Online game "Sky: Children of the Light"

Tired of complicated boss raids and endless pumping in battles with monsters? Confused by multi-story interfaces with buttons for attacks, moves, potions and spells? Tired of seeing brutality, killing and creepy monsters on your monitor? Then try to play Sky: Children of the Light - a very unusual MMORPG that doesn't scare you, doesn't annoy you and doesn't make you sweat over heavy fights. All you need for entertainment is a good mood and some free time. At the same time you don't need any money, because the game is available for free, nor an expensive computer - the work of Thatgamecompany studio will pull even outdated equipment.

Before we start talking about Children of the Light, it's worth saying a few words about its creator. This is important, because Jenova Chen stands apart in the industry - he makes deep games as accessible as possible and uses only such development methods that his work can be enjoyed by all people, regardless of their age, culture and country of residence. The developer's real name is Chen Xinghan. He was born in Shanghai in 1981 and was characterized by artistic talent since childhood. But the boy's father decided to direct him along a different path - emphasized computers and programming. While studying computer science, Chen Xinghan fell in love with video games and even took a pseudonym in honor of one of the characters of Final Fantasy VII - Jenova.

After receiving his higher education in Shanghai, the budding programmer continued his studies at the American University of Southern California. It was here, while still a student, that he started creating his first games. Together with his girlfriend Kelly Santiago, he received a $20,000 university grant and started Cloud, an experimental work about a man who is confined to a hospital bed but flies in a fairy-tale world created by the power of his imagination.

The young authors called the genre of such an unusual debut "zen". This game is almost immediately interested in the representatives of Sony Corporation - they signed a contract with Chen to develop two more projects in a similar style. So Jenova, having neither great experience nor finances, found a solid publisher and a platform for self-expression - the PlayStation console. The developers decided to call their team Thatgamecompany. Under this brand, another game was soon released - flOw, where you had to control a small organism floating in the abyss of the vast ocean.

But the crowning achievement was Journey, which took three years of Chen's life and a lot of nerve cells. In an interview he admitted that he was close to bankruptcy and nervous breakdown, and he also lacked specialists, so he had to save on literally everything. Nevertheless, the result was worth it - in the spring of 2012, gamers all over the world received one of the most unusual entertainment. Although the game is designed simply, its plot is based on Joseph Campbell's theory of monomyth, which reduces the epic of different peoples to a single fabula. There are no words in Journey - everything from the story to the characters' communication is presented in the form of melodic sounds.

For a while after the release of Journey, Chen became the most talked about game designer on the planet, but for some reason he was in no hurry with new projects. What was the surprise of his fans when he took the stage during the presentation of iPhone X smartphones in 2017 and presented the next Thatgamecompany game as an iOS exclusive. We are talking, of course, about Sky, which became the heir to Journey both in terms of concise style and creativity. Following his philosophy, the author intentionally made it simple and understandable to gamers of all ages and cultures. The game recently moved from mobile devices to computers and in the spring of 2024 with the subtitle Children of the Light was released on Steam, where it is available for free.

You don't have to install a separate client and create an account for Children of the Light - just download the game to your computer. Then it will ask you whether you are running it for the first time or are already familiar with it. If you choose the first option, you will have to go through training. And with the second you will immediately get into the open world. There is no choice of class, weapon, or distribution of starting points by characteristics. That's Chen's way: everything that needs to be told, he tells in action. This new work begins with a flight. The man in a cape pierces the clouds and soars towards the sun, meeting birds and flying stingrays along the way. Like other Thatgamecompany games, this one is done in a minimalistic style, but with very beautiful effects.

But at some point the clouds thicken, lightning flashes, and the hero's flight is interrupted - he falls straight to the ground, where he finds himself alone in the darkness, among the rocks and bizarre ruins darkening on the horizon. Where to go? Of course, to the light that flickers inside a distant stone figure, because we are playing as a child of light. On the spot we find out that this gnarled figure was once alive - and sharing a piece of fire with it is enough to summon a spirit from the stone. The hero learns that once there was a prosperous kingdom here, but because of the falling stars the inhabitants died and turned into statues. Now they must be rescued by dispelling the night hanging over these lands. And to do this, you must pass through six worlds one after another, using the House as a location-hub, where you can meet other human beings under the control of users.

Each next world is more difficult than the previous one. At first, the game seems to be a quiet adventure with the exploration of objects of the environment, but then adds action - and here you are flying under the clouds, maneuvering between boulders and avoiding attacks of dragons. But don't expect too tough tests - if you've taken up the campaign, it won't be too difficult to pass it. And you don't need to invest any money. Those who want to thank the developers with a ringing coin will get only jewelry and gifts, but not a way to solve all the problems. To move forward, the hero collects particles of light, gradually improving his cape - it allows him to fly. You will also have to interact with spirits - like the one we woke up in the beginning. These creatures are always friendly.

An important feature of Children of the Light is that you don't need to understand the mechanics for a long time. If you've ever played anything, you'll get the hang of it right away. You won't get lost either - just click the left mouse button to find out where to go and what to do. The hint is accompanied by a pleasant echo in the style of Journey. As well as there, the soundtrack plays an important role in Jenova Chen's new work: it sets you in the right mood, informs you about the attitude to your hero and warns you about danger. The work of composer Vincent Diamante, who created music at the intersection of light jazz, classical symphonies and elven chants in the spirit of Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings", is worth mentioning. He also came up with sound effects that gamers can use to express their emotions when they meet.

Since Sky is an MMORPG, it of course has a progression system. However, it's not exactly the same as in other games of the genre. The hero receives levels for his wanderings, but they do not give an increase in strength or dexterity. But they allow you to move from the previous world to the next. You also need to improve your cloak by accumulating particles of light in it. This is a kind of life here - your character can't die, but the game still penalizes for the damage received, reducing the level of the cloak. If it drops to zero, you have to start the adventure all over again. Another aspect of pumping is encounters with spirits. They not only show you what they were doing before their death, but also give you a small task, and in addition offer you some kind of "goods" - hairstyles or gestures to customize your appearance and communicate with other users.

Multiplayer in Children of the Light is also organized in a very original way. You won't find any guilds or voice chats for communication. All the signals you can send to a nearby hero are sounds and gestures. Or, as an option, sit down on a bench and exchange a couple of lines in the opened window. For the most part, communication takes place without words. Jenova Chen explains this decision by the fact that people on the server should not spoil each other's mood in any way, and in the case of traditional chat such a situation is, alas, very likely. But the variability of interactions is pleasing. You can offer anyone you meet friendship, exchange gifts, hold hands and go on a joint flight.

Spontaneous groups can include up to eight people, and everyone moves around holding hands. It's a bit like Snake, where the lead character is in the head and the others follow. The more of you there are, the easier it is to overcome the difficulties, especially some stages can't be completed without help. But there is no rivalry with PvP battles in the game. Finally, it should be noted that for comfortable gameplay you need a stable internet connection - at the slightest problems the client will throw you to the menu or desktop.

Sky: Children of the Light is not so much a game as a meditation. With beautiful music you move through simple, but cute locations, and also fly in the sky and perform simple tasks. Here you don't have to perform feats, break your keyboard in attempts to pull off complex combos and snap at your teammates to get them to move. But you can find friends without saying a word to them and experience a lot of emotions without bloody battles and hellish monsters. The work of Thatgamecompany studio will help to relieve stress in a situation when other games can't cope with it, and it will do it for free. So it can be safely recommended to everyone without exception.

Zarium. May 2024