Desert Skies

About

"Desert Skies" is a survival adventure game set in a Wild West desert, where players fly across the landscape in a customizable airship, exploring various locations for resources and items to craft weapons and build a fortress. The ultimate goal is to survive and defeat the monstrous Seeker that hunts you. With a focus on exploration, building, and fighting, players must balance their time and resources carefully to emerge victorious.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

54%

Audience ScoreBased on 288 reviews

gameplay16 positive mentions

grinding3 negative mentions

The game has a unique concept, combining survival mechanics with an airship exploration theme, reminiscent of 'Raft' but set in a desert environment.
The atmosphere and art style are engaging, creating an immersive experience that captures the essence of the wild west.
The developers are responsive to player feedback and have shown commitment to improving the game, which bodes well for its future development.

The game feels unfinished and lacks substantial content, with many players reporting that it can be completed in just a few hours.
There are significant bugs and gameplay issues, such as poor AI behavior, clunky controls, and frustrating inventory management.
The game has been criticized for being abandoned by the developers, with no updates or communication for extended periods, leading to disappointment among players.

gameplay
41 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
39%
54%
7%
The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players enjoying the engaging mechanics and immersive exploration, while others criticize its lack of depth and polish, noting that it can feel repetitive and limited after a short time. Many appreciate the survival elements and crafting systems, but express frustration over the game's current state, including issues with AI, controls, and the absence of a tutorial. Overall, while the game shows potential and offers fun moments, it requires further development to enhance the gameplay experience.
- “I loved literally everything about it, from the overall concept (endless desert, seemingly no people left anywhere, travel by airship, etc.) and music, to even the frustration caused by survival mechanics.”
- “The game has good potential, especially if you enjoy open-world exploration, survival mechanics, battling mobs, collecting resources, crafting, and building your raft.”
- “With its engaging gameplay loop, intriguing storyline, and challenging mobs, it offers a compelling experience for those willing to brave the desert sands.”
- “Maybe like 2 hours of gameplay and you've seen everything.”
- “My biggest problem has to do with the core gameplay loop though.”
- “Really fun game, with very little actual gameplay right now sadly.”
story
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
62%
12%
The game's story is described as intriguing and engaging, with players appreciating its unique mechanics and world-building elements. However, some users note that the story mode is relatively short, and there is a desire for more content and multiplayer options to enhance the experience. Overall, while the narrative has potential and adds purpose to gameplay, it may feel lacking for those seeking a more extensive storyline.
- “Better than games worth much more than this, has a very interesting story and mechanics.”
- “With its engaging gameplay loop, intriguing storyline, and challenging mobs, it offers a compelling experience for those willing to brave the desert sands.”
- “It's a fun little adventure with an intriguing story and a little bit of danger in the form of the seeker mixed into it.”
- “It's a very fun survival game, but it's very hard to find sulfur, and once the story is done, it's kind of boring.”
- “This is, of course, for the 2 hours (45 minutes if you rush) of story mode that you get out of the game.”
- “✅ This game has no story.”
graphics
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
39%
44%
17%
The graphics of the game are characterized by a charming and consistent art style, with simple yet detailed polygon graphics that enhance the overall aesthetic. While some users noted limitations in graphics settings and occasional visual errors, many appreciated the delightful artwork and how it complements the game's theme and mechanics. Overall, the graphics are considered enjoyable and fitting for the game's atmosphere.
- “I love the art style of the game and the wobble heads.”
- “They've kept a consistent art style across the world and interface, and they've got some tasty jams in there that complement the theme.”
- “The art style suits the game and setting perfectly, and the moving base that is your airship reminds me of some of the raft games that have come out recently but with the great view of an endless desert spotted with towns and landmarks drifting away below.”
- “Graphics settings are way limited.”
- “It's not fancy but quite charming; there are noticeable visual errors sometimes.”
- “Simple graphics.”
music
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
25%
38%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many players praising the solid soundtrack for enhancing immersion and complementing the game's atmosphere. However, some users express frustration with certain musical elements that feel out of place or overly repetitive, detracting from the overall experience. Overall, while the soundtrack is a highlight for some, it fails to resonate positively with all players.
- “[b]Sound 4/5[/b] - solid soundtrack that ties the game together, and the sound effects feel like good fits.”
- “Great soundtrack really adds to the immersion.”
- “The only reason I still play this game from time to time is when I want to hear its soundtrack, of which I can't find anywhere.”
- “But it is hard to forgive when the story now is, 'oh look, that crappy one room with four tables eatery I wanted to eat at!' the music sounds like someone is walking up on you with spurs 50% of the time.”
- “Tl;dr: my plain white sock with a blue toe is more western, my door frame offers more options than this game, the music makes you want to scratch the nearest chalkboard for relief.”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and time-consuming, often requiring significant effort to gather resources and progress. Many express a desire for improvements, such as enhanced tool efficiency and additional crafting options, to alleviate the grind. Despite these challenges, some players appreciate the game's adventurous spirit and are willing to endure the grind for the rewards it offers.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “Exploration feels extremely tedious.”
- “For such a new game, it is amazing, and I recommend it to anyone ready for an adventure where it will be hard to start off and tedious.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is mixed; while some players report a consistent experience with no bugs, others note the presence of occasional glitches. Overall, there is a sense of optimism regarding ongoing support for bug fixes and improvements, suggesting that the developers are attentive to stability issues.
- “It's a good game, but it can be buggy and needs a sandbox mode.”
- “Also, by the looks of it, you all are pretty much staying on top of glitches, bug fixes, and progression as needed at the same time. Just please don't pull a Pixark (cough), and this game will end up being a lot of fun!”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
100%
Players find the game to have high replayability potential, but suggest that adding more objects and customization options, such as upgrading the seeker for increased difficulty, would enhance the experience and keep it engaging over time.
- “Infinitely replayable.”
- “The game has great replayability, but it could benefit from more added objects and customization. Upgrading the seeker to be a bit faster or to appear more quickly would enhance the challenge, as it feels a bit too easy for me right now.”
- “The game lacks variety, making it hard to find reasons to replay it after the initial run.”
- “It needs more added objects and customization to enhance replayability. Upgrading the seeker to be a bit faster or to appear more quickly would make the game more challenging, as it currently feels too easy for me.”
- “Once you've completed the game, there isn't much incentive to go back and play again.”
atmosphere
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its beauty and immersive quality, effectively transporting players to a captivating wild west setting that evokes feelings of exploration and solitude.
- “A beautiful little game with an amazing atmosphere.”
- “This game has a great atmosphere.”
- “The atmosphere of the game is immersive; I really feel like I'm in the Wild West, exploring the world alone and scared.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from significant optimization problems, including collision issues and numerous bugs, leading to a repetitive and uninteresting gameplay experience. Additionally, it has not received updates for two years, exacerbating these issues.
- “Poorly optimized, collision issues, tons of bugs overall, repetitive, uninteresting gameplay, and to top it all off, it hasn't been updated for two years as of writing this (March 2023).”
- “There are still some major optimization issues going on with the game.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users express a sense of nostalgia and personal connection to the game's scavenging mechanics, highlighting the emotional resonance of exploring and restocking in a dream-like airborne home. However, there is a desire for improved functionality, such as a key to re-highlight important items, to enhance the emotional experience of discovery.
- “I believe it or not, I used to have this dream of being in an airborne home, traveling around the world, and only touching down to do some restocking.”