Airborne Kingdom

 PC
Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 20 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 20
  3. Negative: 0 out of 20
  1. Eurogamer
    Dec 16, 2020
    When I started playing I was fascinated by the landscape beneath. I wanted to hear more about the abandoned, crumbling temples and foundries, the different forms of government and social relations you're told about when you visit each city. I craved an extended mission or two to dig into the origins of the Prophecy. I wondered about the possibility of an antagonist. But towards the end, I felt only indifference, which is a more rarefied, civilised kind of cruelty than the urge to pillage. It feels like this game drifts in the shadow of another game in which the Airborne Kingdom is exactly what it looks like: a ponderous, uncaring monster that eats the world in order to set itself free.

User Reviews

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User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 31 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 22 out of 31
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 31
  3. Negative: 4 out of 31
  1. Celestialflower
    Dec 20, 2020
    8
    Airborne Kingdoms is a brilliant, well executed concept, and a joy to play, but it's also hindered slightly by technical issues. There is soAirborne Kingdoms is a brilliant, well executed concept, and a joy to play, but it's also hindered slightly by technical issues. There is so much here to like. It's the first city builder to truly feel fresh and unique since Sim City appeared at the end of the 80s. That is a remarkable accomplishment, and for that alone, A Wandering Band deserves your attention. It's a fascinating experience, one that answers the question, "What if you could a built a city, and then take that city on adventures?"

    I didn't know that question even existed before sitting down with Airborne Kingdom, but I'm glad someone out there thought to ask it. And while this is, at its core, a city builder, Airborne Kingdom borrows heavily from other genres. You have to balance population, employment, lighting, storage, faith, propulsion, and lift as you expand your city. You also have to balance the city itself; put too much weight on one side and the whole thing tilts. Tilt too far and your citizens start to tilt along with it, and their quality of life is one of your most constant concerns. There are RTS elements in the resource gathering, as your city produces very little of what it needs to survive. As you glide around the map (which is new every time you play), you send out small aircraft to harvest necessities like wood for building, coal to keep the propellers running, clay for ceramics, along with materials for glass, iron, and canvas, and, of course, food and water to keep your people alive. This aspect is nothing like most city building games, but is very similar to the resource harvesting you manage in games like Starcraft.

    Perhaps most interesting, though, is how much the game learns from encounter-fests like FTL or Renowned Explorers. As you traverse the sprawling map, which is rendered like a beautiful board game in ancient tile, you find other cities, which you are trying to unite. They give you little quests to fulfill before they will form alliances with you. There are dye factories and metal shops which add aesthetic options to your city. Small settlements where one might recruit new denizens, assuming your standard of living meets their expectations. Old ziggurats, ruins which avail you of lost pieces of civilization, and more. There's always something new and interesting to find beyond the next cloud bank, and the combined effect of all these little things is that Airborne Kingdom brings with it a sense of wonder that is unlike anything you've encountered in a city builder.

    As you've no doubt realized by now, I am a big fan of the game. That makes it that much harder to bring up the downside of A Wandering Band's indie jewel, but, sadly, we've got to talk about the meta of actually running the game. My computer is well over the recommended specs, and yet I've been plagued with constant graphics issues since about one-third of the way through the game, despite my freshly updated drivers (thanks, Cyberpunk!). Your city involves more moving parts than a propeller beanie museum, and as you expand, you're probably going to be forced to dial down graphics options to compensate. As you continue building, you'll keep needing to lower those settings. This is especially heartbreaking in a game that trades so heavily on its visual charm, and it robs progress in the game of its full sense of reward. I'm a big believer in being honest about the specs for your pc games, because how else is anyone supposed to make informed purchasing decisions on a gaming platform with no standardization, and the specs for Airborne Kingdom are simply not accurate. You should consider the recommended specs to be the minimum, because if you try to play this game with that recommended pc, you're going to have all the graphics options set to minimum by the time it's over. Because of these issues, I have to give an otherwise great game a 7.5/10, as opposed to the 8.5/10 it deserves.

    The devs have said, via twitter, that a number of updates are bringing new content to the game in 2021, and I can only hope that new content includes some sweeping improvements to optimization, because this wonderful little game both needs and deserves them.    … Full Review »
  2. Ghibreel
    Dec 20, 2020
    9
    Really nice game with a play through that can be completed in two evenings. Great to relax if you don't want to venture into too long game.
  3. pladeira
    Dec 20, 2020
    9
    Cool game, nice graphics, amazing mechanics.

    I finished in 6h50m. Wished it would last longer.
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