One of my favorite types of crossovers in fiction is the concept of sky pirates. Pirates are amazing to begin with, and aerial dogfights are just as great. When you combine the two together, it usually makes for beloved characters and events, such as movies like Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, the Kharadron Overlords in Warhammer: Age of Sigmar, or the memorable villain Don Karnage from Disney’s Talespin. Some may refer to this genre as “skypunk.” No matter your preference, it makes for a great setting for plots, action, and characters, and I am happy to report that Black Skylands, by developer Hungry Couch Games and publisher TinyBuild, is a great game to check out if you are into this fun genre.
Black Skylands is a top-down action-adventure RPG that puts you in the role of a young girl who is about to make her way in the world. A classic setup no doubt, but it does its job here. After running some errands for the local townsfolk including your uncle and father, you are given a pistol, a ship to fly, and a world to explore. One of the best ways that I have heard it described is the Legend of Zelda crossed with Skies of Arcadia, which I think is fairly fitting. Rather than swords and shields, you have a varied assortment of guns, and as mentioned, the top-down perspective is a reminder of many Zelda titles.
The combat feels sturdy enough – you move the cursor with your mouse and plug a few rounds of lead into your enemies with a click of the mouse. Certain buttons reload, heal, and interact with your environment, very standard stuff, but if it is not broken, no need to fix it! Special mention goes to your grappling hook, or again for Zelda fans, your hook shot. You can use this to latch onto different areas or ships throughout the world, but watch out – if you miss a shot, you may find yourself falling right out of the sky, with only a limited amount of time to grapple back onto a surface! Players with a fear of falling, keep your shots accurate! All jokes aside, the grappling hook is very fun and addicting to use, and I found myself just shooting it around the environment just for fun and laughs.
Ship control and combat feels similar and just as sturdy, with it ostensibly being a bit slower to turn and move considering you are a giant vehicle versus a normal human being. What makes the travel on both foot and boat really fun are the visuals. The art style and character portraits perfectly portray the type of setting you expect from a game like this, and you will find yourself easily and quickly engrossed into the setting and characters. Overall, the presentation and the controls work in great tandem to make the most of the setting.
If you are looking for a great summer action-adventure game with a unique setting, check out Black Skylands. That inner sky pirate in you is destined for greatness and epic ship-to-ship combat, and a standout and engrossing setting will ensure that you come back for more, matey!
Check Out the Black Skylands Trailer:
Black Skylands is available on Steam, GOG, and the Epic Games Store for $19.99 USD.
Related: tinyBuild Releases BLACK SKYLANDS on Steam, GOG, and Epic Games Store Early Access
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Your local neighborhood nutjob, gamer, and teacher! I'm an avid fan of many genres such as platformers, shooters, horror, etc. I am also an avid tabletop gamer - hugely into the worlds of Warhammer and all of their spinoffs. I'm a big believer in being objective - even if something is not my cup of tea, I want to talk about it on the objective level - is it well made, crafted with love, and with care for the fans? If so, that's a good game in my book for someone and well worth their hard earned dollarydoos!
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