

The latter are handy in caves, which are sometimes roamed by critters with gaping neon maws, allowing you to locate and fight them even if you've forgotten your torch.

They're brought to life by a proprietary engine, Meandros, that's buff enough to output real-time cloud shadows and some lustrous lighting effects.

Ranging from lizardmen engineers through feline Arctic survivalists to my personal favourite, a snarling gladiatrix, Skysaga's characters are charmingly chunky vinyl creations that court customisation more explicitly than Steve and his chums. The first is that it's a free-to-play game with microtransactions – what these cover remains to be decided, but I'm told it'll be a mixture of cosmetic items and progression “boosts” for those who are short on time. And yet, Skysaga stands apart from its most obvious inspiration in several, striking ways. There are angular sheep to stab or tame and breed, fish to catch, treasure chests to loot and strongholds to plunder - perhaps in the company of a friend, who will of course arrive dressed in the very finest custom apparel they can muster. Created by Radiant Worlds – a 50-head studio founded by veterans of UK-based Blitz Games Studios, which went into voluntary bankruptcy last year – it's a voxel-based first-person exploration and creation sim in which players punch blocks to bits, scoop up the wreckage and form it into a huge selection of tools, weapons, gear, facilities, building materials and furnishings.Ĭherry-pick from the line-up of critters and systems, and you could be forgiven for thinking them one and the same game. To bop the elephant in the room squarely on its cuboid hooter, Skysaga: Infinite Isles looks an awful, awful lot like Minecraft.
