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of the frustrations caused by the nature of always being in the process of falling down the mountain were alleviated by placing landing spots partway down, letting the player parachute to a landing whenever they wanted to end a run, and adding updraft spots to give Laya back some elevation, but it was still easy for less experienced players to crash. This was alleviated by adding an "air cushion" to push Laya up when she is near the ground, and a time rewind mechanic when the player does crash, to make accidents less likely to end a run.
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391:, were played by Austrian flutist Veronika Vitazkova. The music itself was designed to adapt to what the player was doing, changing tempo and volume and adding or removing instruments based on how fast Laya is flying or how close she is to the ground. It also uses different instruments in each of the game's four main biomes, and has twelve different introduction sections in each biome, in order to keep the music from feeling repetitive in successive runs.
342:", or feeling, of controlling a wingsuit. Using that, they tried to create a "childhood dream" of flying, set inside of a peaceful world without conflict that would feel like an escape to players. Cash likened the intended feeling to that of players "riding their bikes with their friends around their neighborhood", exploring and finding secrets in a "friendly world".
239:. It was developed based on the central conceit of using touchscreen controls to create the feeling of wingsuit flight, set inside an explorable, peaceful world. Snowman chose Netflix as the publisher so that the game design would not be impacted by a need to monetize the game with advertisements or in-app purchases.
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atmospheric elements, such as updrafts or wind tunnels, can accelerate Laya upwards or forwards. The game provides flight goals to complete in sets of three, such as flying near 30 trees, and new wingsuit capes with differing abilities are given periodically as sets are accomplished. There are several
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Early in development, Snowman had to decide how to balance "the rules and physics of real-life wingsuiting" with making a fun and relaxing experience. Once the basics of the game were created, part of the development process became "chipping away" elements that could frustrate or impede players. Some
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would be best. They also felt that having the game therefore be free to subscribers allowed them to focus on the design of the game without having to change it to assist with sales or monetization. As of the game's release, Snowman intends to continue to use
Netflix as a publisher in the future. It
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Flying near the ground or objects or performing tricks such as diving give the player "sparks", or energy in the form of yellow triangles following Laya, which can be used to accelerate her flight. Sparks can also be found as floating yellow triangles near obstacles such as narrow passages. Small
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design. It was also developed by the company's largest internal team to date. Akhtar claims that, while individual game loops were designed for mobile players and take only a few minutes, exploring the entire game would take new players 20 to 40 hours, and even the game's developers over a dozen
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was
Snowman's first game with significant interactions with non-playable characters, and so the game became an experiment in creating a sense of place and character through both brief dialogues with characters and the art design of the different biomes of the island.
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to repeatedly glide down from peaks to the coast. The game does not have a plot, instead revealing elements of the history of the characters and island as the game is played, such as that their ancestors had shipwrecked at the island. The player uses two fingers as
355:, which inspired the wood and stone design of the villages on the island as well as the "magical lore" of the game, with windmills and wind catchers throughout the island to correspond with the inhabitants relationship with magic through wind.
338:, partially due to studio cofounder Ryan Cash's interest in flight, and wanted to explore that concept deeper. After researching wingsuit flight, they decided to make the central conceit of the game be using touchscreen controls to create the "
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controls for the sides of the wingsuit to make Laya steer, dive, pull up, or parachute to the ground. A single run takes a few minutes, after which Laya is returned to the last peak she was on. The island is composed of multiple
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308:, "Windfolk", throughout the island that give challenges such as winning races or following challenging flight paths. Completing these challenges grants the player "trinkets" that also give differing flight abilities.
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The game's music and sound design were composed by the
Austrian studio Wobblersound, made up of David and Markus Zahradnicek. To fit with the game's aesthetics, they based the soundtrack on
330:(2015), among others. Producer Owais Akhtar describes the company's design aesthetic as creating games that center on "the rhythm of movement" with a "meditative experience". Development on
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423:(2022). The developers wanted to not have the game be interrupted by advertisements or in-app purchases, and so felt that connecting it to a subscription service like Netflix Games or
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in May 2023. The game was positively received by critics, who acclaimed its open, relaxing gameplay and sense of flight, along with the quality of the island's environmental design.
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all focused on enjoying gliding down the mountain without focusing on missions or goals, and instead exploring the design and hidden areas of the islands. Plante summarized that "
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in praising the beauty and charm of the environment and characters. Both reviews also praised the fitting and "serene" music and sound effects. Alex Blake of
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The game began development in 2018 as the studio's largest title to date and first open world 3D game, a departure from their previous linear titles such as
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which the player may freely glide through, constrained only by gravity, and features numerous structures, trees, hot air balloons, and other gliders.
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was well-received by critics upon release. It was nominated for Best
Netflix Game and Best Platforming Game of the year by
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654:"Laya's Horizon: IGN India Does a Deep-Dive on the New Flying Adventure Mobile Game With the Developers at Snowman"
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saying that the "joy of mastering your gliding skills" was the best part of the game, while Jared Nelson of
898:"Snowman, the studio behind Alto's Adventure, debuts wingsuit game Laya's Horizon exclusively with Netflix"
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instruments and a "light and airy" tonal quality. The wide variety of woodwind instruments, including a
862:"An Interview With Snowman About Laya's Horizon, the Team's Most Ambitious Game Yet, Netflix, and More"
614:"Interview: The devs at Snowman share their thoughts and inspiration behind flying game Laya's Horizon"
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Laya gliding near the coast. Several sparks trail behind her, and an updraft can be seen in the clouds.
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has been described by the studio as their largest game to date; previous games were linear and
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announced the game with a teaser trailer on March 9, 2023. It was then released on May 2 for
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down from peaks to the coast. The player controls the wingsuit to steer Laya throughout the
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The visual design of the game was inspired by several sources, including the 1984 film
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area, exploring the island and completing challenges from other non-playable gliders.
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2024. Reviewers praised the flight experience and controls, with Shaun
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said how good it felt to fly around was the most important thing about the game.
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review also praised the quality of the island's details, which was echoed by
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praised the exhilarating feeling of flight in the game, and Rupesh Nair of
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1093:"'Laya's Horizon' Netflix Games Review – Going Where the Wind Takes You"
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1251:"Laya's Horizon on Netflix makes flying both exhilarating and soothing"
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through its
Netflix Games subscription service. The game features the
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said that the controls were the most fun part. Andrew
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978:"The developers behind Alto's Odyssey tease their next release"
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1015:"Netflix is getting a beautiful new wingsuit game on May 2nd"
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started in 2018. Snowman had included a wingsuit element in
820:"If you have Netflix, try this open-world game immediately"
1055:"Laya's Horizon review - "The joy and peace of flying""
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praised the "gorgeous" and "soothing" visual design.
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1125:"Pocket Gamer Awards 2023: Winners and Finalists"
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782:"The Creative Minds Behind Laya's Horizon"
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1067:from the original on July 25, 2023
1013:Webster, Andrew (April 26, 2023).
794:from the original on July 14, 2023
626:from the original on July 25, 2023
352:Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
274:set on a small mountainous island
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1185:Kaser, Rachel (January 9, 2024).
1091:Musgrave, Shaun (June 19, 2023).
976:Webster, Andrew (March 9, 2023).
914:from the original on May 29, 2023
703:from the original on June 1, 2023
670:from the original on June 1, 2023
1390:Android (operating system) games
860:Madnani, Mikhail (May 2, 2023).
1425:Video games developed in Canada
1319:Potuck, Michael (May 2, 2023).
1249:Webster, Andrew (May 2, 2023).
699:. Blue Ant Media. May 2, 2023.
1321:"Hands-on with Laya's Horizon"
945:"The Sounds of Laya's Horizon"
818:Plante, Chris (July 7, 2023).
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1213:Nelson, Jared (May 5, 2023).
1166:. February 2024. p. 70.
896:Malik, Aisha (May 2, 2023).
733:Nair, Rupesh (May 5, 2023).
652:Nair, Rupesh (May 2, 2023).
282:, a girl named Laya, uses a
1286:Blake, Alex (August 2023).
1053:Quick, Will (May 2, 2023).
612:Quick, Will (May 5, 2023).
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568:review, Michael Potuck of
316:The game was developed by
1415:Single-player video games
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1420:Snowman (company) games
735:"Laya's Horizon Review"
312:Development and release
306:non-playable characters
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405:is a manually-created
399:procedurally generated
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943:(November 7, 2023).
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1192:VentureBeat
1098:TouchArcade
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867:TouchArcade
697:MobileSyrup
556:TouchArcade
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522:TouchArcade
476:TouchArcade
454:Publication
369:world music
340:kinesthetic
293:touchscreen
272:action game
204:action game
169:May 2, 2023
144:Platform(s)
134:Composer(s)
99:Jesse Baker
95:Designer(s)
76:Producer(s)
66:Director(s)
1374:Categories
903:TechCrunch
745:Ziff Davis
664:Ziff Davis
588:References
420:Lucky Luna
407:open world
276:open world
237:Skate City
224:open world
202:is a 2023
1400:IOS games
1337:April 12,
1306:0968-3305
1293:MacFormat
1271:April 12,
1261:Vox Media
1256:The Verge
1231:April 12,
1172:1350-1593
1141:April 18,
1109:April 12,
1071:April 12,
1035:April 12,
1025:Vox Media
1020:The Verge
998:April 12,
988:Vox Media
983:The Verge
961:April 12,
918:April 12,
878:April 12,
840:April 12,
830:Vox Media
798:April 12,
755:April 12,
740:IGN India
707:April 12,
674:April 12,
659:IGN India
630:April 12,
566:The Verge
561:MacFormat
552:IGN India
544:The Verge
538:IGN India
488:IGN India
445:Reception
440:Reception
124:Writer(s)
105:Artist(s)
1331:Archived
1265:Archived
1225:Archived
1135:Archived
1103:Archived
1065:Archived
1029:Archived
992:Archived
955:Archived
912:Archived
872:Archived
834:Archived
792:Archived
749:Archived
701:Archived
668:Archived
624:Archived
417:, after
373:woodwind
288:wingsuit
255:Gameplay
220:wingsuit
175:Genre(s)
1326:9to5Mac
941:Snowman
825:Polygon
778:Snowman
577:Polygon
571:9to5Mac
434:Android
415:Netflix
410:hours.
385:bansuri
381:ocarina
322:Snowman
320:studio
318:Toronto
249:Android
212:Netflix
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186:Mode(s)
166:Release
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1304:
1298:Future
1198:May 7,
1170:
1164:Future
950:Medium
908:Yahoo!
787:Medium
493:9.5/10
401:, but
387:, and
298:biomes
270:is an
180:Action
469:4.5/5
457:Score
377:quena
286:as a
1339:2024
1302:ISSN
1273:2024
1233:2024
1200:2024
1168:ISSN
1159:Edge
1143:2024
1111:2024
1073:2024
1037:2024
1000:2024
963:2024
920:2024
880:2024
842:2024
800:2024
757:2024
709:2024
676:2024
632:2024
550:The
512:Edge
432:and
403:Laya
367:and
365:folk
284:cape
247:and
235:and
481:5/5
430:iOS
245:iOS
157:iOS
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