Forever Skies developer responds to 'significant' disappointment with the survival game's launch: 'It's tough to see that the game didn't meet the expectation of so many players'

Forever Skies was one of the more intriguing early access survival projects that sprawl across Steam like a forest of (choppable) trees. The premise was basically "What if Subnautica, but in the sky?" which given Subnautica is one of, if not the best survival game in existence, is a pretty exciting concept. Plus, you get to build and fly your own airship, and who doesn't want to do that?

It all seemed to be going to plan too, at least if you go by the game's 'Very Positive' overall Steam rating. But it seems the launch version has gone down like, if not quite a lead balloon, then certainly iron or yellow brass. Forever Skies' recent reviews currently sit at a 'Mixed' rating with players complaining about repetitive exploration, a lack of depth to the story, and just not much to do once you've got the basic survival loop mastered.

There's a sense that developer Far From Home had opted to wrap the game up quickly and write it off. But now the studio has issued an update to stress that is not the case. In a Steam post titled "The Future of Forever Skies and Patch", it acknowledges that "a significant part of our player base has been left disappointed with the game", after which CEO Andrzej Blumenfeld addresses the situation:

"It’s tough to see that the game didn’t meet the expectations of so many players since we poured our hearts into it, and still it fell short in ways that matter," Blumenfeld writes. "But good or bad, our intention has never been to walk away from Forever Skies, so we are for sure not going to call this 'good enough' and just move on. We’re here to do the work, make the game better, and show you that we’re listening."

The statement is followed by a bar chart identifying the key areas players complain about (which, fair play, I haven't seen in a Steam update before), which highlights technical and performance issues alongside repetition and dull mechanics. Far From Home says it will focus on improving those areas in updates, but that it also wants to "open up the discussion" and hear more from players.

As for the patch, Far From Home explains it focuses on issues the studio was working on "before we properly identified the four key areas of improvement". As such, the additions and changes are small and sporadic, such as improvements to certain animations, adding aim assist on controllers for the game's crossbow weapon, new loading screens and an alternative death screen, and a bunch of bug fixes.

I have played the launch version of Forever Skies, and I'm inclined to agree with the negative reviews here. The airship itself is great, fun to pilot and with an excellent building system attached. And there are a couple of neat moments in the story, like the first time you descend from your airship to Earth's now-inhospitable surface. But it undoubtedly struggles to make its airborne setting interesting, with you mostly flying between variations of ruined towers. I'm pleased Far From Home is committed to improving it, but there's a lot of work to be done if it is to become the Subnautica of the sky.