A game about giving
With the stars united, our light was infinite...
...and together, we lived in harmony.
As spirits, we soon became many...
...creating our home here in the clouds.
But darkness came and the stars fell...
...and with their light we faded away.
A long time has passed. Now we call to you.
Go forth, child. Return our spirits to the stars.
Sky: Children of the Light (a.k.a. thatnextgame, a.k.a. "the game about giving", a.k.a thatskygame, a.k.a Sky) is a 2019 game from thatgamecompany. It is a Free-to-Play Co-Op Multiplayer exploration game where you assume the role of a Descendant, a flying cloaked humanoid who travels across a fantasy world set on top of the clouds. Originally released on iOS and Apple TV in 2019, it was ported to Android devices in 2020, to the Nintendo Switch in June 2021, and to the PlayStation 4 in December 2022. A Steam port was released in early 2024.
An animated series (Sky: The Two Embers) was first teased in 2022, before being officially revealed on August 2023 at Gamescom, and is set to release around March 2024.
See also the reveal teaser
and the Q&A with Jenova Chen, as well as the official website. Gameplay video #1, #2, #3.
Now has a Characters page in need of some hearts.
The game contains examples of the following tropes:
- Adaptational Alternate Ending: The final quest of the collab with A Deer of Nine Colors has the titular character captured by the kingdom, causing Darkness to rain down upon the Crescent Oasis. The remorseful merchant then works together with the Player Character to save the Deer.
- Advanced Movement Technique: Flips, rolls, and wind walls are just one way to abuse your power of flight.
- After the End: Like Flower and Journey before it, Sky has the players explore the ruins of a fallen precursor civilization.
- Always Night: The Starlight Desert and Passage Stone.
- Arbitrary Headcount Limit: 8 in the vast majority of Sky’s servers.
- A Taste of Power: Introduced in the Revival update. The Descendant starts with more Light than they can ever have in-game, but it’s swiftly taken away from them. Used as a basic flying tutorial.
- Badass Cape: Descendants are given cloaks that allow them to fly.
- Call a Hit Point a "Smeerp": Your Light is both the health and stamina meter.
- Character Customization: Players are able to customize the Descendants' hairstyles (the key art alone depicts long hair, pigtails, a cowlick, and a braid), robe colors, pants, mask, and instrument/tool (piano, chair, harp, etc.)
- Collision Damage: Zig-zagged. Originally in the earlier versions of the game, but now removed.
- Co-Op Multiplayer: Friends can hold your hand and lead you around the level. Some sections require multiple people to open doors.
- Cosy Catastrophe: It's clear something happened that wiped out the ancestors' civilization, but the ruins left behind are beautiful and largely peaceful. The current living inhabitants, the sky kids, are implied to be tasked with healing the world but are free to spend their time in between befriending each other, exploring, and relaxing.
- Crossover:
- Summer 2021 added an update themed around The Little Prince, featuring spirits based on the book's characters and a questline where you accompany the Prince throughout the world of Sky.
- A second crossover came in Fall 2022 featuring AURORA, with quests where you play through accompanied by her music. From December to early January, a virtual concert was freely available for everyone to experience in-game. The concert returned in late August 2023 to early September, for an official attempt to break the record for "Most Users in a Concert-Themed Virtual World".
- A third crossover came in Winter 2024 themed around A Deer of Nine Colors, a 1981 Chinese animated film based on a Buddhist tale of the same name.
- Other properties have featured as purchasable cosmetics: a Nintendo-exclusive bundle including a playable Ocarina and Link's hairstyle, a Playstation-exclusive bundle including the mask and outfit from Journey, a Steam-exclusive Companion Cube, and a limited-time Kizuna AI hair ornament and cape.
- Diegetic Character Creation: Introduced in the Aviary Village. Ancestor spirits have shops that help you with your outfit: a barber changes your hairstyle, a mask-maker puts on your mask, etc.
- Easter Egg:
- If you and seven other players use the butterfly catcher expression next to the gravestone in the 8-player area of Daylight Prairie, then you can summon a rideable dog named Oreo!
- See that flame icon next to the wall in the Vault? Try tapping on it. Surprise! You found the entrance to The Office!
- Emote Animation: The players’ primary method of communication. Emotes are earned from spirits who teach them to the players. Some emotes are required to activate doors or other such things in the world.
- Event Flag: Mostly completing the Elder cutscenes. However, many events are unlocked by a seemingly specific task: starting the 4th quest of Hopeful Steward. Although this may seem random for old players, it happens very early in the game for new players.
- Fission Mailed: How the game basically ends. Once you enter the final area of the Eye of Eden, you must use your winged light to free fallen Descendants, while flying rocks inevitably reduce your total even further. There's no way to actually reach any sort of physical goal, and no way to return to anywhere else in the game (besides Home) — all there is to do is save as many Descendants as possible before dying. Of course, you're then reincarnated.
- Flight: Flight powers are recharged with light and collecting winged lights increases flight.
- Flying Seafood Special: Flying manta rays and jellyfish share the skies of the game with birds.
- Glowing Flora: Wax-giving plants have a slight blue glow around the edges. Tree-bound mushroom caps in the Hidden Forest also glow brightly and will restore your light if you stand close enough to them.
- Grimy Water: Found extensively in the Golden Wasteland, as well as other areas. It slows the player down and slowly drains their light.
- Highly Visible Landmark: Logical Extreme. Basically every area has this. The “main path” will either have a Temple or the Eye of Eden displayed clearly in the background. Even seasonal areas have this, such as the Colosseum in the Village of Dreams or the main island in the Sanctuary Islands.
- Holding Hands: Befriending other players allows hand-holding.
- In a Single Bound: While not airborne, the Descendant seems to move in extremely long leaps similar to how someone would move in a low-gravity environment.
- It's Up to You: Played somewhat straight in the beginning; you have to save all the spirits and do all the quests yourself. However, it’s averted in the Eye of Eden, where you’re just one of many Descendants trying to get through.
- Level in the Clouds: The game is set in a desolate abandoned kingdom built upon the (surprisingly solid) cloud tops.
- Level-Up Fill-Up: Collecting a Winged Light fully restores all your light.
- Lighter and Softer: Compared to Journey. The developers describe the world of Sky as "whimsical", whereas Journey's story was very much a cautionary tale.
- Mood Whiplash:
- At first, Sky appears to be a heartwarming game about befriending other descendants and collecting spirits with cute expressions and outfits, and leveling up using the Children of Light you find in random places. after finishing the Valley of Triumph elder cutscene, the player descends a snow mountain before flying towards an opening in the orange clouds, before they fade into a sickly green and the player enters a level full of crab-like creatures that become agitated when spotting you before dealing damage, and dragon-like creatures that outright attack you if you enter their spotlight and don’t find a place to hide in five seconds. The first one you encounter even kills the flying manta that’s been guiding you. There are also hints about a war and a ruthless king, with about 3 looming statues of him in the final stage before you encounter the Elder. Welcome to Golden Wasteland. From there, the game swings back to peaceful and meditative in the Vault of Knowledge, then drops you into the Eye of Eden, a dark ruin besieged by constant storms and infested with dragons, then finally into the Gainax Ending of your character dying and being reborn in Orbit.
- The Cave of Prophecies’ elemental Trials. The first three trials are challenging, but the only danger is the environment — Trial of Water's tides, Trial of Earth's chasms, Trial of Air's winds. Trial of Fire, on the other hand, throws you head-first into a pitch-black maze where Darkness Equals Death and you need to light a path through the maze while avoiding unseen creatures that will kill you on contact.
- Multi-Platform: First released on iOS, it is now playable on Android, Nintendo Switch, PS 4, PS 5, and Steam.
- One Size Fits All: The cosmetics are given to you by the Ancestor Spirits, who wear them themselves. They’re usually shrunken-down for your convenience.
- One-Word Title: It's about a kingdom that is set on top of clouds — also called Sky.
- Our Dragons Are Different: The Dark Dragons look nothing like traditional dragons: They are large, completely black beings. Its anatomy is very similar to shrimps, with its body segmented into multiple sections, with six pairs of segmented legs whose size decreases as they approach the tail. In addition, its entire body is covered in spikes. Their heads have a pair of large horns, as well as a single large eye that projects a light that determines their cylindrical field of vision, appearing more mechanical than inorganic. Added to everything else, they are surrounded by particles of darkness, making them harmful to touch. Due to all of their insectoid characteristics, the community has nicknamed them "krill".
- The Power of Friendship: The Central Theme of the game is "giving", and your goal is apparently to heal the post-apocalyptic landscape with the power of generosity and compassion.
- Photo Mode: Introduced in the Prairie Peaks, which is accessed through a camera item similar to Breath of the Wild’s camera.
- Pillar of Light: Features prominently in most outdoor areas. This is the light from the Eye of Eden, the final level of the game.
- Pointof No Return: Once you enter the final part of the Eye of Eden, you have to complete it. Even quitting the game will just force you back into the point of no return. Weakly justified in-game, with the Descendents needing to give their light at all costs. However, there’s no way to “lose”, barring some unfortunate glitches. Sometimes, veteran players hilariously enter it by accident.
- Portal Network: The Wind Paths, an area above the Hidden Forest that connects to sub-areas of each of the realms. The Flight quests center around opening up the Paths and restoring the temple sanctuary at its center.
- Racing Minigame: Introduced in Days of Feast 2023. You can set up races and customize them, as well as race with other people.
- Randomized Transformation:
- Downplayed with the Resize spells, which permanently change the height of your in-game avatar to a random value between "child-sized" and "a head taller than the default". The only way to change your height if you don't like the result is to use another Resize spell and to hope for a better roll.
- During the Days of Mischief event, a cauldron will spew out black bubbles, and popping them will apply random spells that can temporarily change your character's size or give you a Halloween-themed cape, outfit, or hair, among other effects.
- Red Sky, Take Warning: The presence of a Shard of Eden in an area is indicated by the sky turning red.
- Renovating the Player Headquarters: A main feature of the Aviary Village quests. As you free more spirits and help them out, the village grows, with more shops being added.
- Repeatable Quest: Present in the quests of Enchantment, Prophecy, Dreams, Assembly, Flight, Performance, Aurora, Remembrance, Passage, Moments, and Nine-Colored Deer.
- Rule of Symbolism: There is a lot of Buddhist and east Asian religious iconography and motifs, including Stupas, prayer wheels, meditation being a gameplay ability, etc. Much like Journey, it ties into the ideas of rebirth and cycles that are central to the narrative.
- Story Breadcrumbs: Used extensively in the lore.
- Suspicious Video-Game Generosity: In the later parr of Eden, you are given TEN winged light in just a small corridor. You’ll need it, however, since the final area is the hardest part of the game. Funnily enough, it could be considered downplayed, since ten winged light just allows you to survive for a tiny bit longer.
- The Sky Is an Ocean: Creatures of light and dark resemble marine life (jellyfish, whales, mantas, krill, etc.) and the descendants used airships that look like self-paddling boats.
- Treehouse of Fun: The Assembly quests center around helping a group of forest Scouts build one, and multiple smaller treehouses are found scattered throughout the Hidden Forest.
- Tropical Island Adventure: The Sanctuary update introduced Sanctuary Islands, a tropical haven full of waterfalls and secret caves, and is themed around a group of tourists on a summer retreat. The questline revolves around restoring the island's wildlife.
- Underwater Ruins: The Abyss Update introduces the Treasure Reef, an underwater ruin. The questline centers around a treasure-hunting expedition that plunders the Reef for gemstones and eventually delves too deep and discovers a massive Dark Dragon sleeping in the deepest part of ruins.
- Vile Villain, Saccharine Show: The Dark Dragons/Krill, Darkness Worms, and Many Eyed Thing would absolutely not be out of place in a straight-up horror game. Especially the Dark Dragons.
- Warp Whistle: A button allows you to go to Home or Aviary Village at a moment’s notice.
- Wham Shot: The Ancient Memories take players to a sequence of tableaus, memories depicting the native creatures of Sky — birds, mantas, whales, etc. The final memory, however, depicts the entity at the center of Eden striking down each of the Elders.
- World in the Sky: Some areas are floating islands kept together by the magic clouds that make up the kingdom.
You are about to be reborn...
The real journey starts here...
