Our Journey Begins Adrift in Aloft
A New Take on Cozy Survival and Skybound Adventure
Aloft is a fresh addition to the survival crafting genre that invites players to explore, create, and thrive on floating islands high above the clouds. This early access title, developed by Astrolabe Interactive and published by Funcom, takes a unique approach to the familiar survival experience by blending base-building, cooperative exploration, and ecological restoration in a breathtaking sky-bound world. With a serene yet adventurous atmosphere, complemented by a relaxing and immersive soundtrack, Aloft is shaping up to be the perfect game for those seeking creativity, challenge, and tranquility.
A Cozy Survival Haven in the Skies
Aloft places players on floating islands, where they must gather resources, build shelters, and eventually turn their island into a mobile airship. The ability to customize and maneuver your floating island adds an entirely new layer of creativity and strategy. Whether you prefer to design a peaceful sky sanctuary or construct a formidable flying fortress, the game allows you to express your vision while exploring a vibrant and dynamic open world.
Beyond simple survival, Aloft encourages players to interact with the ecosystem. Overharvesting resources without replanting can disrupt the balance of nature, leading to negative consequences. This mechanic ensures that players remain mindful of sustainability as they progress. Unlike many survival games that punish mistakes harshly, Aloft instead rewards good decision-making, making it a relaxing yet engaging experience.
Adventure and Exploration Await
For those seeking excitement beyond peaceful island living, Aloft offers an array of challenges and discoveries. Players can craft weapons, armor, and even a wingsuit to venture between islands, uncovering secrets hidden among the clouds. Exploration is more than just a means of gathering resources; it's a core part of the experience, pushing players to seek out new biomes, forgotten knowledge, and thrilling encounters.
The sky is not without danger. Some islands are infested with fungal corruption, spreading decay and threatening the balance of this aerial world. Combat in Aloft is centered around cleansing these corrupted islands, where players will battle hostile fungal creatures and restore nature to its original state. The reward? A thriving ecosystem and new opportunities for growth and expansion.
Mobilizing the Sky: Every Island is a Ship
One of Aloft's most unique mechanics is the ability to turn any island into a flying vessel. Unlike traditional survival games where movement is limited to running, swimming, or riding mounts, Aloft allows players to customize their island with sails, rudders, and other navigational tools to glide across the sky. This turns the game world into a fluid, ever-changing adventure, where mobility is key. Whether you're charting a course to an undiscovered floating landmass or engaging in cooperative sky expeditions, Aloft offers limitless possibilities for movement and discovery.
A Social Survival Experience
Aloft supports up to eight players in cooperative multiplayer, allowing friends to build, explore, and battle sky-bound threats together. The ability to work as a team and create an aerial community adds an exciting dynamic to the gameplay, making Aloft a fantastic social survival experience.
With beautiful visuals, rewarding mechanics, and a unique floating world, Aloft is shaping up to be a standout title in the survival crafting genre. However, as an early access game, it is still evolving, with future updates likely to expand on its features, polish gameplay mechanics, and introduce new content. For those looking to embrace the skies, build a dreamlike floating home, and embark on a peaceful yet adventurous journey, Aloft is an experience worth keeping an eye on.
Early Access Perspectives
Aloft’s journey begins with a simple yet effective tutorial, guiding players through the core mechanics of survival, exploration, and skybound travel. While functional, it feels like an early iteration, and I expect it will see refinements as development continues. As with many early access titles, Aloft still has its rough edges, but that’s part of the experience—the joy of seeing a game evolve from its raw potential into a fully realized adventure.
One of the first hurdles I encountered was the keybindings. Some controls felt unintuitive compared to other survival games, prompting me to tweak the settings for a more comfortable experience. While many keybinds could be adjusted, a few—like using Escape to open the menu—were locked in place. Small quality-of-life improvements in this area could make a big difference.
Once I got past the initial learning curve, Aloft truly began to shine. Gliding between islands is an absolute delight, offering a thrilling sense of freedom as you soar through the skies. This mechanic alone sets Aloft apart from other survival games, making traversal feel dynamic and engaging. Beyond the joy of movement, the ability to transform floating islands into mobile airships is another standout feature, offering endless creative possibilities for players who enjoy base-building.
As an early-access title, Aloft still has a ways to go, but its foundation is strong. With continued polish and new content updates, it has the potential to become a staple in the survival crafting genre. I’m particularly excited to see what content creators will build using the island customization tools and how the developers will expand on this world in the months ahead. This is definitely a title I’ll be keeping my eye on, and I look forward to revisiting it down the road to see just how far it has come.
About the Author
Foghladha
Managing Editor
Foghladha founded the Gaiscioch Social Gaming Community in 2001 and has since been the founder & activities director for this well known community. His role has gone beyond just running the Gaming Community and now includes running the Athletics Program in Portland, Oregon, as well as acting as the Managing Editor of the Gaiscioch Magazine, and is the Lead Producer on the Gaiscioch Livestream Productions. Additionally he networks with game developers to form relationships between Gaiscioch and development studios.
His experience in publishing dates back to helping his Grandparents who operated a printing press for over 40 years. In high school and college Benjamin excelled in journalism and played an active part in the school newspaper. Foghladha currently works full time as the director of technology for a franchise trade publication & education company.
About Aloft
Aloft is a co-op sandbox survival game set in a world filled with floating islands. Amidst the hurricane, build a home, weave sails, harness the winds, and transform any island into a skyship to explore the clouds. Find lost knowledge to cure fungal corruption and restore the world’s ecosystem.