NightSky is a puzzle platformer that is reminiscent of Limbo in terms of art and play. It is much more relaxed in that you don’t have to worry about dying by NPCs, but rather by falling off the edge of a platform and consequently off of the screen.

You are in control of a ball. The controls of NightSky is very simple. Left and right arrow keys to move, A slows you down, S speeds you up or triggers gravity, spacebar resets the map you are currently on, up and down keys will toggle between “switches” if there are multiple ones on the screen, and enter will trigger the switch.

The ambient music, almost slow pacing to the game, silhouette foreground graphics, and pleasant gradients in the background makes it relaxing to play through. There isn’t a lot of skill involved as there is in Limbo, but there are a few tricks to master. Because you are controlling a ball, there’s a bit of physics and a lot of interaction with the environment. Curves and ramps can send you hurtling through the air or in an unintended direction because of spin. Otherwise, I haven’t run into any particularly frustrating skill curves. Mostly, there’s a lot of timing involved, but it is not as bad as some games I have played.

There are a good handful of stages to play through, first on “newbie” mode, then again on “advanced” mode (my labels). Even newbie mode will provide a challenge. Each stage has multiple sets of maps associated with it. Each map is 3-5 screens long. This set up can be a little disconcerting because the individual maps are not linked together. Rather, once you complete a map, you start in a new map with hints being you are at a standstill (instead of moving from the previous screen), the background has changed, the ball is trapped in an object that wasn’t in the previous screen, and so on. It’s not difficult to get used to, but I found myself wondering when I would finish the stage–how many more maps are there? There wasn’t a clear way to tell.

Sometimes there are props (e.g., a cart) that you have to interact with to get to the next map. There are even pinball maps and gravity-only maps. Abilities can vary from map to map, including the ability to move left and right, the most basic ability you have. Luckily, there are only 4 buttons to worry about: left arrow, right arrow, A, S. Some maps allow you to speed up as you move, some do not. Some maps allow you to slow down, some do not. Some maps, you are automatically moving (typically a pinball map) and there’s no way to stop. The variety of maps and combinations of abilities allowed or disallowed makes for a unique experience and also gives a sense that skill is not everything. Timing and strategizing, or thinking and planning ahead based on what you can see, is more prominent than skill.

NightSky has a certain sense of charm about it. The silhouette art direction makes it easy to pick out the platforms and the use of color in the background sets a mood for the map. It’s aesthetically nice to look at and induces a sense of calm. The music, likewise, is pleasant and doesn’t stand out. The sound effects I thought were particularly charming with the tinkling of the ball against a wall or the ground reinforces the idea that it’s made of glass. When you move the ball, accelerate, or decelerate it, it gains a glow in its center (white for acceleration, pink-red for braking). This contrasts with the silhouette foreground, which can include critters but all you can see are their cartoony eyes. The one problem I’ve had with the silhouette is most silhouettes do not have collision detection and exist sort of behind the ball and you can roll right past. But some do have collision and can make for interesting times.

Overall, I liked this game. I wish the stages were a little more bite-sized, but it does save your progress between maps. I haven’t gotten overly frustrated, so I take that to be a good sign. I also haven’t found it boring and there’s a good chance I’ll try to finish the newbie setting at least.

Update (1/1/13): I “finished” the game, but didn’t finish the bonus level because I’d have to go back and hunt down the stars in the previous levels. However, I did want to mention that I liked the way the credits were done. Instead of a static scroll, it is more “interactive” with fairly easy puzzles (in comparison to the last stages you play). Each map you go through gives credit to a couple of the designers (divided by role, like sound, programming). It’s very clean, gives you more of the beautiful artwork, and makes it interesting.