Sky (video game)

Sky: Children of the Light (shortened to Sky in-game) is a social adventure game by Thatgamecompany. It was first released for iOS on July 18, 2019. An Android version was later released on April 7, 2020, and a Nintendo Switch version was released on June 29, 2021,   followed by a PlayStation 4 release on December 6, 2022, and a Microsoft Windows release via Steam Early Access on April 10, 2024. A separate version of the game was released for Mainland China on Android and iOS devices that is co-developed and published by NetEase.

Gameplay
In Sky, players explore a once-prosperous kingdom using a cape that allows them to fly. The in-game world consists of seven unique realms, each with a variety of areas to explore, and a theme representing different stages of life. There is also Home, a small island which serves as the world hub and the starting point for the player. Throughout the world, players encounter "spirits" that allow them to unlock items in return for in-game currency, and "children of light" that give players "winged light." When a player has collected enough winged light, their cape level goes up, allowing them to fly farther.

The game places heavy focus on social mechanics. Players are able to meet and befriend one another, and can unlock new abilities such as chat and sending gifts as their friendship grows. There are also many cosmetic items to collect including capes, masks, hairstyles, hats, pants, shoes, playable musical instruments, expressions, and more. These items can be obtained using in-game currency or, in some cases, purchased with real money. Some cosmetics are only available to select players, such as the original beta cape, only available to those who played the beta version prior to the full release of the game.

Sky has multiple in-game currencies. "Candles" are the main currency of Sky, and are exchanged with spirits and friends in return for items and abilities. Candles are obtained by collecting pieces of light (called wax in game) and forging them, or by purchasing them for real money. "Hearts" are the social currency of Sky, and are obtained when players receive gifts from others, or can be bought directly from spirits with candles. Hearts are primarily used to purchase cosmetic items from spirits. "Ascended candles" are the rarest currency in Sky, which are rewarded to players for giving their winged light to "The fallen" at the end of the game. Ascended candles are exchanged with spirits for "wing buffs," which give players extra Winged Light, or can be used to upgrade friendship and purchase various spells such as height alteration and cape recharge. Another form of currency called "Event Currency", introduced in the 0.21.5 update, is a type of currency that is only available for specific events. Event Currency was created to bring equity to newer players and allow for event-specific in-game currency (IGC) items to be obtained easier.

Realms
The setting consists of eight unique realms: six major realms, the Eye of Eden, and Home, which serves as the starting point of the game. After the "Season of Revival" update, a ninth realm was added: Aviary Village, which functions as an alternative Home space and the setting for that season's unique quests.

Home
Home is where any newcomers will begin the game, as well as being a central hub for the rest of the game. One of the key features of Home is the ability to use doorways known as "portals" to select a stage to arrive in. The portals start out dormant, each one activating linearly. After enough progress is made, the levels become more open-ended, allowing access to the different realms regardless of the initial order. The only exception to this rule is the Eye of Eden, which, alongside the requirement of the other six realms being played through, can't be entered until twenty winged lights are collected. When players walk into a portal, it automatically transports them to the beginning of the corresponding area, regardless of previous progress. There is a small circle dubbed the Return Shrine, which will send the player to the realm they were last in.

Home also contains the constellation table. All spirits that are saved in the other realms are displayed in their realm's constellation. When the constellation of a spirit is selected, hearts and candles can be spent to unlock new items. These include spells, leveled-up expressions, and customization options. Another feature of the Constellation Table is the Friend Constellations, for viewing other players that were added to the friend list, allowing the players to give and receive gifts, and joining servers to play together.

Other features of Home include closet space to change cosmetics, a bell that chimes every hour and quarter hour, and a boat called the Sleepy Traveling Merchant's Boat, occasionally arriving to give the player free spells and sell season exclusive items.

At the starting point of each realm there is a small hub with gravestones of the spirits you find, closets (except for Isle and Vault), and a portal to return Home (which were removed from all realms in a later update).

Isle of Dawn
The Isle of Dawn is the first realm the player will encounter at the beginning of the game after the first cutscene. It is also part of the tutorial the players receive when they play for the first time. The Isle of Dawn appears like a desert with tall rocks and caves dotted around, with a distant temple floating amidst the clouds.

Daylight Prairie
The Daylight Prairie is the second realm the player encounters after finishing the Isle of Dawn. Appearing as a series of grassy hills and caverns, the Daylight Prairie features many butterflies and flying manta rays that can be interacted with.

Hidden Forest
The Hidden Forest is the third realm the player encounters once they finish the Daylight Prairie, appearing as an overcast forest perpetually drenched by rain; this rain will damage players, encouraging players to seek shelter. The Hidden Forest contains light creatures, such as jellyfish and fungal growths; the realm also introduces enemies, such as Dark Crabs.

Valley of Triumph
The Valley of Triumph is the fourth realm the player encounters after flying out of the Hidden Forest. It is a snowy area themed after sporting events, with several races and slopes to slide down. At the end of the level, players will find a stadium called the "Coliseum" (named after the Colosseum) and a temple where you advance to the next realm.

Golden Wasteland
The Golden Wasteland is the fifth realm players visit, accessed through a violent maelstrom found after leaving the Valley of Triumph. This realm is dismal and filled with abandoned battlefields and broken industrial equipment; many areas are also patrolled by Dark Dragons, dangerous enemies that will attack players on sight.

Vault of Knowledge
The Vault of Knowledge is the sixth realm visited, consisting entirely of a stone tower filled with lanterns that are used to store memories. Players must solve puzzles in order to raise a central platform through several floors of the tower, eventually arriving in a chamber containing portals to Home and the Eye of Eden.

Eye of Eden
The Eye of Eden is the final realm visited during the main story; unlike the other realms, Eye of Eden can only be accessed by players who currently possess a minimum of 20 Winged Lights. Upon entering the area, players are warned that progressing forward will prevent them from returning to Home until the area is finished, and that progress risks losing all Winged Lights.

Should the player continue, they will find themselves traversing a dangerous mountain path, and must avoid strong winds, falling debris and Dark Dragons, culminating in a chamber containing numerous petrified spirits and a gigantic shattered crystal that frequently emits debris showers. Players must sacrifice Winged Lights to revive as many spirits as they can; regardless of how many are saved, all players eventually succumb to the crystal's attacks and become petrified as well.

Afterwards, the player awakens in a dark void, encountering an entity resembling a living Winged Light. Upon embracing the entity, the player is revived in Eden and flies into space, where they may meet with spirits and other players in an ethereal area. Players then enter a final portal, which allows them to be properly reborn in Home.

Development
The game was developed and published by American studio Thatgamecompany over the course of seven years, developing a custom game engine based on their previous work on PlayStation titles, to initially support the Apple Metal API, later expanding it to add support for other platforms as well. The game servers are hosted on Amazon Web Services infrastructure (credited in-game as AWS), with parts of the backend being written in Erlang in cooperation with Amber Studio.

Seasons and events
Sky features ongoing seasonal events, with new storylines and unique spirits and items. Seasonal events are completely free-to-play, but some of the spirits' items require a paid "Season Pass" to unlock. The seasons have a unique currency called "seasonal candles," which can be used to purchase seasonal items and are converted to regular candles when the season ends. Seasonal spirits may return as "Traveling Spirits" in the future, which players can give their candles and hearts to receive seasonal items for a limited time, albeit at a higher price.

Music
Sky features an orchestral score composed by Vincent Diamante, with some tracks performed by FAME'S Macedonian Symphonic Orchestra. Norwegian singer Aurora also provides the vocals for the game's intro and outro songs. The game utilizes FMOD for dynamic music and sound playback.

Four volumes of soundtrack albums have been released. The first volume covers more recognizable music from the base game cycle. The second volume contains mostly ambient background music, and the third includes various pieces composed for Sky's Seasonal Events.

Charity
In 2020, Thatgamecompany held some in-game events in support of charity. First was the "Days of Nature" event, in celebration of Earth Day, during which a unique IAP (in-app purchase) was available. Proceeds from each purchase of the IAP were used to plant one tree per purchase, in partnership with the OneTreePlanted charity. This event resulted in a total of 40,576 trees planted across the Amazonian and Australian forests damaged by wildfires. In April 2021, Sky hosted its second "Days of Nature" event, using the game to promote awareness towards plastic pollution of the ocean.

In May 2020, Thatgamecompany hosted a "Days of Healing" event to help raise money for the Médecins Sans Frontières organization, after which Thatgamecompany donated US$719,138 to the MSF COVID-19 Crisis Fund. For the event, Thatgamecompany also joined the World Health Organization's #PlayApartTogether campaign.

In June 2020, Sky held its first "Days of Rainbow" event, featuring colorful rainbow items and spells as a way to celebrate pride month. The second "Days of Rainbow" event the following year gathered funds for The Trevor Project and the Global Fund for Women, with players raising $794,420 in total.

Reception
Review aggregator Metacritic awarded the game an 82 out of 100 based on 18 reviewers, as well as awarding it the number one shared iOS game of 2019, number three most discussed iOS game of 2019, and number 13 best iOS game of 2019.

Game Informer scored the game an 8.5 out of 10 stating "Sky is a refreshingly moving and robust game on the iOS platform, and one best shared with others – especially folks who might not normally pick up a video game." GameSpot scored the game an 8 out of 10, giving exceptional praise to the visuals, animations and musical scores, however admitting that "return visits to previous environments aren't nearly as captivating as your first trip." IGN scored the game an 8.5 out of 10, likening the game to its predecessor as "a bigger and bolder follow-up that expands on what made Journey so great." Destructoid, like many other reviewers praised how it's a game that "most everyone should experience", was however highly critical of the touch controls and the lack of control it gave of your character, going as far to suggest that "most everyone should wait for a console or PC release" to play the game. Nintendo Life scored the Switch version 8 out of 10, sharing the same praise as other reviewers, though highlighting that the simplistic gameplay may not keep players engaged in the long term, and how the option to toggle the FPS from 60 to 30 is objectively worse and provides only minor improvements.

Accolades
The game won Apple's iPhone game of the year for 2019. On October 5, 2020, Gamasutra reported that the game had topped 50 million downloads worldwide. Pocket Gamer awarded it the People's Choice award in 2020. At Gamescom 2023, it won Games for Impact and Best Mobile Game.

Sky additionally holds two Guinness World Records for "Most users in a concert-themed world" and "Most players emoting together at the same time in a video game". These records were set as part of a virtual concert featuring Norwegian singer Aurora, in which thousands of players could interact with the concert and each other simultaneously.

Animated adaptation
On March 27, 2022, during AnimeJapan 2022, an animated project was announced.

On August 26, 2023, IGN published an article announcing a teaser to the animated series, and the name, Sky: The Two Embers.