Because of these issues, I have to give an otherwise great game a 7.5/10, as opposed to the 8.5/10 it deserves. You should consider the recommended specs to be the minimum, because if you try to play this game with that recommended pc, you're going to have all the graphics options set to minimum by the time it's over. I'm a big believer in being honest about the specs for your pc games, because how else is anyone supposed to make informed purchasing decisions on a gaming platform with no standardization, and the specs for Airborne Kingdom are simply not accurate. This is especially heartbreaking in a game that trades so heavily on its visual charm, and it robs progress in the game of its full sense of reward. As you continue building, you'll keep needing to lower those settings. Your city involves more moving parts than a propeller beanie museum, and as you expand, you're probably going to be forced to dial down graphics options to compensate. My computer is well over the recommended specs, and yet I've been plagued with constant graphics issues since about one-third of the way through the game, despite my freshly updated drivers (thanks, Cyberpunk!). That makes it that much harder to bring up the downside of A Wandering Band's indie jewel, but, sadly, we've got to talk about the meta of actually running the game. As you've no doubt realized by now, I am a big fan of the game. There's always something new and interesting to find beyond the next cloud bank, and the combined effect of all these little things is that Airborne Kingdom brings with it a sense of wonder that is unlike anything you've encountered in a city builder. Old ziggurats, ruins which avail you of lost pieces of civilization, and more. Small settlements where one might recruit new denizens, assuming your standard of living meets their expectations. There are dye factories and metal shops which add aesthetic options to your city. They give you little quests to fulfill before they will form alliances with you. As you traverse the sprawling map, which is rendered like a beautiful board game in ancient tile, you find other cities, which you are trying to unite. Perhaps most interesting, though, is how much the game learns from encounter-fests like FTL or Renowned Explorers. This aspect is nothing like most city building games, but is very similar to the resource harvesting you manage in games like Starcraft. As you glide around the map (which is new every time you play), you send out small aircraft to harvest necessities like wood for building, coal to keep the propellers running, clay for ceramics, along with materials for glass, iron, and canvas, and, of course, food and water to keep your people alive. There are RTS elements in the resource gathering, as your city produces very little of what it needs to survive. Tilt too far and your citizens start to tilt along with it, and their quality of life is one of your most constant concerns. You also have to balance the city itself put too much weight on one side and the whole thing tilts. You have to balance population, employment, lighting, storage, faith, propulsion, and lift as you expand your city. And while this is, at its core, a city builder, Airborne Kingdom borrows heavily from other genres. It's a fascinating experience, one that answers the question, "What if you could a built a city, and then take that city on adventures?" I didn't know that question even existed before sitting down with Airborne Kingdom, but I'm glad someone out there thought to ask it. That is a remarkable accomplishment, and for that alone, A Wandering Band deserves your attention. It's the first city builder to truly feel fresh and unique since Sim City appeared at the end of the 80s. There is so Airborne Kingdoms is a brilliant, well executed concept, and a joy to play, but it's also hindered slightly by technical issues. Airborne Kingdoms is a brilliant, well executed concept, and a joy to play, but it's also hindered slightly by technical issues.
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