The Non Gamers’ Game

As a child, every afternoon my playdates and I would go up to the roof of the tallest building in the community and stare at the clouds and make up a new story each day. This would be a good time to admit that I am not much of a gamer, but this game definitely catapulted me back to my carefree days.

Sky: Children of The Light is the newest game from thatgamecompany, the creator of Flow, Flower and Journey. It has been termed as a social indie-adventure game released for Android on April 7, 2020. It's a role-play game where the goal is to explore the seven realms, complete the quests and make friends on the way.

The graphics of the game is a treat in itself, you could stare at the screen making your avatar run or fly through the clouds and even that feels good. The mission of your avatar as a child of light is to complete the constellation by saving the spirits that remain scattered throughout the kingdom. The seven realms represent seven different stages of life, hence differing in colour and settings. The spirits will give the player "cosmetics" and other collectibles that affect gameplay. Other than that, finding lost stars help strengthen the wings of the avatar, enabling one to soar higher and float longer.

This game has claimed to focus strongly on social mechanics. It allows you to meet and befriend other players, with whom you can exchange gifts, and can help each other out as your bond intensifies. The part I found unique was that this game allows a hand holding feature, that means you can guide another friend along the journey or they can guide you; I found this endearing because once I entered the game I was confused about what to do, and a fellow player took the hand of my avatar and went to places I could have never found on my own.

Another thing that pleased me was that the music was very calming, and not monotonic at all. In fact, the entire game is so relaxing that I found several other videos claiming Sky to be "the most relaxing game ever played". The game makers say that they focused on the avatar being able to explore the beautiful animated kingdom, and treasures could be awaiting at the wildest of places. You could not really get lost if there is no fixed path to follow.

And of course, you don't need to be a gamer to play this game. All you will need is your Android phone, this game has a rating of 4.7 on Google Play, which goes to say that I am not the only one to have been enthralled by it. If you are bored, anxious, or both, maybe a new way to spend your time is just a click away.

Upoma Aziz is a walking-talking-ticking time bomb, now going off without detonators. Poke her at your own risk at www.fb.com/upoma.aziz