I don’t play a whole lot of computer games these days, but when a friend bought me NightSky on Steam for my birthday, I decided to give it a whirl. It looked interesting, with a very different concept from most of the games I’ve been used to playing. As I soon discovered, it’s a great little challenge!
Screenshots and Tips
Your game begins with a little story introduction and tutorial, helping you learn how to control this strange little glass sphere you’ve found on the beach. (The main controls use Left and Right arrow keys for movement, as well as A and S for special controls which change with each stage’s needs.)
During the game, you learn how to roll the little ball up and down hills (and use the terrain to your advantage to make long jumps)…
…and how to use the various mechanical things in the environment to get through each level.
On some levels, you even pilot strange contraptions with your glass ball! (Take time to experiment with how controls interact with the contraption before you start trying to conquer the level.)
In other levels, you have to set off switches with the Enter/Return key in a precise order to make the level passable. Use the Up and Down arrows to select which switch you want to highlight and set off.
Sometimes, certain conditions must be met before you can advance through the level; usually you have to roll through the yellow circle to unblock the level.
On the level selection screens, some levels will be marked with a black star in the upper right corner. This means that the level has a Secret Star entrance to complete the level a different way. Find these so you can finish the game’s last group of levels.
When you’ve found the Secret Star entrance in a level, the star on the level screen will show up white instead of black. But how do you find them? Read on…
On a starred level, take a VERY close look around in the level for something that just looks out of place. In this case, the bricks around the Secret Star entrance have no mortar–it just looks different, and there are angled bits above and below the entrance as well.
On more organic levels, look for parts of the walls or floor that just look too straight and perfect. (This one also has a handy ramp leading up to it–pay attention to how the terrain is arranged as well!)
My Personal Impressions
I really enjoy this game most of the time. Admittedly, I have cursed and raged over a few levels which were more frustrating to complete, but that notwithstanding, I still like the game. It provides a challenge without having to use boss battles and enemy groups–in this game, your only enemy is your own frustration level. There is no penalty (as far as I know right now) for having to try to complete a level multiple times; all it cares about is that you finally got through in the end. It encourages retrying and thinking out of the box to solve the various problems it presents you with, which I like quite a bit.
My biggest personal tip: Just don’t get agitated and try to rush through levels. The slower, easier, and calmer you take this game, the better. If you get frustrated and start hurrying, you’ll have to repeat a lot more levels. TRUST ME. LOL
Game Information
- Cost: USD$9.99 on Steam
- Official Websites: Nicalis.com and Nifflas’ Games
- Other Reviews: Metacritic
- Walkthroughs: JayIsGames (text), SniperBNAStyle (Youtube)