Black Skylands: Origins

About

Black Skylands: Origins is a single player role playing game. It was developed by Hungry Couch Games and was released on April 30, 2020. It received positive reviews from players.

Black Skylands: Origins is an action-adventure game where you play as Walter, a young Earner on a quest to defeat the Kain's Falcons and restore his Fathership. Navigate challenging aerial battles, craft weapons, and customize your ship to survive in a vibrant skybound world filled with friends and foes. Embark on a thrilling journey of exploration and combat.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

+10

Skip User Reviews

82%

Audience ScoreBased on 301 reviews

story28 positive mentions

grinding25 negative mentions

The game features beautiful pixel art and a charming aesthetic that enhances the overall experience.
The combination of farming, resource gathering, and combat mechanics offers a unique gameplay experience that keeps players engaged.
The grappling hook mechanic adds an interesting layer of mobility and exploration, allowing players to traverse between islands creatively.

Ship controls are clunky and difficult to maneuver, making navigation frustrating and often leading to crashes.
The combat mechanics feel imprecise, with issues in hit detection and enemy AI that detract from the overall enjoyment.
The story and character dialogue can be generic and lack depth, making it hard for players to feel invested in the narrative.

story
84 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
63%
4%
The game's story has received mixed feedback, with some players finding it engaging and filled with potential, while others describe it as generic and uninspired. Many appreciate the intriguing backstory of a world transformed into floating islands, but feel that character development and lore are lacking depth. Overall, while the narrative offers a solid foundation, players hope for more complexity and exploration in the full release.
- “The story is engaging and I immediately wanted to know more about the world, its people and their conflicts.”
- “Compelling story and great visuals.”
- “The game has potential: the story is good, the art style is very nostalgic of something from the Super Nintendo or PS1 days.”
- “But the story and lore feel kind of uninspired; you are tied down to one character who most people might not sympathize with.”
- “The story is kind of bland; it feels like I'm watching Avatar, but with less magic and less plot.”
- “The real problem is that they have a generic story that is being shoved in the player's face without any choice, so you get annoyed quite quickly with it.”
gameplay
81 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
65%
5%
Gameplay reviews highlight a mix of intriguing mechanics and solid concepts, but many players feel that the execution is hampered by clunky controls, slow pacing, and repetitive elements. While some aspects, like the shooting and weapon mechanics, are praised for their fun and uniqueness, others, such as airship navigation and resource management, are criticized for being tedious and underwhelming. Overall, the game shows potential but requires significant refinement to enhance the overall experience.
- “Very interesting mechanics and gameplay!”
- “The game has a lot of solid mechanics behind it; the gameplay is really fun and not overbearing.”
- “Super fun gameplay and a great concept!”
- “Perfect concept but too many things bog down gameplay.”
- “Overall, I can't shake that it's just too slow and lacks any real gameplay systems.”
- “The tutorial taught me how to harvest a cabbage, plant, build a garden, store or remove items from storage and... it wasn't used in gameplay outside of the single tutorial interaction; I was then forced into about 10 minutes of clunky airshipping and 50 minutes of lesser Enter the Gungeon.”
graphics
48 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
38%
6%
The graphics of the game have received positive feedback for their nostalgic pixel art style, reminiscent of classic Super Nintendo and PS1 games, and are praised for their beautiful aesthetics and smooth animations. However, some users noted issues with character expressions and performance on lower-end systems, while others found the visuals to be a bit familiar compared to other titles. Overall, the art style and atmosphere contribute significantly to the game's appeal, especially for fans of pixel art.
- “The style and aesthetic of the world is beautiful, enhanced by wonderful pixel art and smooth animations.”
- “The atmosphere is incredible and the visuals are amazing.”
- “The graphics are impressive; it'd be nice to have some better voice acting/language options or really just the ability to turn off if you prefer.”
- “The graphics, hoping this kind of graphic should not require high GPU/CPU power... but I'm wrong.”
- “For its graphics and generally the game's physiology, it runs kinda poorly on my PC even if it's above the minimum requirements.”
- “Graphics are ok, but the character portraits feel bland and soulless.”
music
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
37%
53%
10%
The music in the game has received mixed feedback, with many praising its quality and fitting atmosphere, particularly during combat and exploration. However, some players expressed frustration over the inability to adjust volume settings and noted issues with repetitive loops and inconsistent transitions. Overall, while the soundtrack enhances the experience, there are calls for more variety and better integration to improve immersion.
- “The soundtrack is great as well and fits well to the atmosphere.”
- “The music is quite good, although some tracks are short and transitions can be clunky. More flute instruments would enhance the feeling of freedom in the air.”
- “The soundtrack sounds amazing, transitioning from a calming place to an intense fight.”
- “The lack of music, bar a generic repetitive fight music, is disappointing and means the game doesn't reach a good level of immersion.”
- “The music stopped and became completely silent after you stayed on a map for too long.”
- “The music itself doesn't bring the mood about the current situation.”
grinding
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
12%
96%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be a mixed experience; while the farming and resource gathering add depth and financial rewards, many describe these tasks as tedious and not particularly intuitive. The combat and customization elements are enjoyable, but the necessity of frequent repairs and resource collection can feel like a chore, detracting from the overall fun. Overall, the game offers a blend of action and farming, but the grinding mechanics may require patience from players.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “Grinding in this game is incredibly rewarding and keeps you engaged.”
- “The grind is satisfying and offers a real sense of progression.”
- “Repairing, refueling, or rearming the airship is tedious and not intuitive.”
- “Despite only playing for 1.2 hours, it became tedious and tiresome.”
- “What I didn't like all that much were the base building mechanics; they felt a little bit like a chore, and I can imagine harvesting resources becoming very tedious and grindy.”
optimization
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
58%
25%
Overall, the game's optimization has received mixed feedback, with some users reporting smooth performance while others experience significant stuttering and FPS drops, particularly in specific areas and scenarios. Many players are calling for improved optimization settings and better performance management, indicating that the game still requires substantial work to enhance its efficiency on various hardware configurations.
- “Better performance and customizable key configuration will surely come soon or for release.”
- “Pretty good demo, runs smoothly and longer than most demos I have tried.”
- “The only thing I don't like is the performance impact it has on my PC.”
- “Runs very badly, with tons of stuttering (I don't have the best computer, but come on).”
- “Lastly, there seems to be some optimization issue which causes the game to nearly freeze when I'm at Gun Town.”
stability
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game currently experiences significant stability issues, including bugs that affect sound, grappling mechanics, and gameplay freezes, particularly while piloting. However, developers are actively addressing these problems, and despite the glitches, players see potential in the game's overall design.
- “The game is quite buggy, occasionally losing sound for guns or other entities, the grappling hook freezing in mid-air rendering it useless until it fixes itself and weapon mods being shown on the wrong weapons.”
- “It's a pretty neat game, but there were some weird glitches such as the empty gas can duplicating 90 times in the cargo hold, and the audio for everything except the ship's engine being gone for about a third of the time.”
- “The main issue I had was there being occasional gameplay freezes when piloting the airship, but when not piloting, the game ran pretty smooth.”
atmosphere
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
80%
20%
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its captivating ancient sky city setting, characterized by beautifully crafted pixel art and effective parallax effects. Players appreciate the immersive visuals and fitting soundtrack, which enhance the overall experience and provide a compelling backdrop to the action.
- “Nice atmospheric pixel art style, love the parallax and voices.”
- “The atmosphere is incredible and the visuals are amazing.”
- “An interesting sort of ancient city in the skies forged out of carved stone: an atmospheric place would be nice to break up the fights between society, mercs, and random beasts in the sky.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviewers note that while the character artwork is visually appealing, it suffers from a lack of emotional expression, with characters often displaying the same bored look even during pivotal emotional moments. This inconsistency detracts from the overall emotional impact of the game.
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
Reviewers praise the character development for its impressive design and voice acting, highlighting the appealing aesthetics of both the protagonists and antagonists. The overall presentation contributes positively to the game's immersive experience.
- “Love the voice acting and character designs.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game features a humorous introduction and amusing villains, whether intentionally or not, contributing to an overall lighthearted tone. Players appreciate the blend of smooth battle mechanics with comedic elements, enhancing the gaming experience.
- “The simple controls and smooth battle mechanics made the gameplay enjoyable, and the intro was very funny.”
- “The villains were pretty funny, whether it was intentional or not.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game offers very limited replayability, primarily revolving around gathering supplies and engaging in combat as a top-view shooter. Players may find little incentive to replay beyond these core mechanics.
- “The replayability is very limited; gathering supplies and shooting enemies in this top-view shooter are probably the only aspects that offer any replay value.”
- “The replayability is very limited; gathering supplies and shooting enemies in this top-view shooter are probably the only aspects that offer any replay value.”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviewers express concern that the game's monetization strategy may resemble a cash grab, particularly due to its association with a Russian studio and the anonymity of its developers, coupled with a lack of a strong social media presence. Potential buyers are advised to approach with caution.
- “Those interested in purchasing the game when it is released should be wary, as this looks like it could turn into another cash grab by a Russian studio with mostly anonymous developers and a lack of solid social media presence.”