Isles of Sea and Sky packs puzzles into a LOZ aesthetic
I love the aesthetic of classic Game Boy Color games. The minimalist tone, as well as the creativity of developers working within the constraints of the system, meant we saw some titles with outstanding style. Although Cicada Games does not have such hardware limitations, Islands of sea and sky has the same atmosphere and really honors that classic approach.
A good way to think about Islands of sea and sky is as one Sokobon type of block pushing game with a slightly more relaxed atmosphere and it meets it. I like to think of it like Witness in a small way due to cohesion. You wash up on the shore of an island with no memory of who you are or why you’re there. (I’m a bit serious The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening vibe from the intro.) After meeting a young woman, you gradually go from island to island in the chain learning more about their history and what’s going on.
Now, you’ll notice I mentioned Witness stay up there, instead of continuing to focus on The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening. A little LOZ The elements are there! Especially when you go to different islands and meet the masters who live there, you will gain new abilities. Some come from items, others come from creatures. However, there is also an open world approach. So you have the freedom to choose where you go and what you try to do, although some progression is limited until you find the right ability to complete the puzzles there.
Other than that, there aren’t any fights. Islands of sea and sky it’s all about exploration and using your brain to overcome challenges. Muscle? I mean, it takes some strong muscles to move the blocks around. But really, it’s about challenging how you think about space and moving items around to keep going. Coupled with the rewind ability, it really helps you see how you best approach situations in the way you feel most comfortable.
It’s actually quite brilliant. Especially because of some of the puzzles within Islands of sea and sky can be really confusing. I have to admit that sometimes I feel a bit bad or even stupid for not realizing some of the other possibilities associated with progress and that is what has prevented me from succeeding. Also, even though it is an open world game, I sometimes feel like the nature of some games requiring certain abilities keeps it from truly being a “go anywhere” adventure. , solve puzzles at any time”. I appreciate the idea, but the actual implementation meant it took me about seven hours and sometimes had difficulty enjoying it because I needed certain skills I lacked to progress.
I appreciate what Islands of sea and sky do. I love the atmosphere and I love finding puzzles to solve. I’m not the biggest fan of sometimes finding things impossible to complete at the moment because it’s ultimately necessary to go certain ways and earn certain means to make progress. But I welcome the ideas in the game and think it could be quite fun.
Islands of sea and sky To be available because PC.
