Game Mechanics and Collectable Goodies
On the outset of their journey, Ike floats high above the maze of sky islands. But what to do in this brave new world in the clouds?
The game is comprised of two recurring modes. The first one of these is concerned with safely navigating the skies with Ike’s trusted kite. While this is a regular everyday toy, it can be upgraded with purple goo which players can find floating around in the sky and on the islands they visit. This goo seems to have some antigravity properties, allowing Ike to float around the sky more securely. Besides this, players will unlock items that enable them to properly steer the kite and control its sinking speed. This is needed because the clouds are brimming with flying boulders and other obstacles, which can knock Ike out of the sky. Avoiding these will become harder as the game progresses, since Ike will eventually encounter townspeople who need to be rescued from their flying prisons, adding both weight and an elongating chain of refugees to the flying contraption.
This brings us to the second mode of gameplay. When players have braved a section of the perilous skies, they are often given a choice between two sky islands to pick as their next station on the way down to the surface and are forced to leave one by the wayside for a later adventure. This is where the heart of the game takes place. Every island holds one unlucky inhabitant of Waning Heights who couldn’t evacuate in time. Unfortunately, to rescue them Ike must first complete a dangerous gauntlet of platforming and puzzle elements that was created in the calamity that befell the town. Sudden pitfalls, floating furniture and hard-to-reach buttons make the previously mundane public spaces a challenge to traverse. Luckily, Ike finds lost toys here and there that help players to interact with the world around them. From a baseball bat to hit floating objects to ninja claws for clinging to walls and a slingshot for interacting with things from afar, these objects can be used for much more than just playing.
Soon, Ike is joined by a friend who also got lost among the clouds. Together, they can tackle obstacles much more efficiently, opening up possibilities for cooperative multiplayer gameplay. However, even in singleplayer mode players can make use of this second character, adding interesting interactions and intriguing controls to the experience. Beyond basic interactions like walking and jumping, Ike’s friend is a tech-savvy fellow who can hack digital devices and pick locks among other actions.
Once the duo has found their way back to earth with a bunch of rescued citizens in tow, their journey is far from over. Not too much shall be revealed here for curiosities sake, but players will be given the opportunity to revisit the previously cleared levels with special gifts from the rescued townsfolk and eventually even attempt the islands that were ignored on the way downward. However, on the second journey, nothing will be as it once was…
Stay tuned for future updates every Monday!