Airheart launches on Nintendo Switch, delivering rogue-like action high in the sky

You’d be forgiven for thinking a game about harpooning fish and fighting pirates would be set on the high seas. But the action in Airheart is entirely airborne. Following up on its PC and Playstation release last year, this award-winning game has now been released on Nintendo Switch.

Airheart is a rogue-like game where, instead of exploring dingey dungeons, you explore colourful levels in the sky. It’s a follow up to prequel Cloud Chasers, also developed by Zurich-based Blindflug Studio. The story picks up where Cloud Chasers left off, with Amelia Airheart leaving the desert for the clouds. You control her journey from sky city Granaria, all the way up to the stratosphere in a customisable aeroplane. As you go, you’ll encounter marauding pirates, whose aircrafts you can repurpose for parts and weapons, as well as flying fish which you can catch for oil and money.

Airheart features a cleverly designed ecosystem, which allows for each skylayer to change in colour and its species of fish depending on how you interact with them, allowing for subtle changes during multiple playthroughs. There's also the added challenge of taking on the game's "hard" mode, which features the risk of perma-death if you aren’t cautious enough. On the one hand, having to start from scratch is pretty unforgiving, but on the other, it gives you a real sense of achievement each time you make it through the game.

You can choose to go it alone, or – exclusive to the Switch – you can now play co-op. The co-op mode puts you and up to three friends behind the wheel of a zeppelin as you soar to new heights.

Winner of the Big Indie Pitch at Gamescom 2018, Airheart is sure to please fans of the dieselpunk genre and action games with a vibrant, colourful palette. Grab your copy from the Nintendo eShop.

This article is sponsored as part of Steel Media Preferred Partners.