Ultrawings
- July 20, 2017
- Bit Planet Games, LLC
- 3h median play time
Get on Steam"Ultrawings" is a single-player, open-world game that allows you to pilot multiple aircraft and complete missions across an island-themed world with full support for gamepads, HOTAS, rudder pedals, and VR motion controllers. The game features stunning visuals, immersive gameplay, and officially supports several HOTAS joysticks, but does not support virtual desktop. Explore four unique areas and experience an unparalleled VR flight experience using your virtual hands.
Nintendo Switch
PC
Playstation 4
Playstation 5
Virtual Reality
Windows
Oculus Quest
Oculus Rift
PlayStation
PlayStation VR
Windows Mixed Reality
Reviews
- Great motion-based controls that provide an immersive flying experience.
- Fun and challenging missions reminiscent of Pilotwings, with a good variety of tasks.
- Charming graphics and a relaxing atmosphere make it enjoyable for casual play.
- Some players experience motion sickness, especially during more intense flying sequences.
- Limited aircraft options and repetitive missions can lead to a grindy experience.
- Bugs related to controller tracking and menu navigation can hinder gameplay.
- story192 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- 77 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The game's story revolves around a series of progressively challenging missions that simulate a pilot's journey, starting with basic flying tasks and advancing to more complex objectives like aerial photography and balloon popping. Players earn money through these missions to unlock new planes and airports, creating a sense of progression and achievement. However, many reviews highlight that while the mission variety is commendable, some missions can feel repetitive and grindy, detracting from the overall experience.
“The game itself is a series of 'jobs' and training missions, which start by teaching you how to fly, then get progressively more challenging.”
“You start with an ultralight glider and do missions to earn money that let you buy better planes and access to new airports and islands.”
“The progression system and the missions are fun.”
“The weak point of this game is the missions.”
“Those missions, in my opinion, get very boring and grindy.”
“Missions are incredibly repetitive and as a result, I suspect replay value is not great.”
- graphics100 mentions
- 34 % positive mentions
- 62 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are characterized by a fun, cartoonish, and low-poly aesthetic that creates a light and relaxing atmosphere, making it suitable for VR experiences. While some players appreciate the simplicity and clarity of the visuals, others find them too basic and lacking in detail, particularly when exploring the environment. Overall, the graphics contribute to an enjoyable flying experience, though they may not satisfy those seeking a more realistic simulation.
“The low-poly aesthetic creates a fun and light atmosphere.”
“Absolutely brilliant game, runs extremely smoothly and the graphics are so clear.”
“The graphics are clean and bright, the tutorials and mission progression is intuitive, and the controls feel pretty good for the current technology.”
“The game suffers from too simplistic graphics to just fly around and explore the islands.”
“I am a little disappointed with the graphics - hopefully you guys could add a little more detail in an update... the islands look kind of barren.”
“The graphics, however, are very bare bones.”
- gameplay56 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 64 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The gameplay offers a mix of enjoyable flight mechanics and a charming art style, providing a realistic flying experience, especially in VR. However, some players find the mechanics occasionally frustrating due to recognition issues with controls and repetitive tasks that can lead to burnout. While the game is fun and easy to pick up, there are calls for more variety in aircraft and challenges to enhance the overall experience.
“It feels like you are actually flying and has decent flight mechanics.”
“The flight mechanics are spot on and the feeling of flying is as close as you'll get without actually stepping into a plane, glider, etc. Amazing!”
“The gameplay is just total fun, the controls are perfectly judged.”
“I've found myself trying to run through these 'jobs' as quick as possible just so I can unlock something that I actually want to fly, rather than what I have to fly. I've begun to think the payoff may not even be worth it as I'm already becoming burnt out from the repetitive gameplay, and there is no promise I'll be unlocking a fun aircraft any time soon. Even when I do, will it actually be that fun to fly, or will I have to continue grinding to the next aircraft?”
“Some things that seem to be off with the game mechanics are the fact that more often than not my hand isn't being recognized on the flight stick, causing me to jerk in the opposite direction of what I want. In a game like this where precision is key, it caused a lot of frustrating moments where I just rage quit because I would be on the last ring to fly through for the gold, and my flight stick would spaz out, causing me to go into the nearest ditch. If I wanted that, I would just play Dirt Rally.”
“Do be warned though, unless you're very seasoned in VR or do not suffer much from motion sickness, this game will get you sick. There are options that do help with it, but in my opinion, they reduce the gameplay experience a little.”
- music20 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it repetitive and reminiscent of low-quality elevator or island tunes, which detracts from the experience and can even exacerbate motion sickness. Some users recommend turning off the in-game music altogether and instead suggest playing their own uplifting tracks for a more enjoyable experience. While the sound effects and music have their merits, the overall consensus leans towards dissatisfaction with the current soundtrack.
“Controls are easy to get the hang of (admittedly, I am in the ultralight and in arcade mode), and the music and scenery are really well done.”
“When I feel like to fly, I just jump in the game with my favorite music as background, what a good way to rest!”
“Very enjoyable, I suggest you listen to some uplifting music while airborne.”
“The music is horrible and I recommend turning it off to save your sanity. A person or maybe a few people put work into it, which is respectable.”
“It's like really bad island/elevator music.”
“The only thing disgusting is that rumba music used in Latin porno films; I hope they change that or let you put your own music.”
- grinding18 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players express frustration with the grinding aspect of the game, noting that the repetitive nature of missions and slow progression can lead to burnout and a lack of motivation. While some acknowledge a decent range of goals and a learning curve between aircraft, many feel that the effort required to unlock new planes is tedious and not always rewarding. Overall, the grinding experience is seen as a significant drawback, with mixed opinions on its intensity compared to other games.
“Unfortunately, after an hour and a half of grinding through the game, I am still far from my Gee Bee, and my motivation to continue playing this game is wearing out.”
“I've found myself trying to run through these 'jobs' as quickly as possible just so I can unlock something that I actually want to fly, rather than what I have to fly. I've begun to think the payoff may not even be worth it, as I'm already becoming burnt out from the repetitive gameplay. There is no promise I'll be unlocking a fun aircraft any time soon, and even when I do, will it actually be that fun to fly, or will I have to continue grinding to the next aircraft?”
“To reiterate, the 'tutorial' is beyond boring, requiring you to take six partial flights just to do a runway loop. The progression is boring as well; after grinding for an hour and unlocking the first two airports, I gave up while grinding again to unlock the first (maybe) real plane as the refund window was closing.”
- stability12 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 83 % negative mentions
The game is plagued by significant stability issues, with numerous users reporting persistent bugs that disrupt gameplay, such as erratic hand movements and jumping scenes. While many still find the game enjoyable and recommend it, the frequent glitches can severely hinder mission completion and overall experience.
“Runs great, feels great, and is fantastically fun.”
“Endlessly buggy, I can't complete any missions.”
“I still recommend this game to just about anybody but beware, the smallest little glitches are magnified into misery in a game like this.”
“This game is buggy... really buggy.”
- optimization10 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its excellent optimization, featuring great performance, intuitive motion controls, and simple menus. Players appreciate the colorful visuals and efficient loading of detailed content, which enhances the overall experience during short missions.
“It has simple menus, intuitive motion controls, refreshingly few button mappings (though there could be even fewer), and colorful, high-performance visuals.”
“Performance is great.”
“Only one is loaded in detail at a time for performance, I assume.”
“You get money from completing 2-5 minute missions, and you get a medal for your performance.”
- replayability10 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 40 % negative mentions
The game offers a mixed perspective on replayability; while some players find it highly engaging and capable of providing over 20 hours of enjoyment, others criticize its repetitive missions and the ease of achieving 100% completion within 10-15 hours, suggesting limited replay value thereafter.
“I can see tons of replay value.”
“I could play till my controllers went dead; it's very replayable.”
“Missions are incredibly repetitive and as a result, I suspect the replay value is not great.”
“The fact that it can be beaten 100% (gold medals on every event in every plane on every island) in 10-15 hours easily with not much replayability beyond that.”
“Unlike most VR games, this one has a ton of replayability: just like Pilotwings Resort on the 3DS, I can see myself sinking 20+ hours into this game.”
- atmosphere8 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is characterized by a relaxing and light ambiance, enhanced by its low-poly aesthetic and colorful, cartoonish world. Despite basic graphics, players find the environment enjoyable and inviting for exploration.
“The low-poly aesthetic creates a fun and light atmosphere.”
“Basic graphics but a relaxing atmosphere.”
“Basic graphics but relaxing atmosphere.”
“The game's atmosphere is relaxing and has an in-depth and colorful cartoony world to explore.”
- emotional6 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players express a strong emotional connection to the game, recalling the nostalgic excitement reminiscent of their first experiences with classic titles like Super Mario World 2. The immersive feeling of truly being in control of a plane enhances this emotional engagement, surpassing their initial expectations.
“It brought me back to the wholesome excitement I felt trying Super Mario World 2 for the first time.”
“I have never played a game that really made me feel like I was behind the wheel of a plane before.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is described as subtly amusing, providing a light-hearted experience that serves as a charming alternative to more serious simulations.
“Quite funny MSFS substitute”
