Laya's Horizon - Review

Editor's Note: Snowman provided an early access Android .APK of Laya's Horizon to IGN India for this review.

If you're looking for the best simulation experience when it comes to flying, the most obvious recommendation would be Microsoft Flight Simulator.

However, if you're looking for the most thrilling experience when it comes to flight, Snowman's latest mobile title is a strong contender for the title.

If you didn't know already, Snowman, the maker of popular mobile games like Alto's franchise and Skate City dropped its latest smartphone game yesterday. The game is called Laya's Horizon, and it is currently available for users on iOS and Android through Netflix. This means Netflix subscribers can access and enjoy the game (along with several other titles) for free.

A couple of weeks prior to its release, I got the opportunity to test the title out on my Android handset. If you're looking for more info on the five-year long development of the game, check out IGN India's deep-dive on Laya's Horizon with some of the developers at Snowman.

But, if you are looking for my thoughts on the game, then here's what I have to say about the (countless) hours I spend on the game. Check out my Laya's Horizon review here:

Laya's Horizon: Gameplay

Let's start off with the basics. Laya's Horizon is all about the adventures of flight. The game follows Laya, the protagonist of the smartphone game. Players control the character as she weaves through the various terrains of the sea-side island she lives at. This island offers a vast range of biomes (pockets of climate and environment) including snow-capped mountains, swamp-filled marshes, rocky valleys, evergreen forests, and more.

Unlike the real world, the residents of Laya's hometown are trained in the art of flying. Alongside her, there are many other characters and NPCs that you will meet in the game. As the game progresses, players will learn more about the island and its history.

The controls are pretty novel, and players get a third-person view with Laya, as she zips past the various obstacles in the game. Alongside the various free runs you can take to explore the game's setting, players can also partake in challenges like spark runs, races, and more. These missions help you level up, which in turn helps you gain rewards.

Currently, the game is strictly single player despite my deepest desires to crush family and friends in flight racing adventures. Regardless, I can't help but enjoy the game as it is because of the addictive journey it offers.

Controls

As mentioned before, the controls are new and different from most of the movement-drive games I have played in the past. Instead of having tilt-based controls, Laya's Horizon is all about touch and gestures on the screen.

The touch-based controls certainly have a learning curve, and it took me a while to get myself off the tilt-your-screen to turn mode. But eventually the game became fun as I became more comfortable with gestures that put all the control on my fingertips.

As suggested above, the game controls only include gestures to control the direction, elevation, and speed of Laya's flight. For movement we have left and right, pulling up, and diving down. There's also a gesture to parachute with the cape for a slow descent, and long press on the screen sees you boosting around the terrain like Superman.

In conclusion, the controls are the most fun aspect of Laya's Horizon. While it might take a while to learn the game's bells and whistles, once you get it, it's one hell of a ride. As the game becomes more challenging with faster opponents in races, and harder terrain to traverse through, the controls become more integral.

Visuals and Audio in Laya's Horizon

Compared to the 2D world of the Alto's games, Snowman has gone all out to create the handcrafted, 3D world for Laya's Horizon.

Despite the high-speed flight adventures that players partake in, the game visuals invoke a calming feeling while playing. The artistic environment is filled with medieval architecture with houses made of wood and stone. This world is filled with windmills and windcatchers that showcase the rich history of the island around wind and flight.

Alongside the civilization, the various terrains provide different challenges to flying. While the forests are filled with trees to glide through, the canyons allow players to float through all kinds of rock formations.

To add to the peaceful flying experience, the game also has music that fits the bill. The tunes aren't overbearing at any given moment, and they're at their best during the most hectic moments of flight.

Story of Laya's Horizon

Just like Snowman's previous titles, Laya's Horizon isn't heavily driven by plot and story. Instead, it reveals details about the island and its residents through different in-game characters and points of interests.

While I appreciate the idea of letting players devise a lore about the game through these small bits of information, it would have been interesting to see a much more fleshed-out backstory. With the number of characters in the game, a bit more background on the magical powers of the island's residents and the world surrounding them could have made up for fun storytelling.

While the game lacks a comprehensive, cohesive plot, Laya and the in-game NPCs are fun to be around. In addition, the conversations between characters are entertaining to read. Hopefully players may get more details about the story in a future DLC or update. However, right now, the lack of a detailed story doesn't take anything away from Laya's Horizon.

Customization, Cosmetics and Difficulty Scale

There aren't necessarily a ton of options for customizing Laya in the game in terms of physical appearance and clothing. In Laya's Horizon, the only customization comes in the form of Capes and Charms that the character can wear.

While there aren't a ton of cosmetic options, these Capes and Charms provide different gameplay experiences. For instance, the Capes change the flight dynamics, and the Charms provide various advantages that one can use to improve their gameplay experience. Players can earn these Capes and Charms by either levelling up or completing different in-game missions.

Players can experience the changes in Capes and Charms instantly when they decide to jump off the ledge for a run (flight). This makes the customization aspects of Laya's Horizons an interesting affair. It also gives you an incentive to complete as many missions and challenges as possible to level-up. As the game becomes more difficult through progression, levelling-up and the associated rewards become increasingly vital for players to keep up with the difficulty scale.