Skye tasks players with bringing in new seasons as a weather dragon

A peaceful, harmonious game where you play as Skye, a wind dragon responsible for bringing in the new seasons.

It’s rare to find games that are accessible and child friendly these days, not least on consoles. Where a decade ago, store shelves were filled with licensed games and kids’-movie tie-ins, the more recent console generation seems to have set the whole idea aside. Enter Skye, from Puny Astronaut: a game with a pleasant sandbox vibe, bright colours and a planned release for consoles.

Skye follows the titular dragon as it emerges each season to help out the people who live near its cave. This can come many forms, from helping pirates to watering plants. Everything takes place in a 2.5D plane where you fly and glide around in the skies, weaving between platforms to trigger little moments and objects throughout the level.

Almost everything is interactive in one way or another — like the shooting galleries you find at theme parks — which means that as you zip between platforms, you hear the rustling of the wind in the trees, the tinkling of bells and the chattering of villagers. It’s all very cute and rewarding. Each little interaction is like a small reinforcement that you’re actually doing something in the game — contrasting the empty rooms sometimes left behind in RPGs or adventure games.

Everything is lush and bright, as well. While Skye (the protagonist) always features the same light-blue and purple colours, the rest of the world changes with the seasons. Rich reds and oranges populate autumn, while blooming flowers of all colours are present in spring — even if some of the faces remain the same, the world around them changes.

While playing the game at EGX ‘17 last year, I couldn’t help but remark to the developer at how impressed I was with the world. Not only were the controls simple and accessible, but the bright and interactive world was, too. Perfect for a younger audience, but with more than enough to do to keep an older player engaged.

Skye doesn’t have a release date scheduled just yet, however when it does launch, it is planned to release on the Nintendo Switch, PS4 and Xbox One. If you want to stay up to date with the game, you can follow the developers on Twitter @punyastronaut.