Apsis

early access by Nathan Toper at 5:18pm on Saturday 3rd May 2014

(The version of Apsis I played is part of a closed beta and is an unfinished piece of work).

With the wind glowing a mixture of pastel blues, greens, pinks and purples I soar along with my flock in tow to the triumphant plucky sounds of a playful guitar. I don't know where I'm going, it doesn't matter, I just fly.

In Apsis you control a bird. You are flying high above the ground and with a click of the mouse you direct the bird's movement. The music is immediately striking as you take your first steps (flaps?) of this journey. After a very brief tutorial section the skies are yours to explore. There are land masses floating around you (I think that's what they are. It is not clear), which you need to navigate around. You can find other birds who will instantly join you and follow.

A few minutes into the game you fly into a gust of wind, the land masses around you clear and you just fly. The music gets louder, faster and more playful as your birds feel the freedom of the open skies. The first time you encounter this has such a 'wow' factor; one of several the game holds. There is beauty in the minimalistic gameplay and presentation.

You'll meet many other birds as you fly and your flock will increase greatly. You still control the birds in the same manner and the numerous birds animate well. If you collide with something they scatter but you can reclaim them. It is possible to reclaim these scattered birds if you act quickly, but you can also lose them, not to be seen again.

Apsis is colourful throughout. The backgrounds are wonderfully painted in a watercolour style that remain a little abstract, leaving it to the player to decide exactly what they were flying over. At the beginning fields are clearly below but after that the coloured shapes the emerge are there for the imagination. I believed there to be houses down a country lane near the start but I won't go into what I thought some of the others were.

As you travel on your journey you discover various dangers which could impact the size of your flock. These dangers are varied and believable. I struggled to avoid/safely pass them and lost many birds in the process.

The music is exceptional throughout. I cannot speak highly enough of it. It kicks in as you hit a certain area and is timed to perfection. There are guitar and strings pieces as well as piano. It fits so well with the scene. I imagine listening back when the soundtrack is released will have an immediate emotive response, similar to To The Moon's, recalling where I was and what was happening in the game when I first heard the track.

When everything comes together; the speed, size of flock, the colour, the gusts of wind, the music and animation, Apsis is amazing. And these moments are numerous throughout it's short story. It didn't take me long to get to the end, about forty minutes, but I will definitely be replaying it. I believe I was quite unsuccessful in the 'game' part so I aim to improve.

Apsis tells an emotive and affecting story in a short amount of time using minimalistic gameplay in a wonderfully effective manner. Due to it's length there is no filler. The art, music and circumstance varies greatly and none stay too long. It's also really fun to zip about the skies. There were few bugs but for a game with still a few months before release it is polished and runs smoothly. I highly recommend it when it releases in July.