Loftia Early Access Review – Cozily Communal Clouds

I’ve long been interested in getting into an MMO, but every time I tried I was instantly overwhelmed with weapons, armor, new lingo, menus, and most importantly, illegible UI. I made it only a few hours into World of Warcraft, Guild Wars, and Final Fantasy XIV Online before giving up on the idea forever. I really, really dislike PVP content in multiplayer games; Loftia, the cozy combat-free MMO, looked quite tantalizing from the outset.

I will first say that I love the look of the environments in Loftia. The city in the clouds actually reminds me of a cutesy version of Bioshock Infinite’s Columbia, which is great praise. Excellent use of colors, and lots of water and greenery that already fulfills the promise of a solarpunk aesthetic. The trees are nice, the flowers pretty, and even the buildings look like they’re from a Meet the Robinsons-esque future.

On a less exciting note, I do not like how the characters look. They are simply too juvenile and doll-like to take very seriously, and I would argue they really don’t match the aesthetic of everything else. One of the first NPCs you meet is a construction worker who is supposed to be a tough guy with a goatee and a “Mom” heart tattoo, but all the humans are so cute and cuddly you want to pinch his cheeks. I was not a fan.

I will praise Loftia for having simple and legible UI and UX for new players, and especially those unfamiliar with MMOs like myself. Only important info is on the screen, and the menus are organized more like survival crafting games than an MMO. Most likely the distinction is because this is certifiably not an RPG, nor does it purport to be. I like how easy everything is to navigate and how simple it is find what you need, although to some degree menus have that “mobile game” look to them, which I don’t love.

The tutorial is very simple, and if you actually read and follow instructions you’ll get the gist of the full gameplay loop in about 45 minutes. Most games with a loop have a push/pull mechanic, where you need to overcome an obstacle to restart the gameplay loop. Loftia does have this, but feels artificially added – when you farm and craft, you drain energy. Energy is regained by recharging your battery at a solar panel station, which itself recharges during the day.

This became an annoyance reminiscent of mobile games with energy meters that just make you stop playing after a certain time. I’m not really sure what purpose the energy system serves; after a few hours with Loftia, I never really found myself more than a 30-second walk to the nearest solar energy station. So, what purpose does this mechanic serve? Maybe late game it’ll be important, but as of now it’s just a weird minor annoyance.

Since Loftia is absent of combat, the gameplay is largely composed of gathering raw materials in shared areas. No one is competing for materials; other players on your server have their own ore and wood deposits to collect, so there’s no friction there. You’ll then craft new tools, clothes, and items for your house. Then do some farming with those tools on your plot of land. There’ll be lots of utility items and decorations to pick from, and new blueprints unlock new stuff. Very simple.

It’s perhaps too simple, because that’s sort of the end of the game. Without combat, leveling up, new weapons and gear, or dungeons, there’s not a lot more to do besides just “hang out.” I will say that everyone I talked to in the testing phase, which I understand was just other reviewers and developers, were exceedingly nice. I had a few questions, and when I walked into a social spot and typed them into the all-chat I got immediate and friendly responses. I think the way the game is built prevents any form of griefing too, so hopefully bad actors won’t spend too much time with Loftia at all when it wide launches.

I like the neighborhood aspect a lot – every time you log in and join a new server, your floating solarpunk island and house are attached to a new neighborhood in the clouds. You can explore your neighbors’ island and homes, trade with them, chat, and again just generally hang out. I feel this aspect of the game points to Loftia really only being fun to play with existing friends; there’s no clan or guild to join for a common purpose or a Litch King to kill in a raid. I did really enjoy touring the neighboring houses each time and saying hello, but my chats with strangers never really progressed past a few exchanges about liking someone’s outfit.

Speaking of which, there are a ton of outfit customization options already and a lot more are coming. There’s a fairly comprehensive character creator, but I’d like to see more options for hair styles and facial hair in the future. It’s a good selection for Early Access, though. You can also make a customized pet dog which is fun, with little puppy accoutrements. There’s not a lot to do with the dog but you can have it! There are little adventures you can go on with your dog, but they really just consist of jumping around empty areas with other people and collecting wood.

All in all, I think Loftia has both acheived what it set out to do and proven why there’s not a lot of combat-free MMOs on the market. Without the push/pull of the RPG mechanics and fighting, there’s really no sense of acheivement or progress past “look at my new couch.” If you have no friends online to show your new couch, then you’re basically out of options.

I think if you look through Loftia’s Steam page and like the sound of it, you’re really going to enjoy it. This is a farming/crafting sim that happens to be an MMO. Even though I’ve really enjoyed some farming/crafting sims like Disney Dreamlight Valley, I didn’t find enough to catch my attention here. Regardless, I’ll recommend Loftia to those folks heartily, especially after the warm welcome and good vibes, but it’s unlikely I’ll be jumping on the hot air balloon again myself.

Nirav reviewed Loftia in Early Access on PC with a provided review code. This review is based on the version of the game available at the time of writing and will not be changed.