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0 Aloft is a new survival crafter co-op game from Astrolabe Interactive Inc. (Sacrifice Your Friends), with publishing by Funcom (Conan Exiles, Secret World),. Explore floating islands alone or with up to seven other friends as you glide between them collecting resources and secrets. Aloft is currently only available as Early Access on PC via Steam.
Aloft Brings Gliding Galore
Survival games come in varying degrees of complexity and difficulty. Many of them still fall into the same patterns of gameplay. I’m usually looking for something that sets a survival game apart, and the setting for Aloft certainly caught my attention. The simple mechanic of having biomes/areas separated by sky in particular. I think the last survival game I’ve played that was laid out this way would have been when I looked at Forever Skies. Off the top of my head I can’t really think of any others, can you? Check out my thoughts on this survival adventure below.
Gameplay
Aloft is a survival crafter co-op that sets you off exploring floating islands. Not only do you explore those islands; you even get to pilot one of your own! Sailing or gliding from island to island is how you go about gathering resources, finding hidden knowledge, as well as learning how to craft new items. The game may be played solo as well as co-op. The game overall has a very cosy vibe, as you are not immediately scrambling to gather resources to live as in many survival games. Nor are enemies vastly overpowering. At least not those that I’ve encountered thus far.
I think that was one of the first highlights in Aloft – I could take my time. I wasn’t immediately dying of starvation or hunger. I had time to actually explore the surrounding area and environments. That is probably one of my biggest pet peeves in most survival games. Let me learn before I die from mechanics, not as I die from them.
Another feature that stood out in Aloft is the ways you go about learning new schematics. Instead of simply learning things as you pick up the resources or unlocking better items when you craft others, you actually use a sketchbook to learn from your environment. I found it interesting running around trying to find things I could sketch to craft myself. Item recipes are also discovered by combining items at the crafting table. The only issue I ran into was trying to determine if charcoal is just a resource you must gather or if there was a way to craft it.
Graphics & Audio
The graphics in Aloft are also of high quality. Playing at native 4k on the default settings (a mixture of high and medium mostly), the game looks and feels smooth. Each island is quite vibrant with detail and ground clutter. I didn’t notice any screen tearing or visual glitches either throughout my time in the game. The only minor thing I did notice is that if you’re flying/gliding really fast on approach to an island, it can stutter for a moment while the island loads in trying to catch up with you. Certainly nothing game-breaking there though.
If you’ve read through any of my previous reviews, you know that talking about the audio is not my strong suit. In Aloft, there’s a subtle, calm soundtrack that easily fits the cosy vibe. Standard smack a tree, rock, or whatever sound effects also fit as they should into the game. I did not encounter anything that really stood out as terrible or amazing. But for this review I did go back into the game to double-check if there even was music, only to find that at one point I had turned it down. Apparently I turned it down so much that it just was barely audible. Even with it turned up though I strained at times to even notice it.
Longevity
Survival games as a rule seem to have a high longevity by default. Unless it’s a terrible game, which Aloft is most definitely not. It’s a great game and although I have only been able to play solo, I’m sure it’s a real blast with friends. With the potential for shenanigans, island customization and building, on top of Steam achievements – I could easily see someone spending 200+ hours in this game once it is out of Early Access.
Final Thoughts
Aloft is a survival game that piques the interest of explorers, creators, and treasure hunters. Astrolabe Interactive has a nice laundry list of things to tackle over the next year in Early Access. I’m looking forward to seeing how things pan out and maybe sometime after full release being able to play with some friends!
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this preview.
If you enjoy this review, be sure to check out my other reviews here.
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