It’s not quite Bespin’s Cloud City, and you won’t find an ancient Castle in the Sky here, but Airborne Empire offers a fresh take on the dream of airborne civilisation.
This isn’t The Wandering Band’s first foray into floating city builders, with 2022’s Airborne Kingdom firmly under their developer belt. At first glance, the games are strikingly similar, though this new entry embraces a cosier vibe, featuring avian characters navigating both the skies and the earth below.
Airborne Empire is one part strategy, one part simulator and two parts pure fun. After spending 16 hours navigating its skies, I’m not here to bring the thunder — but I am ready to shower it with praise.
Upgrade, Upgrade, Upgrade
If the thought of dozens of upgradable buildings floats your boat, this game’s for you. You begin with nothing more than a town centre suspended in the air by a large fan, no other buildings attached. Then, before you know it, you’ll be managing a thriving city in the skies, traveling across the lands, helping out ally settlements and evading pirate onslaught.
The gameplay’s core revolves around constant resource management: keep an eye on food, water, and coal, as letting these run out could be disastrous. Coal is often within reach, but without it, your airborne city is destined to plummet.
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Thankfully, advancements come with time. Though even with the game speed set to 3x, progress can feel slow — you’ll need plenty of patience.
Eventually you’ll unlock the ability to grow food and produce water directly on your ship after helping Litalos, a small kingdom in the early game. Helping other settlements can also reward you with daily resource drops, ensuring your survival as you expand.
You’ll also need to be mindful of building placement, too many large buildings on one side can cause your ship to tilt.
Upgrading your building not only saves space but also pays off big time in the later game.
A Patchwork of Biomes
While Airborne Empire crafts a charming world, it’s a bit light on backstory. How did you end up on a flying ship? Why are birds the masters of this once-forgotten art? Maybe I missed something, but it wasn’t overly clear.
A short cinematic trailer I found on YouTube seemed to explain more.
The world itself is divided into regions, each with its own biome. So far, I’ve traversed a lush countryside, a barren desert, and series of volcanic islands. The developers have already confirmed a fourth biome with be added to the game in 1.0 — likely the biggest in the game.
Small settlements dot the map, allowing you to recruit new crew members. Just make sure to keep upgrading your housing to avoid overcrowding.
Prepare for Piracy
Combat escalates as you venture further into the skies. Defence towers are critical, and getting them early is a smart move. Battles unfold in real time but can be paused with a quick tap of the spacebar, giving you a chance to plan repairs or select targets.
Weapons like cannons are not just for combat, they also clear obstacles like large rocks, often revealing hidden treasures. However, cannon placement matters — accidentally targeting your own structures is a painful lesson I learned firsthand. Once you can build two cannons, I recommend positioning one at the front and another at the back for better coverage. Once you unlock the Barrage Cannon, it’s game over for any enemy settlements beneath you.
Questing Is A Mixed Bag
Quests are a staple here, ranging from fetch quests to a variety of exploration tasks. While the grind can get repetitive, a few standouts keep things engaging. One side quest, for example, follows the adventures of Indiana Hanker Walter Jones, lover of snakes. But overall, the quests in Airborne Empire do feel a little bit like checking boxes.
The user interface, while initially overwhelming, becomes second nature after a few hours. The status section is particularly helpful, allowing you to repair and upgrade buildings efficiently. However, there’s no auto save. A near-miss almost cost me hours of progress — don’t make the same mistake.
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Some quests were a little underwhelming. You’re tasked with taking out a dam wall to send water down a river to help a thirsty town. Destroying the dam simply snaps the water into place, there’s no grand animation – or any animation at all.
Performance and Visuals
Visually, Airborne Empire is a treat. The patchwork landscapes gently ease you in, while the harsher, more mysterious regions of the desert keep things fresh. The art style evolves with each biome, and the detailed photo mode is perfect for capturing those stunning moments. While they look great, I do wish the clouds would move out of the way at times. Thankfully, I discovered you can switch off clouds entirely.
Performance-wise, I encountered one major bug. During the quest ‘The Gladiator’, I found myself in an unexpected battle against what felt like an entire armada of pirate ships.
The sheer number overwhelmed both my ship and my PC, but somehow, my tesla coil managed to wipe them out. That was, until they spawned another wave… I managed to retreat to safety and save my game but I’ve had no luck progressing further than this until this bug is stamped out.
Though clearly unintended, the chaos was an amusing highlight.
Should you play Airborne Empire?
Airborne Empire has the makings of something great, though it’s still finding its wings. With some polish and narrative depth, it could soar to even greater heights. For now, it’s a promising early access title that’s well worth keeping an eye on.
Airborne Empire is available now on Steam Early Access.
An early access code was provided to Quest Daily for this preview.
