Airborne Kingdom
A flying city builder with steampunk Islamic Golden Age aesthetics.
Airborne Kingdom is a city-building game from The Wandering Band in which players construct and manage a flying city. The game launched on Windows and macOS in 2020, with console ports published by Freedom Games arriving in late 2021.
In the game, players lead a culture that has rediscovered blueprints for a flying city, allowing it to visit and trade with settlements on the ground. Construction starts from a single flying town center. Heavy buildings require additional lift, and players must balance the city’s weight to prevent it from tilting. Some buildings create drag, which calls for more propellers. The city relies on coal and other resources harvested from the ground, which players gather by sending workers in airplanes. Citizens initially need basic necessities to stay happy, but later demand cultural buildings and luxuries. Players can complete tasks for Earthbound cities—such as locating needed items—and receive immigrants as rewards. A happier city attracts more immigrants. The ultimate objective is to unite all Earthbound cities as allies. Once achieved, players may optionally start a new map with scarcer resources. A free 2022 DLC adds a tundra landscape that reduces the city’s efficiency and removes all food, water, and coal from the land below. The city’s visual style draws on a steampunk interpretation of Islamic Golden Age architecture.
Airborne Kingdom was released for Windows and macOS on December 17, 2020. Freedom Games published ports for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on November 9, 2021.
The PC version received positive reviews on Metacritic. OpenCritic reported strong approval, with 63% of critics recommending it. Rock Paper Shotgun called it “a true breath of fresh air” and praised its use of steampunk and Islamic architecture, noting it went beyond surface-level aesthetics. PC Gamer described it as a “smart, hypnotic city builder that won’t leave you tearing out your hair,” enjoying its relaxing gameplay but finding the campaign to unite the world a bit easy. Eurogamer called it a “lovely, mildly experimental city sim” but said it does not explore the negative implications of its imperialism.
Quick Facts
- Title
- Airborne Kingdom
- Developer
- The Wandering Band
- Publisher
- The Wandering Band (PC) / indie.io (consoles)
- Engine
- Unity
- Platforms
- macOS / Windows / Nintendo Switch / PlayStation 4 / PlayStation 5 / Xbox One / Xbox Series X/S
- Released
- WW · December 17, 2020
- Genre
- City-building
- Modes
- Single-player
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Players control a culture who have rediscovered the lost plans for a flying city that can visit and trade with Earthbound cities. The city begins as a flying town center, and players build from there. Heavy buildings increase the need for lift, and construction must be balanced to avoid tilting the city. Buildings can also generate drag, requiring more propellers. Coal and other resources from the ground are necessary to keep the city running properly; to harvest them, players can send workers in airplanes. Citizens are initially made happy by providing for basic necessities, but they later begin asking for cultural buildings and luxuries. Players can perform tasks for Earthbound cities, such as finding items that they need, and receive immigrants as a reward. The happier the city is, the more immigrants it gets. The ultimate goal is to unite these cities as your allies. When this goal is reached, players can optionally start on a new map with scarcer resources. A free DLC released in 2022 adds a tundra landscape, which worsens the city's efficiency and removes all food, water, and coal from the land below. The city's look is based on a steampunk version of architecture from the Islamic Golden Age.
Reader's Guide
The PC version of Airborne Kingdom received positive reviews on the review aggregation website Metacritic. Fellow review aggregator OpenCritic assessed that the game received strong approval, being recommended by 63% of critics. Rock Paper Shotgun said it is 'a true breath of fresh air' and praised its use of steampunk and Islamic architecture, which they said went deeper than surface-level aesthetics. PC Gamer called it a 'smart, hypnotic city builder that won't leave you tearing out your hair'. PC Gamer generally enjoyed the game's relaxing gameplay, though they said the campaign to unite the world was a bit easy. Although describing it as a 'lovely, mildly experimental city sim', Eurogamer said it does not explore the negative implications of its imperialism. Nintendo Life recommended Airborne Kingdom to fans of city-building games who are looking for a unique setting, but they said it may disappoint those seeking a complex simulation. They also suggested that strip-mining the world below was a missed opportunity for more narrative commentary. TouchArcade, who enjoyed the unique setting, also suggested more worldbuilding would have made the game better. Though both sites recommended the game overall, TouchArcade and Nintendo Life said the game's user interface on Switch could be improved.
Did You Know?
- The ultimate goal is to unite Earthbound cities as your allies.
- OpenCritic assessed that the game was recommended by 63% of critics.
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