In March Thatgamecompany announced that Sky: Children of the Light would officially land on Android in April. At the time, we didn't know the exact day the game would arrive, but it would appear. Although it mimics many gameplay elements from Journey, it's Sky's evolution of those ideas that makes it a fascinating multiplayer experiment.

Stay on target.The other night I attended an Apple event where they celebrated the games and apps of the year as chosen by their editorial teams. The apps I didn’t have many opinions on.

If you’re curious, the winners were the digital notebook Flow by Moleskin on iPad, the Adobe InDesign alternative Affinity Publisher on Mac, and the tourism photo app The Explorers on iPhone.But naturally it was the games I most cared about. Apple’s people have good taste. Deadcore. The games they picked were all very beautiful and worth playing. The only thing I noticed was that in most cases I had already played them months or years ago. Apple TV game of the year Wonder Boy: The Dragon Trap was an early Switch that wasn’t Zelda that still caught our eye.

Mac game of the year Gris was a breakout indie hit in 2018. You should totally play the stylish (and heartbreaking) Hyper Light Drifter, but its intense difficulty has only been slightly lowered since 2016 and it isn’t necessarily the best fit for iPad. The Apple Arcade game of the year, playable pop album Sayonara Wild Hearts, isn’t fully exclusive to that mobile subscription service. And even the “biggest trend” award went to mobile downgrades of console blockbusters from Nintendo and Bethesda. It’s a depressing economic origin, but luckily the game itself is practically engineered in a lab to lift your spirits. Combining elements of the team’s prior work, Sky: Children of Light is a family friendly casual MMO about holding hands and soaring through skies in open, non-linear, theme park-esque levels.

It’s equal parts adorable and thrilling. And like in Journey, players communicate non-verbally through various emotes, allowing for connections that span continents and language barriers. The minimal microtransactions are just for building on these relationships.Sky: Children of Light is eventually coming to other platforms. But right now it is an iPhone game through and through, the iPhone game of the year. For more on iPhone games read our big list of tiny and here’s why Apple Arcade is better than its sibling subscription service.

Sky: Children of the Light Guides:

• Beginner's Guide (Tips & Tricks).
• Adventure Pass Guide.
• Connection & Performance FAQ.
• Gameplay & Features FAQ.
• Friends & Social FAQ.

How do I get my character to move?

Walking / Running

• Sliding your thumb up/down/left/right on the LEFT side of the screen (the d-pad area) while on the ground will make the character run in that direction.
• Sliding your thumb WITHIN the d-pad circle will slow your avatar’s speed to a walk.

Jumping

• Tapping the jump button on the bottom-right of the screen with your thumb will make the avatar jump forwards.
• This can be combined with d-pad movement to change the direction of your jump.
• Alternatively, a 'flick” in any direction in the d-pad area while on the ground will make the avatar jump in that direction. This can also be used to jump off ledges/cliffs.

Stepping

• Dragging a finger from one of the avatar’s feet will cause him to 'step” in that direction. Useful in social interactions and for doing selfies!

How do I get my character to float/boost up?

Here are all the ways you can control your character's ascent from the ground.

• HOLDING your thumb on the jump button for a short amount of time will use up 1 bit of Wing Energy and cause your character to 'flap” and boost into the air.
• Additional boosts can be performed while in the air to gain more height.
• If you press the boost button and do not have sufficient Wing Energy, it will have no effect. The game will give some feedback indicating that you are out of Energy.
• As long as you have stars of Wing Energy to use, you can keep the boost button held down, if you wish to use them in quick succession.
• You can increase your total Energy (the number of stars on your cape) by finding Winged Light scattered throughout the world, which allows you to increase the number of consecutive boosts that are possible.

How do I fly with my character?

This is how you control your character while flying/gliding:

• While airborne and moving forward close to the maximum speed (by holding forward on the d-pad, or from air dashing forward), a quick FLICK of your thumb in the d-pad area 'forwards” (e.g. in your avatar’s forward direction), will cause your avatar to enter glide mode.
• While in glide mode, you can quickly dive by pushing the d-pad DOWN. You can push up to get out of the dive.
• In special areas where there are 'up drafts”, you will also have the ability to gain height and 'pitch up” like an airplane by pushing UP on the d-pad. This special case is referred to as FLIGHT mode. When the avatar is in such an area, flight mode will be engaged automatically as long as the avatar is airborne, and cannot be manually exited until leaving the area.
• As long as you are not in an updraft, a quick flick in your avatar’s backwards direction will exit glide mode.
• Flicking the d-pad area in any direction while airborne will make your avatar do a quick 'dash” in that direction.

How do I teleport back to Home and other levels?

To warp to Home and other levels, you should follow these steps:

• Tap the top-right of the screen to make the Cog button appear.
• Tap the Cog button to open the options menu.
• Tap the portal button in the top middle of the menu.

Tapping the portal button will teleport you to Home. From there you can travel to different levels through their corresponding portals.

How do I resume from where I left off in a level?

To resume where you left off, you must first return to Home. There you can pass through the Portal of the level you were last in. Doing this should set you at the last point the game saved during your adventure through the world.

Can I use a controller to play Sky?

Not at this time. We plan to support MFi controllers eventually, but have not fully implemented this into the game at this time.

What should I do if my character gets stuck or cannot move?

If your character gets stuck, or becomes unable to move for any reason, we suggest you close and restart the app.
When you restart the game you should not lose anything and will be placed somewhere nearby your previous location.
You May Also Like:

• All Sky Children of the Light Guides!