Castles in the Sky is really quite different from anything you’ve played before. It’s a strange cross between Doodle Jump and a storybook: something that sounds terrible on paper, but is truly exceptional in practice.
The game is, in essence, an interactive storybook. You play a child, slowly moving up through the sky by jumping from cloud to cloud. Whilst you do this (a process that is in itself superbly relaxing and peaceful, thanks to the floaty physics engine), you’ll see beautifully crafted text that tells the game’s wonderful story. It really is something: the story has more skilled writing than any storybook I’ve ever read. It’s wonderfully poetic, and crafts beautiful worlds without needing to show you them.
This is accompanied by the lovely sounds and visuals that The Tall Trees have put together. The music is absolutely gorgeous, and the sound effects throughout the game are lovely to listen to. They are, in fact, the reason to collect the small orbs you’ll see whilst jumping: the sound you hear when you collect them is pure bliss. The adorable art style is equally superb: the main character is delightfully cute. As you travel higher and higher, you’ll also notice a gradual shift in time: the background gets darker, ending up almost pitch black. This is normally just “a thing that happens in games”, but Castles in the Sky makes even a sunset a beautiful and emotional experience thanks to its wonderful use of light.
CONCLUSION
For a game that lasts under 15 minutes, and requires the use of just the spacebar and arrow keys, Castles in the Sky is incredible. It takes you on a peaceful, calm and empowering journey, and in doing so revolutionizes the idea of bedtime stories. This game makes me want kids: purely so that I can watch them play it. If you don’t buy this, you are mad: it’s only $1.50.
SCORE
ESSENTIAL
INFORMATION
Castles in the Sky is out now on PC and Mac (reviewed). It costs $1.50 and can be bought here.
Many thanks to The Tall Trees for kindly providing a review copy.
