Loftia Review

Loftia combines farming, crafting, home decoration, and multiplayer activities in a colorful solar-punk world.

Loftia is that kind of game that immediately makes you want to know more about the world it's trying to create. Instead of dropping you into a generic countryside village or fantasy realm, it's set in a colorful solarpunk world where nature and technology coexist. Qloud Games developed and published it, bringing together farming, crafting, exploration, home building, and home decoration with a host of multiplayer options.

The core concept is simple: build your own place in a sustainable community, develop your surroundings, and live a relaxed life without constantly being on the warpath. At first glance, Loftia may look like another life sim, with all the usual life-sim activities: farming, gathering, crafting, decorating your house, and so on.

Loftia differs with its solarpunk setting. The world is made up of floating islands, very much in the future, with a very different aesthetic from the typical post-apocalyptic or industrial future. It's a much more positive vision of the future. That contrast is probably Loftia's biggest strength. The game essentially asks you to imagine a future where technology supports the environment rather than the other way around.

Rather than treating sustainability as a background element, it makes it central to the experience. You're encouraged to build, to contribute, to explore, and to develop a community that embodies those values. It's a very good foundation for a cozy game that wants to do something a bit different from the standard farming game.

The world is split into various regions, each with its own feel and its own set of opportunities. Loftia City has a more urban feel, Hanging Gardens is a greener, more tranquil environment, and Gridfall is another area to explore. It does mean the world feels much bigger than one little neighborhood. You can go from one area to another and get a feel for different parts of Loftia, though the travel system doesn't always make it a very enjoyable way to explore.

It's not really a story built around some central dramatic conflict.

It's really about establishing your life in the world and becoming part of the community. You do quests, meet NPCs, gather materials, improve your situation, and build your own home. Community projects give you a reason to be part of something bigger than your own progression. It's a very laid-back approach that fits the nature of the game, even if the characters and relationships don't really go anywhere.

One of the biggest letdowns really is the absence of romance at the moment. Relationship systems can be such an integral part of a life sim and are obviously a big draw for a lot of people. Loftia doesn't currently have any romance options. NPC friendships are on the radar for future development, but the current offering in that area is very minimal. The world can absolutely make your characters feel like an important part of your day-to-day life.

Still, there isn't enough interaction to build those relationships right now. The game itself is very much about doing things, though, and there's plenty to keep you busy. Farming is one of the key systems, and you can grow your own garden, manage your crops, and slowly extend your property. It's a fairly standard farming mechanic, but it fits well with the game's overall eco-friendly premise.

You can spend time tending your garden, collecting the materials you need, and working toward the next stage in your home's development. Crafting adds another dimension to the everyday stuff. Loftia uses battery-powered energy stations to generate various items, linking the crafting system to the renewable energy technology central to the game's world. It's a small but useful way to give crafting a bit more of a 'world' feel, rather than just another standard workbench.

There's also plenty of scope for personalizing your character.

The customization system gives you control over a wide range of your character's appearance (hairstyles, skin tones, height, etc.) and avoids traditional gendered options. This makes character creation more inclusive and lets you create someone who is genuinely your own. Home decor is another fun part of the experience. You can arrange the furniture and other bits to create a home that suits your taste.

The ability to change the color of the furniture is especially useful, as it gives you far more scope than picking from a set of pre-defined designs. In a game where building your own place in the world is such a big part of the experience, these small options make a real difference. The multiplayer aspect also gives Loftia another reason to be different.

You can play solo, or with others in shared neighborhoods. That flexibility matters, since not everyone wants the same experience from a cozy game. You might quite happily work on your own property and not need to rely on anyone else. Alternatively, you might find that having friends around makes the simple things a lot more enjoyable. Group adventuring and community contribution objectives are another good reason to play together.

They give the multiplayer sessions a real purpose. Research stations, underground relic hunting, and mining in the Herbex system all add variety and break up the monotony of standard farming and decorating. The solid range of activities keeps it from getting monotonous too quickly. Another good decision is the lack of a traditional stamina meter.

Many farming sims have some form of stamina system that limits what you can do, often forcing you to stop working or spend resources before you can go any further.

Loftia takes a much more relaxed approach in this respect, and you won't be constantly checking whether you've got any stamina left. It really does make the day-to-day feel more relaxed, which is what you'd want in a game like this. However, not every aspect of the progression system is equally rewarding. Loftia uses different job proficiencies to help you develop your skills through a variety of activities.

That gives you a reason to try different things rather than doing the same thing over and over again. The issue is that the early economy can make progression feel painfully slow. It's hard to make money in the early days, really, particularly if you're going to be spending it on community contributions and all that. Community dish donations, for instance, can drain your own property.

Community contribution is a big part of Loftia's ethos, but the financial balance has to be right. You shouldn't have to choose between the community and your own property all the time. Travel is another area where the experience becomes frustrating. You'd think exploring the world's regions would be one of the game's more enjoyable aspects. Still, the loading screens when you move from one area to another really disrupt the experience.

There's no easy way to teleport back home either, which makes the normal journey between activities feel far longer than it should. Not a massive deal at first glance, but it becomes clear after you've spent more time traveling. There are a few smaller quality-of-life issues too.

Your sprint and map marker settings can get reset when you change regions, which is annoying as you then have to reset them every time.

The watering can can feel like a chore at times, and occasional quest issues break the flow. None of that negates the experience, but it does make it feel less refined than the presentation suggests. The always-online requirement is another one worth mentioning. Even if you're the type of player who wants to play solo, Loftia requires an internet connection at all times.

You can't just fire it up and carry on playing offline. For a game marketed as a solo experience built around your own routine, that requirement seems pointless. It's a shame, really, when that's supposed to be the whole point. Technical performance also needs work. The current Early Access version has had reports of camera clipping and framerate drops (particularly in the rain).

Keyboard and mouse can also induce motion sickness in some players. All of this matters in a game where atmosphere is one of the key things you're hoping to achieve. If the camera does odd things and performance is inconsistent, it's hard to get into the world and relax into the pace.

Visually, Loftia is one of the more attractive areas of the experience. The solarpunk aesthetic is vibrant and gives the floating areas a real sense of identity. The mix of greenery, futuristic architecture, and natural landscape makes it a very pleasant place to be. The different areas keep it from feeling too repetitive, and you can customize your home to make it your own.

The day/night cycle and changing weather conditions go a long way toward making the environment feel alive, not static.

They do a lot to bring the world to life, though performance issues still need to be addressed in certain weather conditions. A great environment is only as good as the ability actually to enjoy it, and that will be undermined if you're constantly having performance problems. The audio side is difficult to judge, really, as there isn't enough information to make any real assessment of the soundtrack, the SFX, or the voice work.

All of those things are obviously important in a game like Loftia where the whole experience is about atmosphere and immersion. A good soundtrack and great SFX could go a long way toward making the mundane activities of farming, crafting, and general exploration far more enjoyable. One of the more interesting bits about Loftia is its environmental partnership with One Tree Planted.

A portion of sales from the supporter packs and some cosmetic collections goes toward reforestation projects (the first of these being in Kenya). It's a nice addition because it connects the game's sustainability theme to a real-world project. Rather than keeping it in the game world, it's a real-world project.

The monetization model is also worth looking at. Loftia uses a buy-to-play model, with optional cosmetic purchases via the Backer Boutique and a Community Pass as additional support options. You don't have to spend any money at all to get the core experience, though some people may prefer a simpler model with no extra stores or passes. The developers will need to strike a sensible balance between funding the game's future and keeping it welcoming for everyone.

Technical issues, the odd travel, and the economic imbalance all tangibly affect the experience right now.

Future updates may fix these systems, but that doesn't mean the problems we have now aren't real. What's interesting about Loftia is that its best bits are already there. The solarpunk setting is distinctive, the customization is excellent, and there's a good breadth of activities to keep you going long term. You can also play it solo or with friends, which makes it a far more flexible proposition than a purely multiplayer game.

The game still has a long way to go in terms of polish. The character relationships need to be much stronger if the world is to feel more personal. The transport system needs improvement so exploration isn't such a chore. The early economy needs to let you develop your own property a bit more while still contributing to the community. Most fundamentally, though, the technical issues need to be ironed out so that the tranquil atmosphere isn't constantly being broken.

Loftia is a very promising cozy life sim right now, and it captures what makes its world so appealing. It just hasn't quite worked out all the gameplay bits yet. There's plenty to keep farming, crafting, and home-decorating fans busy, especially if you're the sort of person who likes trying different things and building a community. If you're looking for a fully fleshed-out experience, though, you're likely to be a bit frustrated with the current state of things.

I think Qloud Games has real potential in what it's trying to do. A vibrant floating world centered on sustainability, creativity, and community is a strong concept, and the mix of single-player and multiplayer content gives it real room to grow. Still, Loftia has a long way to go before it can deliver the full experience its concept promises.