So, the first game I’m going to talk about for Next Fest is Airborne Empire. Now, I didn’t play the demo, couldn’t actually. I’ve been testing the game, as I did the first game, Airborne Kingdom. I’m going to need to limit my thoughts on my first island experiences, as that’s what the demo is limited to.
If you’ve played Airborne Kingdom, it’s a unique city builder that puts you in charge of an floating city. You explore the map, which has biomes with various resources to collect and grow your city. It’s a gorgeous game, with a huge amount of customization, a wonderful soundtrack, and has won no shortage of awards. At the time of writing, the Steam summer sale is on, so there is no better time to pick it up (60% off!).
Airborne Empire is much the same, but set in the far future from the original game. The original Airborne Kingdom is but a thing of legend…and then you come along. This time, there is more conflict in the lands, and in addition to trying to make sure your floating city has the fuel, food, and other supplies to stay aloft, you run into pirates. Early on, you’re defenseless, left to try and run and hope the early few fighters sent your way don’t do too much damage, or to anything critical. As you explore, you run into cities that can help you find blueprints to build new parts, including weapons.
I will say the questing experience is much better in the sequel, and there is more of a story woven through your experiences from city to city. I know my original play of the first island (that the demo is limited to) came to a little over 10 hours, but, I’m a slow and cautious player. YMMV. The combat isn’t too harsh, though there are some surprises that’ll hit you the first time and might lead you to panic as you start to sink towards the ground. I’ll leave people to discover those for themselves.
I think it’s a fantastic follow-up, I look forward to playing it more, and to it’s release later this year. The demo for Airborne Empire is still up, and last I heard from the devs, they plan on keeping it up well beyond the fest.