Sky Oceans: Wings for Hire (2024)

Sky Oceans: Wings for Hire is a game with a lot of heart and ambition. It mildly revisits elements from JRPG classics like Skies of Arcadia while trying to bring new ideas into the fold. While the nostalgic appeal to the atmosphere, style, and gameplay has its merits, the game depends too much on it, making it a bit lackluster on many fronts.

Despite its earnest story and the potential, Sky Oceans struggles to soar due to its obtuse gameplay systems, dull combat, and raft of glitches.

Although the game is beautiful and the premise is cool, in addition to the idea of ​​exploring the air and being the bosses of our own crew, the dullness of several moments in the game, the bugs, the difficulties in controlling and the repetitiveness of the combat - in addition to its slowness and simplicity - end up making the title much less enjoyable than it should, and could, be.

I really feel like Sky Oceans: Wings for Hire had the potential to be a charming and engaging RPG, but it falls short in many areas which keeps it from getting airborne. The clunky controls, repetitive gameplay and numerous tech issues make it a really frustrating experience rather than an enjoyable one. Don’t be tricked by the fantastic ‘Studio Ghibli’ visuals because sadly its all smoke and mirrors with this one; the visual design just isn’t enough to save this game.

Sky Oceans: Wings for Hire is a game that had a lot of potential by bringing a very interesting concept, exploring dogfights in an RPG context with a focus on strategy. The game has a number of technical problems that could have been solved with a little more development time. It's also important to highlight the dedication to the game's visual presentation, which is very charismatic and will please animation fans. Something that the studio can benefit from in new projects.