The Soaring Sublimity of Sky Levels
And why they're my favourite video game setting.
A vast expanse of open blue sky. Storm clouds brewing on the horizon. A legendary floating world hidden amongst the clouds.
There’s something magical about looking up and seeing a whole other world above you. The sky is the domain of the birds and the heavens, and I’ve long been fascinated by its ethereal qualities. I am definitely one of those people who can whittle away the hours on a long flight by simply looking out the window and taking in the surrounding beauty. In fact, I am so enamoured with the sky that I wrote a whole play about it!
The Playground in the Sky is a youth play set in Brisbane about a group of neighbourhood children who overcome the traumas of a recent natural disaster by escaping to a magical—you guessed it—playground in the sky! After a critically acclaimed debut last year, my ridiculously-talented wife is directing a whole new season later this month. So if you’re in Brisbane between September 22-25, why not catch a show if you have the time? The production stars some incredible young actors and has something special for all ages, so grab a ticket if you’re keen!
Now that I’ve got the self-promotion out of the way, let’s talk about video game sky levels. Because I was serious when I said I adore anything set in the sky. I did an article a few months ago about the misunderstood delights of desert levels, but my absolute favourite of the traditional video game biomes is the sky1.
Video games that take you to the clouds almost always provide a memorable experience, rich with exhilarating gameplay and thematic significance. For most of human history, the sky has been an unobtainable fantasy—the realm of the gods where dreams are created and legends take root. Gaming lets us live out those fantasies of soaring through the skies without the years of expensive and stress-inducing pilot training.
So let’s look at why I love sky levels so much alongside the games I believe best exemplify the setting’s sublime charm.
Sky Levels as Vast
The sky is a big place. And while all that empty space may feel counterintuitive to engaging game design, the inherent enormity of the sky can be used to effectively bolster the scale of a game.
When I first began exploring the skies in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword aboard Link’s Loftwing, I felt utterly tiny. The magnitude of the sky is so grand, so all-encompassing, that the only word for it is “breathtaking”.
Unlike most ground levels, the sky has the benefit of allowing you to move up and down as well as the basic forwards, backwards, left, and right. Skyward Sword gave me a massive sky to fly around to my heart’s content, with that sense of wonder returning each time I leapt onto my Loftwing. Now, if only they let me fly during night time…
Sky Levels as Dangerous
Let’s be honest, if you were ever suspended thousands of metres in the air on floating platforms with no safety line or net underneath, you’d probably be terrified. I would be!
People weren’t built to live in the sky, which is why many of us harbour a fear of heights. This is also why I feel that bit more on edge when playing a level in a platformer set in the clouds.
Logically, I know that falling in a forest level has the same game over consequences as falling in a sky level. But I can’t help it! If Mega Man plummets off a platform in “Air Man Stage” or Shovel Knight mistimes a jump on “Flying Machine”, all I can think about is the long, dreadful fall they would have to endure on their way to the ground far below.
Sky Levels as Thrilling
This is my excuse to talk about Shadow of the Colossus again. This game has not one, but two Colossi that are avian in nature—the Fifth and Thirteenth Colossi, to be precise.
The Fifth Colossus swooping down to your level so you can jump on its wings is one of the great video game moments. The adrenaline doesn’t end there, as navigating the back of the Colossus while soaring through the air to the beat of the game’s epic soundtrack is pure gaming magic.
And while the Thirteenth Colossus is an even larger flying creature, its battle strikes a notably more sombre note. There is an elegance to this great beast as it weaves through the skies like a magnificent dragon, making its eventual defeat all the more morally questionable, yet memorable nonetheless.
Sky Levels as Mythical
One of my favourite Studio Ghibli films—and a clear influence for The Playground in the Sky—is 1986’s Castle in the Sky. It tells the story of a pair of children discovering the mythical floating island of Laputa, now in semi-ruins after years of neglect.
Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom has a very clear reference to Laputa in the city of Allegoria—an ancient kingdom said to be lost to time that also happens to be suspended in the sky. The Ghibli-inspired art style obviously strengthens the connection between game and film.
However, we can’t talk about mythical sky levels in games without talking about Columbia in BioShock: Infinite. This fantastical levitating city-state was created to be the perfect embodiment of American ideals and beliefs. However, just like Icarus flying too close to the sun, those dreams began to fester away, leaving Columbia as a rotting shell of what it set out to be. Just because the city is literally elevated, doesn’t mean it can escape the darkest depths of human prejudice.
What are some of your favourite sky levels in video games? Do you find this setting to be as endearing as I do? Let me know in the comments!
Stuff from the Stack
As a long-time fan of retro Sega, I had a lot of fun reading through this article from Scanlines’ Journal, envisioning what a potential new system from this storied publisher may look like. There’s plenty of thought put into the piece—and the name given to this possible new Sega system is a little bit genius—so give it a read if you also hope to one day see Sega’s name back in the console manufacturing game.
The Video Game Storyteller is a Substack written and formatted by Harry Fritsch on the lands of the Jagera and Turrbal people, the Traditional Custodians of Meanjin (Brisbane).
All images were either captured directly by the author or sourced from publicly available promotional screenshots.
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I consider video game levels and areas set in space to be a separate biome from the sky. In other words, anything located between the Kármán Line and ground level will be considered fair game for this article.
Sky Sanctuary Zone from Sonic 3 & Knuckles. That also carries Laputa vibes, of an ancient, weathered structure sitting in the sky waiting to be explored. It also has an important story piece to it, as you are effectively racing through the level to catch up with Dr Robotnik before he can lift off in the Death Egg. Sorry, I'm such a geek!
Talking about the danger of sky levels though, I do get a tense knitted feeling if Im in the sky and looks down at the ground far below, even in games. As an exampl (not a sky level), if I climb to the highest skyscraper in Spiderman and jump to the ground, I literally feel both the thrill and the danger in the pit of my stomach. In Tears of the Kingdom though, I don't feel this because I feel like I'm in far more control with a parachute.
This post really made me think actually, thanks for it!
Crash Bandicoot - High Road?
*Eye twitch intensifies*