Perhaps the best compliment I can give Sky: Children of the Light is to say that I almost totally forgot I was playing a mobile game. Everything about this exploration-focused game, from the evocative visual style and soaring musical score to the intimate moments of subtle interaction with other nameless, speechless players, is pure bliss.

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“ Sky is a game about discovery in more ways than just its world.

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“ The unspoken communication in multiplayer is a big part of the magic and is best with a stranger.

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Microtransaction Reaction While it’s a free download from the Apple App Store, I played through the entirety of Sky without spending a dime, and I never felt the need to. But if you’d like, you can pay for microtransactions to speed up your access to the in-game currency that lets you buy customization items like alternate hair, capes, and clothing designs, or even upgrading in-game emotes. It’s a simple system that works well and riffs off of the rest of Sky’s simplicity in a rewarding way.

It should give you some idea of what type of game Sky is to hear that it’s the latest from thatgamecompany, the visionary studio behind low-key, critically-acclaimed games Flow, Flower, and Journey, the latter of which won IGN’s Game of the Year award for 2012 . Sky isn’t a direct sequel to Journey, but it might as well be: the characters move with that same elegant grace as their capes flutter behind them and it features an expanded and more engaging multiplayer component.Your quest to relieve lingering spirits, which are suspended as translucent silhouettes across various worlds, is a charming story about healing and restoration that’s almost meditative to play. It’s emotional and beautiful in a way few games are and really shows why thatgamecompany is a master of this particular craft.Similar to Journey, Sky offers an almost unrivaled sense of freedom, specifically because of its simplicity. Detailed guidance on where to go or what to do generally isn’t needed because exploring the open and inviting worlds and intuitively finding things on your own is basically the entire game, but naturally it can also be a bit unclear where to go at times. If the subtle storytelling wasn’t as delightful to watch. Large creatures appear in between worlds to offer a Shadow of the Colossus-esque emotional weight to everything. The sounds they make sound are desperate and painful, while your character and the spirits you discover are more melodic and cheery in tone.And arguably, meeting and playing with others is just as important to the story as the minimalist cutscenes themselves. Plus, interactions with other players are so responsive and fun that the simple format doesn’t grow tiresome. Instead, it actually felt like the shackles of a guided tutorial and restricted level designs are removed by the time you reach the second world, about 15 minutes in.Each of the seven different landscapes has a personality of its own, from the ethereal and cloud-heavy worlds full of floating islands to those covered in dense, green grass inviting you to skate across the prairies, or even forests drenched in rain that evoke a somber yet comforting atmosphere.But what puts Sky over the top is how much it embraces its wonderfully positive social interactions. There’s no voice or text chat and no way to directly communicate with other players – instead, you use a collection of quaint and frankly heartwarming gestures. You can hold out a candle to greet and add a player to your friend list and then assign them a custom nickname (since you can’t see their actual name). You can play music together, exchange glowing butterflies, and even hold hands to go exploring as a team. Up to eight players can join hands led by a single leader that guides the group across the land and through the sky. The impromptu grouping system feels genuine because of the emotive interactions characters make towards each other and it’s a great system to help new players figure out what to do and where to go. It’s a bit like putting yourself on autopilot while someone else guides the way, but you can easily break off whenever you want to resume control.Sky is as complex as you want it to be. The entire game is completable from start to finish entirely solo, but several hidden doors and secret side areas can only be unlocked if multiple players gather together to solve simple puzzles, like lighting two candles at the same time. On the surface, these puzzles are often as simple as tapping on a candle to light it up or following a trail of glittering dust to the next spirit silhouette, but there’s a satisfying magic in every interaction. Story events aren’t explicitly explained, but you can put the pieces together based on the environments and poses of each silhouette you encounter. Many scenarios are heartbreaking, featuring characters buckled over in grief, and that makes your relieving touch to dissipate the spirit all the more powerful. Visually, it’s breathtaking from start to finish and even though you’re just lightly tapping on the screen and watching the environment bursting with light, it’s hard not to feel at ease.While I loved every minute of Sky on an iPhone, I couldn’t help but yearn for a more capable gaming system. The on-screen controls do a respectable job while exploring, but when you need precision and subtle movements for platforming segments or when guiding another player around the world, the lack of actual buttons and control sticks got in the way a bit. Thankfully, the forgiving and welcoming design meant minor annoyances like floaty controls rarely interrupted the fun.In some regards, Sky’s focus on deeper gameplay robs it of a bit of the charm that made Journey’s elegant simplicity so special the first time around, but that’s often the case with follow-ups and spiritual successors. Instead of trying to replicate its predecessor, thatgamecompany has instead iterated and expanded upon what came before to craft an adventure that’s strange, meditative, and memorable. The mysterious ending, which I reached after about four hours, invites repeat playthroughs and the dynamic multiplayer encounters ensure no two runs will ever be the same.