Review - Castles in the Skyby Jon Evans
Format reviewed on Mac |
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I strongly suspect that I am exactly in the demographic that Indie Developer, The Tall Trees, were looking for when making this game; an older gamer with children. This is, of course, untrue; they made it for themselves, as is evidenced with its love-drenched charm and attention to detail but, nevertheless, playing this felt like I was sharing a special secret.
The Tall Trees are a duo called Dan Pearce and Jack de Quidt. This is their debut game, which started life out as a story book, but evolved as they saw its potential. With fifteen minutes of gameplay it would be easy to dismiss this as a diverting whim, much like you would see on miniclip or other flash-based games sites. This would be unfair. Distilled into this short amount of time is a story of longing, nostalgia and childhood fantasy, with a lump-in-the-throat narrative that tugs at the heart strings. I read stories to my four year old daughter before bed every night. It is a small oasis of peace in the day, and a rare opportunity to spend some time chatting and finding out what is happening in her life. It lets me pause and reflect, but also tends to put a perspective on my own worries and concerns. When I hear how excited she is to be learning about a letter or colouring in a butterfly during her school day, I forget how easy it is to get hung up on the mundane. It is this sense of wonder and delight which is so apparent in Castles In the Sky, and is a game that both adult and child can appreciate. |
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The artstyle is a mixture of dreamy storybook illustration, and 8-bit platformer in its simplest form. The story centres about a little boy who goes on a journey through the clouds, with the narrator gently imparting the story in short poetic sentences that appear as you progress higher and higher. A beautiful, lilting piano soundtrack plays as the boy transcends the cloudy landscape, perfectly timed to build in crescendo as the emotions build. The story itself is part advice to the youth, part longing for a simpler, more restful time for the narrator, which struck a chord with my own life and memories of my childhood. You control the game with a simple click and hold to crouch for a spring. Upon release the boy jumps, fantastically high with your mouse cursor determining the direction and height of the jump. It is a simple control scheme, designed to be instant and intuitive and not get in the way of the story telling.
Within the game are collectible rings, which at first seemed somewhat out of place with the rest of the style of the game, but it soon became clear that they acted as a guide for the player, like Hansel and Gretel's breadcrumbs. They act both as a navigational tool, but also as the gamification of the story. A necessary mechanic. |
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Playing Castles in the Sky with my daughter it was a delight to see and hear her reactions to the appearance of the magical landscapes and creatures on her journey. I played the game and read to her, while she listened and watched. To her this was a new way to experience a story. She would have found the controls tricky, despite being fairly well indoctrinated into gaming by her father, but I wanted to play through it smoothly so she could enjoy the sights without distraction. My wife joined us too and, as a family we shared the experience. As you can hear from the Lets Play below, she was excited and animated by the game, and enjoyed retelling it.
Reflecting on how I feel about Castles in the Sky, I find myself thinking about other games I’ve played and can’t help but make comparisons. Games like Flower, Journey, The Unfinished Swan and Thomas Was Alone, have all moved me and made me pause to think about my life. The daily grind, the pressures of working and keeping up with the general pace, reminds me how I often I forget how important it is to just stop and spend some time with the ones I love. Castles in the Sky is a sweet reminder of this, a small parable warning you not to forget about those small, pure quiet moments that you should take with your loved ones. Castles in the Sky is a small pure quiet moment, that should not be taken lightly. As a debut from a new developer it shines as a good example of where games and art cross over, but without pretension. |
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Below is the Lets Play video of the game. This shows the game in its entirety, so if you'd prefer to play the game without spoiling it, come back and watch this after you've played it yourself.
Game Supplied by Publisher
Images - from Publisher
Images - from Publisher
