14 DAY TRIAL // I am looking through my telescope at the various islands in my path, zooming in and out to take in as much of this sky landscape as possible. Curly, this story's hero, is a little hungry and her supply of fruits is running low. So it’s great that I spot one small sky island that has both trees that seem to hold fruit and a small pond, which will also allow me to refill my water bottle.
I step back from the edge at the top of the airship, climb down a long ladder, jump toward the back, slide down another set of stairs, and finally reach the mechanism that drops the anchor. I select the island I’ve just looked at and allow the flying vessel to get to it. I then spend around a minute gathering fruit, getting water, and exploring another two points of interest.
I then get some extra hot air into the balloon, which means my ship will go higher, and unfurl the sail, allowing it to move faster forward. I zoom out as far as the game lets me, quickly looking at the other islands I can explore. My next stop is one housing another character, with no flying apparatus around.
Passing By - A Tailwind Journey is developed by Studio Windsocke, with publishing from Studio Windsocke and Dear Villagers. I played a preview version on the PC using Steam. The title mixes some traditional platforming with airship action and resource management.
The protagonist is Curly, a young girl who lives on a small floating island. She gets a visit from a seasoned air courier who tasks her with delivering a letter. It feels more like a pretext than a mission and she soon gets control of his airship, able to travel across the sky. Some islands are inhabited by a colorful cast of characters, others only provide resources, and some feature potential puzzles.
The wind always blows from the west, gently moving the airship to the right. It features a burner, which requires a supply of gas, to control vertical movement, and a sail, also controlled by the player, which can add speed.
And, more importantly, it has a telescope to scout out the other sky islands and an anchor. When players activate it they can choose from the visible mooring locations and the vessel will move to it automatically.
Curly has to eat and keep hydrated, as well as keep the gas supply topped, meaning players cannot only target islands with characters or puzzles. The constant wind and the variations in altitude also mean it’s easy to miss interesting locations. But simply navigating through the sky, using the telescope to scout, and choosing where to land is engaging and I like the generally relaxed approach to resource management.
Passing By - A Tailwind Journey has a pleasing geometric look. Many details are abstracted but it’s also easy to take a look at an island and get an idea whether it’s worth anchoring on it or not. The soundtrack blends mystery and wonder and I like the constant sound of the wind and the other sound effects.
Conclusion
Curly is a good protagonist for this kind of whimsical adventure and I look forward to exploring more of the universe and solving some of its bigger puzzles. Passing By - A Tailwind Journey conjures a sense of adventure that many games fail to capture.
A preview key was provided by the publisher
