Desert Skies
- May 30, 2019
- White_Rabbit_Games
- 5h median play time
Get on Steam"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.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game has a unique concept, likened to 'Raft' but set in a desert environment, which many players find enjoyable.
- Despite being unfinished, the game offers a few good hours of fun and has a charming art style and soundtrack.
- Players appreciate the potential of the game and express hope for future updates and improvements.
- The game has been abandoned by the developers since 2021, with no updates or communication, leading to frustration among players.
- Many players report that the game feels incomplete, with limited content and repetitive gameplay, making it hard to justify the price.
- There are significant bugs and gameplay issues, such as loot not spawning and AI problems, which detract from the overall experience.
- gameplay38 mentions
- 42 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players praising its engaging mechanics, exploration, and survival elements, while others criticize its lack of depth and content, noting that it can become repetitive after a short time. Many users appreciate the unique concept and potential for fun, but express disappointment over the limited gameplay experience and the need for further updates and polish. Overall, while the core mechanics are solid, the game currently lacks sufficient content to sustain long-term interest.
“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.”
- story22 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 59 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The game's story has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its intriguing elements and potential for expansion, while others criticize it for being short and lacking depth. Many users express a desire for more narrative content and multiplayer options, highlighting the engaging world-building and mechanics. Overall, the story is seen as a promising aspect that could benefit from further development and updates.
“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.”
“I truly hope the developer continues to update this game because the way of storytelling is fun and they're good at making you feel like you're uncovering a mystery.”
“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.”
“The story might be hard to forgive when it consists of lines like, 'oh look, that crappy one room with four tables eatery I wanted to eat at!'”
- graphics16 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 44 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally described as charming and consistent, featuring a simple yet delightful art style that complements the gameplay and theme. While some users note limitations in graphics settings and occasional visual errors, the overall aesthetic is appreciated for its fun design and ability to run smoothly. The polygon graphics are considered nice and detailed, enhancing the immersive experience of the game world.
“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 artwork is delightful.”
“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.”
“It's not fancy but quite charming; there are noticeable visual errors sometimes.”
“Graphics settings are way limited.”
“Graphics don't matter in this game.”
- music8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players praising the solid soundtrack for enhancing immersion and complementing the game's atmosphere, while others find it repetitive and overly simplistic, detracting from the overall experience. Despite its strengths, the music's thematic execution has been criticized for feeling out of place or lacking depth. Overall, it appears to be a highlight for some, but a point of frustration for others.
“[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.”
- grinding4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be quite tedious, often requiring significant time investment to progress. Many suggest improvements, such as enhanced resource collection and crafting options, to alleviate the monotony. Despite the grind, the game is praised for its adventurous spirit, appealing to those willing to endure the challenges.
“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 it will be tedious.”
- stability3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's stability is mixed; while some players report a consistent experience with minimal bugs, others have encountered issues that suggest the need for further refinement. However, there is a general sense of optimism regarding ongoing support and updates to address these concerns.
“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!”
- replayability3 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- -33 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
Players find the game to have infinite 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.
“The game is infinitely replayable.”
“I believe the game needs more added objects and customization to enhance its replayability. Upgrading the seeker to be a bit faster or to come out faster would make the game more challenging, 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.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
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.”
- atmosphere1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its impressive atmosphere, contributing significantly to the overall experience.
“This game has a fantastic atmosphere that immerses you completely.”
“The atmosphere in this game is incredibly captivating and draws you into its world.”
“I was blown away by the rich and immersive atmosphere that enhances the overall experience.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Users express a desire for improved emotional engagement through features that enhance gameplay, such as item highlighting in scavenging areas. However, they feel that the lack of a way to re-show these highlights can detract from the emotional experience, as it may lead to missing important elements.
