Skyworld
- October 17, 2017
- Vertigo Games
- 6h median play time
Skyworld is an award-winning RTS/TBS game for VR, where you command an army in magical Skyworlds filled with cores of magic. After a demon invasion, your goal is to reclaim these worlds and defeat the darkness. The game offers both single-player and multiplayer modes, with sensational mechanics and delightful graphics, now including two new playable Skyworlds: Desert and Volcano.
Reviews
- The game features engaging gameplay mechanics that blend turn-based strategy with real-time battles, providing a unique experience in VR.
- The visuals and UI are well-polished, with charming graphics and intuitive controls that enhance the overall experience.
- It offers a fun multiplayer aspect, allowing players to strategize and compete against friends, making it a great choice for social gaming.
- The game suffers from frequent crashes and bugs, particularly with certain VR controllers, which can severely disrupt gameplay.
- Many players find the difficulty settings unbalanced, with 'Easy' often feeling more like 'Hard', leading to frustration during gameplay.
- The content is perceived as lacking depth, with repetitive gameplay and limited strategic options, making it feel more like a mobile game than a full-fledged PC strategy title.
- gameplay86 mentions
- 37 % positive mentions
- 53 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The gameplay of Skyworld is generally described as enjoyable and polished, blending turn-based and real-time strategy elements with card mechanics. However, many players find it repetitive and lacking depth, often comparing its mechanics to those of mobile games. While the game offers a fresh experience in the tower defense genre and features charming graphics, there are calls for more diverse units and strategic options to enhance replayability.
“The gameplay is enjoyable and not too simple to become boring, yet not too complicated to get confused.”
“Skyworld is a beautiful tabletop game that has fun management gameplay and intense tug of war battles!”
“The whole gameplay feels smooth, highly polished and well thought out.”
“Once you got the hang of it, the whole game becomes more of a rinse and repeat with not a lot of extra gameplay depth.”
“The lack of different armies or races leads to very repetitive gameplay.”
“Don't get me wrong, this is a very well polished game; the attention to detail on the maps, the sounds, the interfaces, the cards, the 'control' system, moving the table and player position in VR etc. is all great - but the game just lacks interesting gameplay.”
- graphics32 mentions
- 56 % positive mentions
- 34 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game are widely praised for their beautiful artwork, vivid colors, and attention to detail, showcasing a charming and cartoonish style that enhances the overall experience. Many reviewers noted the plethora of interactable objects and a well-designed user interface, particularly for VR. However, some critics feel that while the visuals are appealing, they do not compensate for gameplay depth, which can feel simplistic and tiresome over time.
“Beautiful artwork with a plethora of interactable objects scattered around the game board and the battle map (e.g. picking up barrels and tossing them, slapping around trees).”
“The art style and colorations make the game very vivid, and I find myself taking it a lot more seriously than I expected to with its cartoony nature.”
“Graphics are just beautiful; the developers obviously invested a lot of time and effort into it, and it shows in the tiny details (floating clouds, the units' tiny details, the spell effects during battle, etc.).”
“The bad: while the graphics are good, for a non-early access title at $40, you should expect more from the game.”
“Once you get past the pretty graphics, at the core its mechanics and depth are comparable to that of a mobile game.”
“The graphics are cute and solid, but the world's interaction is poorly explained.”
- story20 mentions
- 10 % positive mentions
- 70 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The game's story is described as minimal, revolving around a quest to save the kingdom and the king, with generic "demon" enemies lacking depth or backstory. Players have mixed feelings about the campaign's engagement, with some finding it boring after a few missions, while others appreciate the gameplay despite the thin narrative. Overall, the story does not seem to be a strong point, leading to varied levels of interest among players.
“I haven't completed the campaign yet, so I cannot comment on the length of the game, but I can say that the four or five missions that I have completed took a few hours to complete.”
“I enjoy the game and expect to get about 7 hours of gameplay... I haven't really had to repeat missions except at the very beginning when I messed up the first 3-4 turns and didn't have the correct resources.”
“The story is slim; you are back to save the kingdom, and apparently the king.”
“I can not play any multiplayer games and the story is getting boring really fast!”
“You have 'demon' enemies; no story on them (yet?); they just seem to be your natural enemies.”
- stability14 mentions
- 14 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 86 % negative mentions
The game's stability is a mixed bag; while some players report significant bugs and crashes, particularly given its age, others find the glitches to be minor and manageable, with the game functioning well 98% of the time. Overall, the experience can be enjoyable despite the technical issues, with some users noting that the fun outweighs the bugs.
“Bug free so far and so fun.”
“The game is buggy and crashy like hell.”
“The game is almost 4 years old and still this buggy.”
“Buggy and unsupported.”
- replayability8 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
Overall, the game offers a variety of maps and the potential for engaging gameplay with different opponents and strategies, contributing to its replayability. However, concerns about long-term replay value persist, particularly regarding game balance and mechanics that could lead to repetitive experiences. Players are hopeful for future updates to enhance replayability.
“There are tons of maps and it has good replayability with new people to play against and new strategies.”
“I worry about long-term replayability.”
“40 bucks is a lot, and I'm not sure what the replayability of this game is yet.”
“Hopefully they'll balance the game a lot better in future updates and introduce better mechanics to stop snowballing, but even then it'd still be very lacking in any sort of replay value.”
- grinding4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game enjoyable initially, but note that the menus can become tedious over time as the novelty fades. Despite some bugs and glitches, the satisfaction derived from gameplay, particularly in strategy and card mechanics, keeps the experience engaging for many. Overall, it is recommended for fans of the genre, though some may find the repetitive elements wearing.
“I enjoyed it, though the menus start to feel tedious once the novelty wears off.”
“I have played shooters and exploration games, but they all become a little tedious over time.”
“The pure fun and satisfaction I get from placing the cards down on the battlefield is amazing, but the experience can feel repetitive.”
- monetization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy is misleading, as the game's advertising presents it as a real-time strategy (RTS) title, while it primarily functions as a card game, potentially disappointing players expecting a different experience.
“The advertising makes this look like an RTS, but don't let that fool you - it's just a glorified card game.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised, with users highlighting the excellent voice acting that effectively immerses players in the experience.
“The atmosphere is great, and the voice acting is nicely done, pulling you right in.”
- emotional2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players find the emotional aspect of the game engaging, particularly during battles, which evoke a sense of empowerment and leadership, akin to feeling like a general. This connection enhances the overall enjoyment of the gameplay experience.
- music2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Reviewers consistently praise the music, highlighting it as a strong point alongside the intuitive controls and appealing graphics, contributing to an overall enjoyable experience.
- character development2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The character development in the game is praised for its impressive design, particularly the aesthetics of the demons and their environments, which contribute to an engaging visual experience.