Video games seem to be getting more expensive with each console generation. The world of online multiplayer, no matter the platform, is filled with uber-competitive PVP games that can rattle your faith in humanity. People can be hyper aggressive, callous, or enjoy purposefully ruining matches for others. Sometimes a break from these games is just what the doctor ordered. Games are supposed to be fun after all, right?
If you’re a PC gamer, you probably know Steam, the online shop with thousands of games to buy and download. Amidst the AAA titles, you’ll find a whole section for casual and indie games; many of these are either free or very inexpensive. “Sky to Fly: Faster than Wind” was released on Steam on March 25th, 2016 and is regularly priced at $4.50, but I managed to pick it up for $3.14. It’s a port from a mobile game with some minor tweaks to make it suitable for PC.
So, what can you expect from a game that costs less than a coffee and a bagel?
Sky to Fly puts you in the brown leather boots of an airship captain tasked with defending Windopolis from a band of pirates. The entire game takes place far above the surface of the world with everything being given a steampunk aesthetic. Gears and brass festoon most structures and airships. The first thing you’ll notice about Sky to Fly is its art style. The graphics are simplistic yet bright and pleasant. The second thing you’ll notice is the incredibly low key gameplay. Your airship is put on a set course and you can only maneuver left or right. Avoiding obstacles, hostile creatures, and pirates, while collecting power ups and gears (a form of currency) along the way is all you need to worry about. That being said, I found myself enjoying the relaxing music and overall simplicity. To make the game more interesting, you have the ability to buy and upgrade airships, recruit crew members with different perks, and do side missions for more gold and jewels.
The story is engaging enough for being adapted from a mobile game, and I enjoyed the upgradeable ships and mix and match crews. The main story is short though; it took me a little over 2 ½ hours to complete. Side missions add some time, but not a lot. The most frustrating part about the game is the punishment for not having enough gold or jewels to upgrade your ship. You may think this is no big deal, just farm the side missions until you have enough, but side missions cannot be repeated immediately. The game requires you to wait at least an hour before you can replay the mission. I had to do this several times before I could progress through to the next level. Note: I did not count these delays towards the final playtime of the game. Besides that, and more than a few weird spelling errors in the dialogue boxes, I really can’t find anything to complain about.
“Sky to Fly: Faster than Wind” is no doubt a simple game. It has a really short main story and very little replayability. That being said, at $4.50 full price it’s a lot cheaper than going to the movies and is a nice break from the more sophisticated, $60 action adventure games that can consume entire days of your life. Is it worth getting this version of the mobile? It’s hard to say; the main difference between the two versions seems to be the ability to pay real money to speed up parts on the mobile version and that’s hard to decide whether it’s a plus or not. Added bonus: the game file is very small so download takes minutes, and the graphics are so simple any computer can handle it with ease.
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