NightSky
Game by Nicalis/Nicklas "Nifflas" Nygren
Reviewed by Philip "Pocket Squirrel" Wesley
Size: 1465
Save: battery (3 slots)
Released: 2012
Works with: Nintendo 3DS/3DS XL
ESRB Rated: E
Quick Opinion: Maybe...

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Opening Snide Remarks: NightSky was developed by Nicklas Nygren, who is best
known for his games "Knytt" and "Within A Deep Forest." To be honest, I was
first attracted to this title by the art style it has that is similar to a
game called "Limbo." This game has been in development since 2007 and was
once known as "Skymning" and "Night Game" during it's many stages of
development. I suppose the best way to describe NightSky is that it is a
"Relaxation Physics Platformer."

But is "NightSky" any good?

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Gameplay Description: NightSky is a "physics" platformer that relies on the
rotation of a metal ball. You control the rotation of the ball by pressing
right or left on the slide pad, you can also -in some levels- speed up or
slow down the rotation of the ball. Sometimes you can change the gravity
of the ball or manipulate various objects that you can put the ball into.

Every level has some sort of interesting obstacle or trick to it. There are
12 or so areas with about a half dozen to a dozen levels in each. Each
level is about three screens long. The game has no time limit, no penalties
for dying, an easy way to restart an area, an easy way to continue from
where you last played, and two difficulty levels to start with. The
basic idea is to keep pushing through until you get the ball to the exit on
the third screen. In most puzzles, the basic idea is to build up enough
momentum to get through the level. The whole experience can be either fun
or frustrating depending on your mood. The game tries to do what it can to
relax the player. Honestly, I find this to be a "pick it up and play a
little bit of it every now and then" game.

Liked: This is a fun puzzle game with an easy to pick up concept.

Hated: The majority of the game requires you to really buy into the
aesthetics of the game. In short, if you do not love the way the game looks
and sounds, you are going to find yourself pretty bored.

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Graphics Description: The majority of the game is in shadows with limited
shades of background colors. There is a lot gong on in the shadows though
and this works really well with the 3D effects as well. The game is really
artistic, but simple. It has some very pretty moments to it, even though
everything is represented by shadows. The basic story  is that everything
is happening in a dreamscape and the shadowed visuals add to this concept.

In case you were wondering, the game is full of just shadowed shapes with
colorful shades as the backgrounds. Every area is distinct and many of the
stages are really nice looking.

Liked: It looks pretty in an "artistic" way.

Hated: The graphics are pretty simplistic, just shades of color and
shadows.

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Sound/Music Description: The music is pretty ambient, gentle strains of
piano mixed with rain, wind, or other white noise. The sound effects are
realistic and give the game a really nice audio "kick" that works with the
graphics. The music is also pretty relaxing, but very low through the
speakers on the 3DS XL. I suggest that people get some headphones for this
game.

Liked: Great sound effects and music.

Hated: The music tends to be very gentle and could lull some players to
sleep.

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Play Control/Game Design: The buttons control the rotation of the ball and
the physics engine seems to work pretty well. You can kind of power through
many of the puzzles, completely ignoring how you are "supposed" to get
through a puzzle. Overall, some people may find it to be too easy at some
levels and too frustrating at other levels. This makes the game very
uneven in level design and pretty rudimentary in feel. This is a game
that you have to sit down with some headphones and play in small sessions.
I imagine that this would be a good game for relaxing before going to sleep
as it has a really simple and easy aesthetic. It just is not an exciting
game at all, this really is a "relaxing" game.

Liked: This is a relaxing game...

Hated: With uneven difficulty and a weak premise that is held together by
an aesthetic choice that not everyone will like.

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Improve: It really just needs tighter level design.

RIYL: Physics puzzlers and artistic game aesthetics.

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Final Words: NightSky is a game that requires you to really buy into the
concept of it to enjoy it. I really enjoyed it, but I feel that if you
dislike the games art style and musical style, you will not enjoy NightSky
at all.

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Score
Gameplay: ***
Graphics: ****
Sound/Music: ****
Play Control/Game Design: ***
Value: ***

Star Total: 51%

Personal Opinion Merit: 20%


Final Score: 71%

Letter Grade: B

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