At one point or another, every person has fantasized about flying. It's something that I still think about, but I often get hung up on the logistics. To take my mind off that, I looked at the flying in Laya's Horizon from Built By Snowman. This is a 3D exploration game about flying over lands surrounding a mountain peak. Through the use of a special cape, you're able to glide far and safely while picking up enough speed to stay afloat. How you fly and why you fly are up to you to discover as you play and complete various tasks.
What is Laya's Horizon?
The horizon is appealing because it's always beyond our reach yet always in view. You can see it very clearly in Laya's Horizon and arguably the goal is to make your way there. The game takes place in a small peaceful world surrounding a mountaintop. As such, the people have learned to live and embrace a lifestyle that favours altitude and have created capes that allow them to take advantage of it.
These capes let them glide incredible distances while being durable enough to withstand accidental collisions and powerful airflows. As Laya, you are just starting to get into the art of gliding and are encouraged to explore and participate as much as you can for the sake of enjoyment and research. You're just one leap away from reaching the sky's limit.
Beautiful views of Laya's Horizon
Flying is something very empowering in games even when the game is based around it, but it's all about keeping it special. Laya's Horizon maintains a special feeling throughout the experience. The flying is done in a wonderful way that combines exhilaration with freedom while all the same time having a zen-like feeling. After a short introduction, you're planted on a literal jumping-off point with a full 360-degree view of your surroundings. The moment your feet are in the air, a thrill takes over as you start accelerating over the ground. Whether you're focused on Laya or on your surroundings, the whole flight is stimulating. This also goes for whether you're trying to fly all over or in a straight line since the presentation is both serene and appealing.
Another challenge with flight mechanics is how best to capture them with controls without making them too awkward or restrictive. Despite being on the mobile platform, this game has made controls easy to learn and natural to use. First off, it constantly engages both of your thumbs which makes sense since Laya's arms in the cape are meant to act like two wings. Through a combination of various drags, you can fly up, down, fast, and slow, while doing gradual and sharp turns as you aim to land gracefully. Even if your flight comes to a stop with a collision, you'll brush it off quickly and be back in the air in no time.
Struggling to take in Laya's Horizon
The horizon is unattainable so it can be difficult to capture all of its majesty in a game. Laya's Horizon makes a valiant effort but there's only so much that can be done. As such, it can be a very demanding game. Although it doesn't take up too much space, it does require strong processing power. Unless you have the latest phones or a good tablet, you're in for a very laggy time. Everything will stutter forward whenever you do anything and the gameplay will suffer as a result of delayed touchscreen inputs. It may also take a while to get used to the right amount of contact and drag in order to execute all the movements successfully and consistently, but thankfully the game is very forgiving.
Chasing Laya's Horizon
Laya's Horizon is a 3D adventure-exploration game about flying over lands around a tall mountain. It captures the grace and excitement of flying with a lovely presentation and engaging controls. All it requires from you is patience and a strong enough device to support all of its wonders as you get a feel for the gameplay. If you manage this, you can join Laya's flight toward the horizon.
Laya's Horizon review - "The joy and peace of flying"
Experience the renewed joy of flying in Laya's Horizon with relaxing visuals and engaging flight controls with the best device you have.
Will Quick
Will Quick is a travelling writer currently dedicating his time to writing about the games he spends his free time playing. He's always on the lookout for the smaller and stranger of the bunch so he can shine a light on them.