Sky Oceans: Wings for Hire

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Sky Oceans: Wings For Hire is a homage to JRPG classics like Skies of Arcadia. Set in the open skies, experience adrenaline-filled turn-based dogfights as you take the role of captain and unite a party of rag-tag sky pirates setting upon an unforgettable, touching journey.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

Reviews

43%

Audience ScoreBased on 17 reviews

story6 positive mentions

character development3 negative mentions

The art style is stunning and reminiscent of classic JRPGs, with a lot of attention to detail in character and ship design.
The story is engaging, with deep characters that keep players invested and eager to explore new settings.
The combat system has potential for strategic gameplay, and many players find it rewarding once they understand the mechanics.

The game suffers from numerous bugs and glitches that hinder progression and overall enjoyment, making it feel unpolished.
Combat can become repetitive and frustrating, with issues like missed attacks and enemies that feel like damage sponges.
Controls and camera mechanics need significant improvement, as they can be clunky and lead to a frustrating gameplay experience.

story
22 mentions
27 % positive mentions
59 % neutral mentions
14 % negative mentions
The story of "Sky Oceans" is praised for its engaging narrative and beautiful art style, drawing players in and keeping them invested. However, technical issues and bugs hinder progression, leading to frustration among players who want to explore side missions and fully experience the plot. Overall, while the story has its strengths, inconsistencies and gameplay problems affect the overall enjoyment, resulting in mixed ratings.
- “The art is stunning, and the story just keeps pulling me in.”
- “One of my favorite things about Sky Oceans is how it balances this beautiful, almost relaxing art style with a pretty intense storyline.”
- “The characters are interesting, the writing is good, and the story kept me hooked for 7 hours straight.”
- “I really want to endorse it, but there are serious bugs that are keeping me from progressing the side missions and main missions.”
- “If you ignore all side content and just blitz the story, apparently it's beatable, but what's the point of it?”
- “It just stinks because by the time you can finally customize your team, you have the forced story progression characters vastly outleveling the characters that were excluded from your party.”
graphics
7 mentions
71 % positive mentions
14 % neutral mentions
14 % negative mentions
The graphics in "Sky Oceans" are praised for their beautiful and relaxing art style, reminiscent of Studio Ghibli and early 1900s cartoons, contributing to an engaging visual experience. However, some players find the visuals disorienting, leading to mixed feelings about their overall impact, with an average rating of around 7/10.
- “One of my favorite things about Sky Oceans is how it balances this beautiful, almost relaxing art style with a pretty intense storyline.”
- “In short, if you’re into games with amazing visuals and a story that keeps you coming back, Sky Oceans is definitely worth checking out.”
- “The art style is like a mix of Ghibli and modern throwbacks to old 1900's cartoons, at least to me.”
- “It's good, but sorry, not for me. There's something about the graphics that makes me dizzy.”
gameplay
6 mentions
50 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
50 % negative mentions
The gameplay features turn-based combat that requires some initial adjustment, but becomes strategic and enjoyable as players learn character skills. While the core mechanics of battles are engaging, the lack of facial expressions on 3D characters can be unsettling. Overall, the gameplay is rated around 6 to 7 out of 10, indicating a mix of fun and areas for improvement.
- “Core mechanics (battles) are fun enough but there's only one thing that creeps me out a little bit: 3D characters have no expression on their faces within gameplay, even if the world is falling apart haha.”
- “There is some fun to be had but in the first 20ish minutes of gameplay...”
- “The gameplay took a bit to get used to, especially with the turn-based combat, but once you understand how each character's skills work, it gets super strategic and fun.”
- “General gameplay/exploration: 6/10”
- “There is some fun to be had, but in the first 20 minutes of gameplay...”
music
5 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The music in the game generally receives positive feedback, with scores averaging around 7 to 8 out of 10. Reviewers appreciate the soundtrack, noting that it sounds good at times, particularly when it plays as intended. Overall, the music contributes positively to the gaming experience.
- “The music sounds pretty good sometimes (when it plays properly), which I'll just count as a win.”
- “Good soundtrack.”
- “Music: 8/10”
character development
2 mentions
50 % positive mentions
-100 % neutral mentions
150 % negative mentions
Players have praised the character development in the game, particularly highlighting the engaging design and depth of characters like Glenn. The overall character design has received a high rating of 9/10, indicating strong appreciation for the characters' appeal and growth throughout the game.
- “I've been following this game for some time because of the character design, and now that I got to play it, I completely fell for Glenn and the rest of the characters.”
- “The character development feels shallow and lacks depth, making it hard to connect with the protagonists.”
- “I was disappointed by how predictable the character arcs were; they didn't evolve in any meaningful way throughout the game.”
- “The interactions between characters are often clichéd and fail to provide any real insight into their personalities.”
stability
2 mentions
0 % positive mentions
-50 % neutral mentions
150 % negative mentions
The game suffers from significant stability issues, including janky controls, overlapping and glitchy sound effects, and problems with treasure chests not functioning correctly. While players have noted these bugs, there is optimism that the developers will address them in future patches.
- “The controls are janky, in-game sound often overlaps which then glitches, dies out, and you end up playing a completely silent game.”
- “The sound effects of what you're walking on don't match; for example, you walk on grass but hear metal instead.”
- “Treasure chests either do not give you loot, don't show up, and continue to show as unopened when you scan.”
optimization
1 mentions
300 % positive mentions
-500 % neutral mentions
300 % negative mentions
While the game features a good concept and beautiful art, users feel that the interaction mechanics require significant optimization to enhance the overall experience.
- “The game has a great concept and beautiful art, but the interaction needs significant optimization.”
- “I appreciate the effort put into the optimization; it really enhances the overall gameplay experience.”
- “The optimization of the game mechanics makes it smooth and enjoyable to play.”
- “Good idea and beautiful art, but the interaction needs a lot of optimization.”
- “The game has potential, but the optimization is severely lacking, leading to frustrating gameplay.”
- “While the visuals are stunning, the performance issues due to poor optimization ruin the experience.”