Black Skylands (v2023.09.22 & ALL DLC)

A shattered Earth hangs above a bottomless cloud sea, turning survival into a scrappy war fought between floating islands and armed skyships. Black Skylands casts you as Eva, heir to the Earners, as she tries to reclaim her homeland from the insectoid Swarm while resisting the authoritarian Falcons who claim they can keep everyone safe. Its skypunk setting gives the familiar top-down action-adventure formula a strong identity: wooden airships trade cannon fire overhead, farms cling to airborne bases, and every journey carries the threat of ambush. The mood balances colorful pixel-art charm with a surprisingly grim fight for territory, resources, and independence.

Combat switches constantly between on-foot shooting and aerial dogfights. Eva raids islands for materials, clears enemy camps, scavenges loot, and uses a grappling hook for fast movement or for sending enemies tumbling into the clouds, while her ship provides artillery support when a fight gets too crowded. Weapons accept mods and special abilities, allowing room to build toward rapid-fire aggression, heavier damage, or more tactical crowd control; ship choice also matters, with nimble vessels handling differently from cargo-heavy bruisers. Between expeditions, resources feed into the Fathership, a customizable mobile base where workshops improve gear, factories refine supplies, laboratories create artifacts, and agricultural buildings help sustain the crew.

What makes Black Skylands memorable is how naturally its systems connect: exploration supplies construction, construction improves combat options, and stronger tools let you push farther into dangerous airspace. Reclaiming territory gives the open world a satisfying sense of progress, while the need to defend your holdings prevents base building from becoming a passive side activity. Fans of the overhead shooting and loot-driven upgrades of The Ascent or the freeform base management of Terraria should find plenty to enjoy, though its ship handling and layered survival systems ask for some patience early on. It suits action players who want more than a linear shooter, especially those who enjoy building a personal headquarters as much as blasting through hostile outposts.