Sky (video game)

Sky: Children of the Light (shortened to Sky in-game) is an open world social indie adventure game developed and published by Thatgamecompany. It was first released for iOS on July 18, 2019. An Android version was later released on April 7, 2020, and a Nintendo Switch version is planned to release sometime in June 2021.
Gameplay.
In "Sky", players explore a kingdom using a cape that gives them the ability to fly. The in-game world consists of seven unique realms, each with a different theme being represented as a stage of life and a variety of areas to explore. There is also Home, a small island which serves as the world hub and the starting place when the game is opened. Throughout the world, players encounter "spirits" that allow them to unlock items in return for in-game currency, and "children of light" that give players "winged light". When a player has collected enough winged light, their cape level goes up, increasing the cape's maximum energy and allowing the player to fly farther. 
The game features a heavy focus on social mechanics. Players are able to meet and befriend one another, and can unlock new abilities such as chat and sending gifts as their friendship grows. There are also many cosmetic items to collect including capes, masks, hairstyles, hats, pants, playable musical instruments, expressions, and more. These items can be obtained using in-game currency.
"Sky" has multiple in-game currencies. "Candles" are the main currency of "Sky," and are exchanged with spirits and friends in return for items and abilities. Candles are obtained by collecting pieces of light and forging them, or by purchasing them for real money. "Hearts" are the social currency of "Sky", and are obtained when players receive gifts from other players and spirits when they give them 3 candles. Hearts are primarily used to purchase cosmetic items from spirits. "Ascended candles" are the rarest currency in Sky, rewarded to players for giving their winged light to "The fallen" at the end of the game. Ascended candles are exchanged with spirits for "wing buffs", which give players extra Winged Light, and to upgrade friendship.
"Sky" also features ongoing seasonal events, during which unique spirits and items are available for a limited time. These "seasons" have a unique currency called "seasonal candles", which can be used to purchase seasonal items and are converted to regular candles when the season ends. Many seasons add new areas to the game. These seasonal spirits might also come back as a traveling spirit in later seasons, which players can give their candles to receive seasonal items for a limited time.
Charity.
In 2020, Thatgamecompany held some in-game events in support of charity. First was the "Days of Nature" event, in celebration of Earth Day, during which a unique IAP (in-app purchase) was available. Proceeds from each purchase of the IAP was used to plant one tree per purchase, in partnership with the OneTreePlanted charity. This event resulted in a total of 40,576 trees planted across the Amazonian and Australian forests damaged by wildfires. 
Reception.
Metacritic awarded the game an 81 out of 100 based on 17 reviewers, as well as awarding it the number one shared iOS game of 2019, number five most discussed iOS game of 2019, and number 12 best iOS game of 2019. Gameinformer scored the game a 8.5 out of 10 stating ""Sky" is a refreshingly moving and robust game on the iOS platform, and one best shared with others – especially folks who might not normally pick up a video game." Gamespot scored the game a 8 out of 10, giving exceptional praise to the visuals, animations and musical scores, however admitting that "return visits to previous environments aren't nearly as captivating as your first trip". IGN scored the game a 8.5 out of 10, likening the game to its predecessor as "a bigger and bolder follow-up that expands on what made Journey so great." Destructoid, like many other reviewers praised how it's a game that "most everyone should experience", was however highly critical of the touch controls and the lack of control it gave of your character, going as far to suggest that "most everyone should wait for a console or PC release" to play the game.
Accolades.
The game won Apple's iPhone game of the year for 2019. On October 5, 2020, Gamasutra reported that the game had topped 50 million downloads worldwide.