Highlights

  • Aloft offers a unique and distinct alternative to Valheim with its charming art style, striking visuals, and immersive gameplay.
  • The game shares similarities with Valheim in terms of presentation and gameplay, but also introduces new mechanics like flying ships and wingsuits for fun, fluid movement.
  • Aloft focuses on players' relationship with the natural world, incorporating themes of nature into its combat, crafting, and exploration gameplay.

Aloft, the second title from indie developer Astrolabe Interactive Inc., could provide an interesting alternative for fans of Valheim. Several games feature a fresh take on Valheim's open-world survival-crafting gameplay, but Aloft could be one of the more unique options, with a distinct premise, charming art style, and mechanics that set it apart from other entries in the genre.

Described as an "atmospheric sandbox survival indie game," Aloft will be following up Astrolabe's 2022 party brawler Sacrifice Your Friends. Astrolabe looks to be injecting some of the strong imagery and personality of Sacrifice Your Friends into Aloft, which boasts striking visual flair, supported by a compelling setting and central premise. That said, Aloft is a bold new direction for the developer, aiming to provide gameplay that is simultaneously relaxing, immersive, and stimulating, leveraging some of the best traits of the survival genre.

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Why Valheim Fans Might Like Aloft

How Aloft Channels Valheim

As a preeminent title in the indie survival game space, Valheim's influence on the genre is clear and resounding. This can be observed in Aloft, which shares key similarities with Iron Gate's Norse-inspired title, in terms of both presentation and gameplay.

The relatively simple art design of Aloft is reminiscent of Valheim's highly stylized graphics, making masterful use of shading and volumetric lighting to evoke a dramatic, alluring atmosphere. On the gameplay front, Aloft places a premium on foraging and strategic crafting, rewarding exploration and risk-taking with valuable resources and building materials. Like Valheim and many of its contemporaries, Aloft offers a co-op function, allowing players to roam, build, and fight fungal monsters with up to seven friends, which helps make the experience easier and more robust.

Aloft Is More Than Just a Valheim Re-Skin

A quick glance at Aloft's gameplay footage or screenshots might lead some to conclude that the game is essentially "Valheim in the sky," but it's much more than that; the sky-bound setting's impact on the game goes far beyond the surface level. To travel between Aloft's floating archipelagos, players are given a flying ship that they can upgrade over the course of their playthrough, adding another layer to in-game movement. More important to the question of Aloft's exploration and traversal is the wingsuit mechanic, which players can use to barrel through the skies at breakneck speeds. With traversal often being overlooked in the survival genre, Aloft's attempts at making fun, fluid movement set it apart.

The game's overall tone and style are also fundamentally different from Valheim's. While this is apparent in the overall aesthetic of the game, it also affects gameplay and progression. Aloft is an experience designed around the player's relationship with the natural world, and part of its gameplay loop involves cleansing floating islands and freeing them from fungal corruption, bringing life back to them. This adds unique context and rewards to the combat of Aloft, helping it stand out against Valheim's more traditional approach to enemies and fighting.

Aloft's themes of nature also play a role in its crafting gameplay, as players can automate resource gathering by harnessing the power of wind turbines. Exploration is linked to this premise as well, as players are at constant risk of being hit by an ever-present hurricane, forcing them to adapt quickly or suffer the consequences, emphasizing both the beauty and terror of nature.

Aloft will be releasing on PC at some point in 2024, but players can play the demo for free right now. As a game in the midst of development, it's subject to change, but it's clear that Astrolabe has a clear vision for the title. With how promising it looks, it's possible that Aloft could be a great co-op survival game, one that stands right alongside viral hits like Valheim.