Airborne Empire

About

Airborne Empire is a single player open world role playing game with a fantasy theme. It was developed by The Wandering Band LLC and was released on January 13, 2025. It received very positive reviews from players.

Airborne Empire is a unique open-world RPG city builder where players create and manage a flying city, balancing lift, propulsion, and defense against sky pirates. Exploring diverse biomes, they uncover treasures, complete quests, and develop new technologies to protect and expand their airborne home. Strategic leadership is key to uniting the world below.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

92%

Audience ScoreBased on 399 reviews

story35 positive mentions

grinding6 negative mentions

Engaging gameplay that combines city building with exploration and light combat mechanics, providing a unique twist on the genre.
Charming art style and relaxing soundtrack create an enjoyable atmosphere, making it a great game for casual play.
Active development and community support from the developers, with regular updates and responsiveness to player feedback.

Some players report performance issues and bugs, particularly on lower-end systems, which can detract from the overall experience.
The game can feel repetitive after a while, with some quests and mechanics lacking depth, leading to a sense of monotony.
The combat mechanics may feel clunky or simplistic for players looking for a more challenging experience, potentially making it less appealing for hardcore gamers.

story
121 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
69%
2%
The game's story is generally described as charming and engaging, featuring cute characters and a variety of quests that encourage exploration and city-building. However, many players note that the narrative feels incomplete or simplistic, with some quests lacking depth and the main storyline ending abruptly. Overall, while the story adds a fun layer to the gameplay, it leaves room for improvement and expansion in future updates.
- “The story and characters are cute too!”
- “The game balances engaging quests with just enough combat to keep things interesting without overwhelming the experience.”
- “It expands on the first in the series by adding combat, improved visuals, and more narrative storytelling.”
- “There are other small areas where the game can use improvement like the story, which ends pretty abruptly.”
- “My only gripe when I finished it was how short it was, and how the story seemed unfinished, so finding out that it is literally still in development was great!”
- “For an early access game, I got nearly 30 hours out of this; it plays like it's complete feature-wise, but the story is quite short currently.”
gameplay
64 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
53%
42%
5%
The gameplay of the city builder is described as a relaxing yet engaging experience, combining exploration, resource gathering, and combat mechanics that enhance the core loop. While the new combat features and mechanics like lift and tilt add depth, some players find the gameplay can become repetitive and slow-paced over time. Overall, the game is praised for its intuitive mechanics and beautiful visuals, though some aspects may feel shallow or tedious, particularly in resource management and questing.
- “The balance, lift mechanics, and combat all add interesting quirks to the core gameplay loop of exploring the map, doing quests, and collecting resources.”
- “It's super-addictive, has a great gameplay loop, and I love the RPG city-building aspects of it.”
- “The gameplay loop of gathering, building, and task-oriented quests was engaging enough.”
- “Pirates pose little threat, and the gameplay can start to feel a bit dull.”
- “I would not have bought this game if I knew 90% of the gameplay is hidden item fetch quests.”
- “But it seems shallow and dull (regarding gameplay).”
graphics
55 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
53%
5%
The graphics of the game are characterized by a charming and colorful art style that many players find appealing, though some note that the visuals can feel cartoonish and less polished compared to its predecessor, Airborne Kingdom. While the aesthetic is generally praised for its simplicity and pleasantness, there are concerns about performance issues, such as frame drops and the need for frequent adjustments to graphics settings. Overall, the game offers a unique visual experience that complements its gameplay, but it may require optimization for smoother performance.
- “The graphics are unique and colorful.”
- “The simple and adorable art style really complements this game's ability to present a bright and lively experience alongside its stories and characters.”
- “The graphics are pleasant and nicely stylized.”
- “It's a poly kind of version (no real polished realistic graphics or anything near that).”
- “Still in doubt if it was the money, since graphics look kinda outdated for the price.”
- “The one thing that does need mentioning is that the graphics are a bit cartoonish and, at times, seem like a work in progress.”
music
43 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
60%
7%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many praising its atmospheric and relaxing qualities, often describing it as charming and immersive, reminiscent of Studio Ghibli soundtracks. However, some players found the music forgettable or repetitive, suggesting it detracted from the overall experience. Overall, while the soundtrack enhances the game's aesthetic for many, others feel it lacks the memorable impact of its predecessor.
- “The music is probably one of my favorite things about this game.”
- “Just having a giant floating city populated by chirping citizens with soothing music playing in the background is just the stress-reliever I needed right now!”
- “The soundtrack is light and lovely and the game has a nice story.”
- “The music is ... well, it's just different versions of the same theme.”
- “I rarely want to get rid of the music in a game, but this one got muted.”
- “Unlike Kingdom's stable of bangers, Empire has - without hyperbole - the most forgettable music I have ever encountered in a game.”
optimization
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
18%
64%
18%
The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players experiencing significant performance issues, including low frame rates and high CPU usage, even on powerful systems. While recent updates have improved performance for some, many still recommend waiting for further optimizations and bug fixes before purchasing. Overall, the game shows potential but requires additional work to enhance its performance and stability.
- “With the recent performance updates, it ran fine for me before, but now it hardly puts any strain on my PC. I can confidently recommend Airborne Empire.”
- “However, once everything is researched, upgraded, and your crew and city layout are optimized, the city almost becomes self-sufficient.”
- “If you are considering buying, just wait until the bugs are more ironed out, and they optimize their game.”
- “However, there are also a few weaknesses, such as the currently still very weak performance; despite the relatively simple visuals, the game is very hardware-hungry and often has heavy frame drops.”
- “The game is still ironing out a couple of kinks and graphics optimizations, but plays and runs well.”
atmosphere
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere of the game is characterized by a relaxing and charming vibe, enhanced by an atmospheric soundtrack, delightful animations, and satisfying interactions. Players appreciate the unique art style and the overall laid-back experience, making it an enjoyable choice for those seeking a cozy city-building game. Despite minor variations in ambiance across different regions, the overall atmosphere remains consistently pleasant and engaging.
- “This is a sit-back-and-relax kind of game, vibing with the atmospheric soundtrack, charming animations, and bird-chirping conversations.”
- “If you're looking for a city-building game with an adorable art style and a relaxing atmosphere, Airborne Empire is a delightful choice.”
- “Beautiful, laid-back experience, with pleasant and atmospheric music, and a unique art style that wanes only a little as you enter regions beyond the floral grasslands, but is still pleasant.”
replayability
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
14%
43%
Overall, opinions on the game's replayability are mixed; some players find it fun and engaging enough for multiple playthroughs, while others feel it lacks substantial replay value and recommend waiting for additional content before diving back in. The consensus suggests that without future updates, the game may not hold long-term interest for many players.
- “This game is replayable.”
- “In other words, this game is just plain fun, simple, and replayable.”
- “I would like to start by describing the type of gamer I am – borderline ADHD, constantly trying new titles and indie games, and always finding myself bored, unsatisfied, and just plain mad at the fact that no game I ever play seems to be engaging and/or replayable enough for me to keep going for more than a week's time.”
- “I would add that for me, unless the future content is worthwhile, this game has zero replay value.”
- “I don't think the game has a lot of replayability.”
- “I definitely recommend waiting for more content to be released, considering the price tag is pretty high and it really does not seem like a game with a lot of potential replayability.”
grinding
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
86%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, particularly due to the slow travel speeds and the repetitive nature of upgrading resources and growing the population. While the game is praised for its polished graphics and engaging missions, there are concerns that the grind may become more burdensome over time without additional gameplay elements to alleviate it.
- “Really polished, fun, engaging, and the missions are enjoyable, not grindy like many other games.”
- “In my opinion, very fast should have been the default, and the other speeds should have been even faster, as travel over explored areas will get tedious fast.”
- “Sure the graphics are cleaner and the map has water instead of cartography, but having to upgrade each fan after each improvement is researched is tedious and not a fun mechanic.”
- “However, growing your population is a bit tedious because you need to scour the map to find settlements for new pops, and the gold required to get new pops is relatively harder to get.”
stability
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
40%
Overall, the game's stability is generally positive, with many users reporting smooth performance and minimal bugs. However, some players experience significant delays at startup and issues requiring a full restart when changing graphics settings. While there are a few minor glitches noted, they are expected to be resolved in future updates.
- “Runs great.”
- “It's well polished, runs great, and is super fun.”
- “So far, bug-free and I'm happy.”
- “Every time I start the game, it freezes on the splash screen for 5-7 minutes, and if you change graphics settings, you have to restart the whole game.”
- “Though I am very happy overall with the game, being in early release, there are one or two minor glitches that should easily be fixed with time.”
humor
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game features a blend of humor through witty dialogue, charming characters, and amusing pop-culture references, enhancing the overall experience. Players appreciate the comedic interactions with various factions and find the negative reviews to be particularly entertaining. Overall, the humor adds a delightful layer to the engaging lore and gameplay.
- “Otherwise, this is a terrific game with some humor in the interactions between you and different factions.”
- “The characters are adorable, and there are some funny pop-culture references.”
- “The dialogue is funny, the lore is interesting, with opportunities to learn more at your own discretion.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the game emotionally engaging, highlighting its fun and wholesome gameplay that encourages them to return for repeated experiences. The unique elements contribute to a lasting emotional connection, making it a memorable title.