Gathering Sky is a short, meditative game about birds in a distant world

Ss 26a2b29c27b8c545e8bf87705dcc53dcf3dc63f3
YouTube YouTube
Watch On

Here's something a little bit different to guide us into the weekend: Gathering Sky, a "meditative, experimental adventure about guiding a flock of birds across the sky."

Gathering Sky begins with a single bird, who will eventually become part of a larger flock. The flock can be guided across the hand-painted sky, or it can be left to its own devices. And that's really it: It's a short, non-competitive adventure, playable by anyone, with a lovely art style and original score composed by Dren McDonald and performed by the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. A sample can be heard below.

"Gathering Sky is a bit of a love letter to the games we'd like to see made: games that aren't about winning, scoring or conquering," developer A Stranger Gravity said in the release announcement. "We want you to sit down to wrap yourself in a short journey and return to your life feeling just a bit better."

The critical response seems positive, and the Steam reviews, while relatively few in number, are quite upbeat as well. Interested? Find out more at gathering-sky.com.

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.