Atmosfar is a giddy aerial exploration game after the heart of No Man's Sky, but I'm already trying to escape it
Atmosfar, a survival game set on floating islands with propeller-powered airships, launches in Steam Early Access today, blending exploration with procedural design and survival mechanics.
Atmosfar casts players as interplanetary pioneers exiled to a factory, where they escape via electrical storm to pilot a Wasp hovercar and explore drifting islands teeming with non-human life. The game emphasizes survival through resource gathering, crafting at deployable campsites, and refining hydrogen crystals into fuel, though the process is described as routine and lacking novelty.
The open world features large islands with landing pads and bases maintained by NPC scavengers, alongside smaller, handcrafted islands that reward curiosity despite limited interaction opportunities. The game’s HUD is criticized for murky objectives, and survival systems like inventory limits and repetitive resource extraction are noted as underwhelming, though deeper progression allows for constructing a large airbase called the Cloud Cruiser.
Exploration is driven by the Call to Adventure, with players encouraged to ignore structured quests in favor of unscripted discovery, such as descending into turquoise abysses or photographing distant astral mountains. The game’s procedural generation and LIDAR-like visual effects create a striking, if glitchy, aesthetic, particularly during nighttime descents into uncharted depths.
Early Access launched today with plans to remain in development for at least nine months, offering a blend of survival mechanics and aerial freedom. The reviewer admits to playing against the game’s intended systems, prioritizing exploration over tutorials, and highlights the tension between the game’s handcrafted beauty and its procedural quirks, such as failing tech during deep dives.