Aloft

Aloft is a cozy, relaxing survival and exploration game that centers around building and customizing your own floating island airship while restoring ecosystems on various islands. Players praise its unique concept, beautiful graphics, and enjoyable flying mechanics, making it a delightful experience for those seeking a chill gameplay loop. The game offers a blend of crafting, farming, and light combat with a positive vibe and a colorful art style.

However, being in early access, Aloft faces optimization issues, occasional bugs, and performance problems like lag and crashes, especially during co-op play. The procedural generation of islands leads to repetitiveness, with many islands feeling similar and lacking depth or meaningful rewards. Combat is considered simplistic and unchallenging, and the story content is limited, leaving some players wanting more variety and post-game content. Despite these flaws, many players find the game promising and enjoyable, especially for casual play and creative building.

Highlights

Players especially appreciate Aloft's building mechanics and the unique concept of flying a floating island as an airship. The graphics and art style are frequently praised for being colorful, beautiful, and cozy, enhancing the relaxing atmosphere. The flying and exploration elements are enjoyable, with many finding the gameplay loop of restoring islands and crafting satisfying. The inventory management and absence of item durability are welcomed features. The game also offers a positive and chill vibe, making it suitable for casual players and families.

Criticisms

Common criticisms include performance issues such as lag, crashes, and poor optimization, especially in multiplayer. The procedural generation is often described as repetitive and uninspired, with many islands feeling similar and containing empty or pointless areas. The combat system is seen as shallow and lacking challenge or variety. The main storyline is considered short and vague, with limited guidance and post-game content. Several players report a grindy experience with insufficient rewards, and some feel the flying mechanics lack realism or depth. Additionally, UI and control issues have been noted.