top down view, much like classic shooters such as Smash TV or more recent titles like Enter the Gungeon. Utilizing the pixel art style lends it more towards the former, of course. While the modern gameplay elements lend it that 21st century touch.
On the ground, there are plenty of nooks and crannies to explore. Between Eva’s melee attack and a grapple hook she has, you’ll be able to access a good majority of the areas, hidden or otherwise. There are some obstacles you’ll need to make a mental note of, or rely on the map screen. Said obstacles can be overcome eventually as the story progresses. The sky is where the open world aspect comes into play. There aren’t any piles of boulders that block your way that you’ll eventually get explosives to clear out. Instead, the game corrals you into areas with difficulty spikes. The enemies in certain areas will absolutely rip you apart if your ship isn’t properly upgraded. This is where the resource management comes into play. As you hop from island to island, liberating them from the Falcons, there is more at your disposal to be a more effective air pirate. Each island has raw materials such as wood and metal ores that you can harvest and bring back to the Fathership. In addition to that, the people of the liberated islands are, themselves, a resource that help in a variety of ways. One of the most notable ways is increasing the damage you do if you attack an enemy from behind, but that is far from the only aid they provide.
To help you explore both the skies and the islands, you have an ever handy map screen. That’s not sarcasm, either. The map screen is very useful and you’ll be constantly referencing it for one reason or another. Of course it tells you where you are and the local landmarks, including which islands are still under Falcon occupation. But it will also show you the difficulty level of the islands and surrounding air space and the raw materials each island has to offer at the moment. Along with those materials are little orange boxes that signify weapon modifications that can be equipped to make you a more lethal ground combatant.
Combat is real time and can be done on land or in the sky. On the ground, you’ll have access to an arsenal of guns including but not limited shotguns, SMG’s, and rifles. You also have grenades, a melee attack and an incredibly versatile hook. Not only can it be used against enemies, with different effects depending on if the hook connects with the front or back, but it can also be used to retrieve items or travel across large gaps in the landscape. As mentioned above, the guns can be upgraded. The modifications attach to either the barrel, the scope, the magazine, or the butt of the gun and have a variety of effects, both negative and positive. Mixing and matching them to be the exact fighter you want to be is part of the fun of the RPG elements in Black Skylands. In the sky, you’ll be fighting from your airships. Cannons can be aimed in three different angles off of the port and starboard sides of the ship. Damage incurred will need to be repaired on the fly. If your ship becomes too compromised, you’ll be transported back to the Fathership. Upgrading the ships is done by both buying newer, better ships and purchasing better parts for them. These better parts can be anything from more powerful cannons to more resilient hulls to larger storage space. As you go through and upgrade Eva both on ground and in the air, a power rating will increase. Actually, it’s two different ratings, one for each. Your enemies also have these ratings, which is how you gauge the difficulty of the areas. If the enemy’s power rating is higher than yours, then going into that area is a bad idea until you can boost yourself up more.
Last thing to mention about the gameplay is your moth, Luma. Mentioning her last shouldn’t diminish her importance, however, as she has many uses in and out of battle. She can carry things to your ship for you, be it materials for the storage hold or you just don’t want to walk all the way back. Above your health bar are hearts that represent Luma’s power. If your health drains in ground combat and Luma has power, you’ll respawn on your ship, wherever you docked it before dying. Without the power, you end up back on the Fathership. If your ship is shot out of the air and Luma has power, you’ll be sent to the nearest fuel station instead of all the way back to the Fathership. Essentially, Luma’s power acts as extra lives before a game over. Calling it a game over is a little extreme, since all that is lost is time.
Taking It In For A Landing
All in all, Black Skylands is an ambitious first outing for a new studio and it’s impressive on what they are delivering on. Its stunning pixel art and memorable music help bring its world of resource management and gun fights to life. Are there hiccups every now and then? Of course – this is an Early Access title after all. Judging by how much they put into this, there’s no doubt that the finished product will not only address the bugs and glitches, but smooth out the overall balancing of the game. For now what’s there is still incredibly engaging. It’s entirely possible to get completely sidetracked from the main story to explore the various islands in the sky. Next thing you know, real world hours have gone by and you’re still on the same quest. This is definitely a title to look out for on any platform on which it’s set to release.
