Leap of Faith
Netflix has jumped headfirst into the mobile gaming market, and with their recent title developed by Snowman Laya’s Adventure, they are soaring higher than ever. Laya’s Horizon is a relaxing adventure game where you take to the skies and soar around a charming island. Play as Laya and learn techniques that have been passed down for generations on the island. Laya’s Horizon has a beautiful open world with many activities. There are quests to take on, characters to meet, challenges to complete, and nooks and crannies to be discovered.
Take the Cape
Laya’s Horizon begins with Laya receiving a cape while high up in a balloon before learning to glide through the skies. The tutorial has you flying through rings and banners in the sky to understand the controls. The touch controls can be weird at first and take a while to get a hold of. However, gliding through the sky will be a breeze once you get the hang of it.
Once the tutorial is over, Laya can explore the whole island fully. At first, the map is covered in clouds. Each time you finish a gliding session, the map will appear, showing you the flight path and revealing more of the map.
Flying Fun
Plenty of activities are laid out around the island to keep you busy and invested. One of the first activities players can do is complete challenges to level up. These challenges test your gliding skills and will have you weaving in between trees, gliding close to the ground for a prolonged time, or flying a certain distance before landing.
Leveling up will allow Laya to gain new capes and charms that will change the way she flies. Capes can increase the handling of flight or increase your speed. They also change the look of the cape, offering some customization. Charms give you different advantages, such as having a bigger radius when collecting sparks or allowing you to use the boost skill to dash quickly through the sky.
You can also obtain capes and charms by interacting with the various characters around the island to receive challenges. These challenges include races and timed challenges. There are also challenges where you must follow a character to a particular destination and fly through the rings they leave behind. These challenges keep exploring the island interesting and feel rewarding when completing them and gaining new capes.
Up in the Atmosphere
Flying through the sky is both an exciting and calming experience. The atmosphere of Laya’s Horizon is fantastic. There are multiple different biomes on the island to explore. Flying through the dense forest and snowy tundra sparks a sense of awe thanks to the artistic style. Flying by the houses makes the island feel alive and adds to the immersion. Additionally, the music is soothing and peaceful, perfect for the carefree feeling that flying gives you.
Final Flight
Laya’s Horizon offers a fun, carefree experience as you fly through the sky. While the controls can be hard to grasp initially, they are intuitive once you get the hang of them. The island offers plenty of activities to keep you gliding around while the art style and music make flying feel calming and peaceful. Although there is not much in the way of the story and the controls can be challenging, the experience of soaring over the island soars above these minor problems.
