I really wanted to love this game. It has a ton of potential — the world design, the ship concept, the sense of exploration — all of it feels like it could be something special.

But the early-game experience completely killed my motivation.

I ended up stranded after dying, respawned on a higher-level island far from my ship, with limited resources and enemies I couldn’t realistically fight. Instead of exploring or progressing, I was stuck in a frustrating recovery loop trying to scrape together basic materials just to rebuild mobility. There’s no clear safety net for solo players when this happens, and it feels punishing in a way that isn’t challenging — just tedious.

As a single parent with very limited gaming time, I can’t afford to spend my small window of free time grinding just to undo a bad respawn situation. Games should respect players’ time, especially in solo play. Right now, the respawn and recovery systems don’t.

There’s a great game hiding here, but until the early-game soft-lock scenarios and respawn frustrations are addressed, it’s hard to recommend — especially for solo players with limited time.

Playing this is bittersweet. It harks back to the glory days of Worlds Adrift, and while the mechanics are smoother and the content is deeper, the magic just isn't quite there.

The tension of an MMO ecosystem - with the threat of PvP and the relief of safe zones - is the missing piece. Lost Skies has the body of a great game, but Worlds Adrift had the soul. I'll keep this in my rotation for casual play, but if they ever bring back the MMO scale, I'll be back permanently.

So much hope after Worlds Adrift, and here we are again...