I just wanna fly! || Cloudtrail Island (PC)

"Once you have tasted the taste of sky, you will forever look up." --Leonardo Da Vinci

Title Screen

Cloudtrail Island is a relaxing game of exploration created by a small team of people known as Wing It Games. You play as Wendy, a young lady who, it seems, is moving to Cloudtrail Island from Obscondia. The world of Cloudtrail is a world of disconnected floating islands that require some form of flight to travel between them. Wendy does this using a glider, and there are also these large almost blimp like airships that travel between the islands.

I really love the concept of this game, the disconnected sky islands, with the air travel and a view of endless blue skies. When I was younger, I played a game called Skies of Arcadia that filled me with such a sense of wonder. It had a similar concept, you had an airship and you traveled between floating islands that were different towns and cultural representations. There was a lot more to it, but the idea of living in the skies is similar.

Ah, the age old fetch quests! Bring it on!

The controls for this game are not stellar. The movements feel floaty, you get caught on the terrain when walking sometimes (especially bridges) and Wendy will jump into the hair when she hits a bump. To use the glider, you hit space twice, but in the platforming sections Wendy would whip out her glider when I was just trying to jump, which caused issues and got a little frustrating. The gliding was considerably smoother and I had fewer issues. 

The graphics style of the game is really cute and the music is nice as well. I didn’t seem to run into a lot of characters, but it might have been a result of the day/night cycle and I just wasn’t getting there at the right time to see them. The characters that I ran into seemed charming, if a bit generic. Also, I wish there was a house for me. I kept trying to go into houses but couldn’t find one that I could enter. I feel like the game was trying to go for a relaxing Animal Crossing vibe, but I felt like it needed more to get there, and a house would have added to that.

There is a large variety of items to collect in the game, and you would use them for fetch quests I imagine. There was a shop set up on the main islands, and he said he was a shop but I didn't get any options to buy or sell so it seemed pointless.

Flying is admittedly fun, though.

Overall, there is a decent amount of space to explore, the graphics are cute, and it is fun to soar around through the air. I love the idea of this game, and I feel like with some extra work and tweaking to the design and execution, it could really be a fantastic game to spend time in. As it is right now, it’s still worth a play to experience soaring through the air and to have a relaxing jaunt around the islands. You can download the game for free from Itch.io HERE.

There was a surprising lack of fencing for living so high in the air. I would be concerned about losing my children or pets off of the edge. Do you think you would enjoy living in the sky on a floating island? Would you want to live in a community like the Cloudtrail Island, or off on your own little hunk of floating rock? Let me know what you think in the comments and I will see you all next time. Until then, friends, happy gaming!

I'm worried about this cow. Are they okay?

Free Itch.io Games #14

 Hello, once again, everyone! I'm here with some more games you can download and play from Itch.io for free! We have a good mix today, from horror, to exploration, to puzzle games. Let's not dawdle and take a look!

1. Tim’s Birthday

Source: Screen Capture in Game

Tim’s Birthday is a point and click horror game created by Kymarai. You play as Anne, and after a drunken night out with your friends, you have to attend your little brother Timmy’s birthday party hung over. Timmy seems upset that he knows you were doing “the thing.” Anne goes down to spend some time with Tim, feeling guilty about everything and ends up in a horror scene. 

Anne awakes… it was all a nightmare after all? Anne goes about her day, but is feeling a strange sense of déjà vu as this day seems to be playing out just like her nightmare. As in her nightmare, she witnesses a scene of horror… and wakes up again. 

Trapped in a loop of horror, Anne has to find a way to make it end. Is this punishment for the way she treated Tim? Anne decides to give Tim the best birthday she can, in hopes that will break the loop and allow her to move on with her life. But will it?

I enjoy the graphics—the sketchbook quality of the CGs is nice. The music and sound effects, too, are fitting. The game is thoughtfully put together, and apart from the death scenes, enjoyable. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times—horror games are not always my thing. 

I haven’t gotten through to the “true” ending yet. I got through 3 different death scenes and I after the 3^rd one I kind of couldn’t handle it. I have 4 younger brothers, so it was a little difficult for me. There is a way to break the loop, but not without wading through the various death loops first. You can try the game for yourself, but be warned that it gets a little graphic. You can download the game to play for free from Itch.io *here*.

2. Somewhere Strange

 Source: Screen Capture in Game

 

Somewhere Strange is a short exploration mystery game created by Rudi Prentice. You arrive on an alien planet that is supposed to be inhabited, but is strangely silent. You’re going to investigate the surrounding homes to find out why. 

The game certainly lives up to its name—Somewhere Strange. As you explore, the game gives off an eerie and mysterious vibe. The empty homes, abandoned items and living spaces, and no trace of any living life except for yours.  There is minimal sound, which adds to the eerie feelings of isolation.

The graphics are simple, but I like them. I also like the desert color scheme. You’re supposed to be on an alien planet, but the colors kind of made me think of a mars type desert/savannah. The game is also short. Expect about 5-10 minutes to make it from start to finish, though I really do wish it was longer.

I don’t want to spoil anything about the game, or the ending, so that’s all I will say about it. If you want to try the game for yourself, you can download and try it for free from Itch.io *here*.

3. Walking With Her

 Source: Itch.io Page

Walking With Her is an emotional real life story created by SwordyGames. The game is based on true events that happened with one of the developer’s friends. The game follows a girl’s escape from an abusive relationship, and moving to a new place in an attempt to start over. 

The game is meant to be emotional, and to a point it is. But I wasn’t really sure what was going on for most of the game so it kind of ruined the overall feeling. That game is lacking some depth and description, which would have made it much more realistic and heart felt. 

The graphics are simply pixelated versions of backgrounds, there aren’t any people sprites or anything. Pixilated backgrounds aren’t bad, but in the first cabin, I could barely tell what I was looking at at first. The interior was much better. 

It seems I am being a bit hard on the game, but I really just feel that the game, with some refinement, could be much better. But don’t take my word for it. You can try it for yourself free from Itch.io *here*.

4. Pocket Legacy
 

 Source: Screen Capture in Game

Pocket Legacy is a casual puzzle game created by Kinifi. It is based around evolution, and you combine like tiles to advice your civilization’s timeline. You only have a 4x4 grid in while to slide and combine your tiles, so this becomes increasingly difficult as you need to make larger and larger combinations to get the tiles you need to advance.

Even so, I really like this little game. Puzzle games are something that I really love, and this game is well done. I like combining the tiles to create new tiles, the animations are smooth and the movements are fluid. 

If you like casual puzzle games, matching games, or something you can just relax and play for a short amount of time, I think this game fits your needs. My high score is 3127 years. See if you can do better. You can download and play this game for free from Itch.io *here*.

As always, be sure to leave your feedback for the devs! Thanks for sharing some of your time with me, and happy gaming!

Bell