Review: Skies Above (Nintendo Switch)

Yes, in Skies Above, you get to ride on a flying whale. No, that is not a bowl of petunias next to you; however, with the number of times your whale makes friends with the ground, it may be you saying, “Oh no, not again.” (Don’t worry, no real whales were harmed in the making or playing of this game.)

The premise is rather interesting, though; Leviathan wants to leave your world, but it needs help getting through all the feisty (and surprisingly damaging) flying orbs. This is where you come in, hero.

You do get to surf on a flying whale, but you have a job to do—target the stinging orbs and jump on them one at a time and destroy them to protect your new friend.

The visual and audio experiences are nice. The graphics do the whole 16-bit retro thing, but the images are smooth enough to evoke the intended nostalgia without being annoyingly blocky. The soundscape is well done, keeping the gamer engaged but focused on the game. There is some interaction with NPCs, but it is almost entirely functional. You are introduced to the story and then you set off on your whale surfing.

Once you are settled in on your…let’s go with “mighty steed” because “vast cetacean” just doesn’t sound right, you enter the gameplay part of things. The basic nature of the game is a side-scroller shooter. You don’t get a gun, so you have to use yourself as the weapon to destroy the whale skeeters. Using the left joystick, you can aim your handy arrow in the direction you want to jump. Of course, you want to launch yourself at one of the troublesome orbs. Once you land on one of the orbs, you basically blow it up, so now you need a new landing spot. If you don’t select a direction and make the jump, you will be a law abiding person and obey the law of gravity.

If you miss the whale, you will end up on the ground. Don’t worry, you will be drawn up to the back of your mighty steed again so you may continue your defensive maneuvers. Of course, you want to spend as little time as possible not engaged with the angry orbs. Every moment away from the destruction of the orbs is another shot they can take at your ride. The strategy is to launch yourself skyward at an orb, and jump from orb to orb to keep them from shooting your new friend. Don’t forget to keep an eye on your buddy’s back, there may be some nasties you need to bum rush to clear before they explode as well. If the whale takes enough hits, it will crash to the ground and the run is over.

Fear not, as this isn’t the end. Oh no. While you have been defending your friend, you have been collecting points which can, as expected, be exchanged for things such as the ability to collect more points per action, more health for your whale buddy, and so on. Keep playing and upgrading and playing and…you get the idea. The challenge is to see how long you can defend your friend.

Skies Above delivers the diversion it aims to provide. There may be plenty of other, side-scrollers out there, but how often do you get to surf on a whale? Just remember; whatever you do, “Don’t Panic.”