The team at Big Boss Battle popped into Game Anglia to see what new indie games were flexing their creative juices. One such game, which instantly caught my eye, was a very beautiful flying simulation, where you take control of a shape-shifting bird.
Fugl is now available for purchase on itch.io and Steam
The game lets you glide serenely across picturesque landscapes, or choose to ramp up the tension as you soar up steep cliffs and through tight cavern holes, whilst at the same time allowing you to morph your physical form. There are no set rules, which means that the free-roaming gameplay lets you discover the beauty and secrets of its world at your own pace.
This is both extremely satisfying and amazingly calm, which in turn does a great job of reducing the player’s stress. The best way I can describe this is that it’s like when you drift into a pillow on a warm Sunday afternoon. Never before had I felt so relaxed, and for those watching, this could easily be mistaken for a stunning screen saver. Fugl’s developer stated that the world is at its core is procedurally generated, but has also been carefully designed to generate diverse areas for you to explore. The biomes I managed to see ranged from a tropical paradise to a great desert and an icy mountain range. The environments also included a rich selection of diverse wildlife with hundreds of airborne and grounded animals for you to find.
Apparently, there is even a chance to stumble across rare mythical creatures. Where Fugl really shines — besides the stunning flying — is the ability to morph into the same creatures you encounter. Come close to any of these creatures and you take on visual characteristics and behaviours inspired by them.
The control system is easy to use and master, which relies on you choosing how hard you wish to push yourself. General flying is slow, stunning and calm. However, should you wish, you can flap your wings faster to ramp up the speed and try to fly through the tight caverns, which produces a heart-pumping and tension-filled game. Fugl also has an extensive level creator and allows you to customize your bird in the avatar editor. Currently the game is in early access on Steam; we heartily recommend you give this a look if you want something truly unique, whilst at the same time letting you relax.
I personally cannot wait to see where the developer takes this game in its run up to completion and I hope this will not just be a PC-only game, as it deserves the biggest, widest audience possible.
If interested you can find more out about Fugl over on its Steam page or on the game’s website..
I really enjoyed my time with this. So much so that I went home and bought it straight away. It was really great chatting with Gorm about his plans for the game’s future as well.