Black Skylands, an indie steampunk adventure from developer Hungry Couch Games and publisher tinyBuild, has just revealed that it will hit consoles in summer 2023.
An exact release date was not confirmed. Black Skylands will be available on PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store. Here’s the full console announcement trailer from tinyBuild’s YouTube channel:
Today’s trailer includes a surprising volume of exposition and gameplay, delving deep into the lore and mechanics of Black Skylands. The game has been in Early Access for years, and it still maintains a lot of praise for its airship action and compelling open world.
The steampunk genre can be difficult to pin down in any medium, so it’s a delight to see the aesthetic and gameplay loop work so successfully. The environments are actually a highlight of the game, so exploration never feels like a chore, even if gathering resources might.
The movement and combat mechanics are also surprisingly smooth for something that hasn’t fully launched. Alongside the upgrades, these features create an unusually immersive experience for a top-down game, and can make you feel like you’re really piloting an airship. As a result, it should play very well on consoles, and especially as a mobile game on Switch.
Once Black Skylands leaves Early Access, the full version of the game is expected to literally double the content, according to the official Steam page. But it also aims to address rebalancing, which has been a large issue from fans.
It’ll be interesting to see what other feedback they emphasize for the full launch, since there’s been so much time to plan things out. Console ports could be their own problem, but it’ll be great for this game to find every kind of audience.
You can read more about Black Skylands, Hungry Couch Games, and other upcoming indies by checking out the rest of our news section.
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