Sky Noon is a blast.
That’s a pun, and a really good one if you ask me.
Okay, for real though, Sky Noon is a 3v3 competitive multiplayer game in which your character’s arsenal includes a grappling hook, lasso, and an air gun. You’re a hired gunslinger battling cartel fighters in a new take on the Wild West that exists on floating islands in the sky. Your air guns provide you the power to blast enemies into the high heavens, and your grappling hook is your best lifeline for survival.
The demo at PAX East had a demo practice map to get the feel of the controls, and then one map that you actually got to play on against other PAX goers. The map is a floating island with a western theme (as the name Sky Noon would suggest), and you need to be quick on your feet so you don’t get shot into the sky. Duel wielding a grappling hook and an air gun, you’ll need to be fast to lock in shots to send enemies into the sky. Landing consistent shots can be tough with enemies grappling around the map, so you may find success with a different weapon/play style. Thankfully there are several different weapons that cater to the different types of FPS players; snipers can rely on the revolver, which requires accuracy but packs a huge punch. Your typical run’n’gunner can rock the air pistol which has capacity but lacks stopping (or in this case, pushing) power. It depends on how you want to play. Aggressive players may hang literally on the edge of the map, trying to shoot players who’ve been shot off the map to keep them off the map until they fall and get eliminated.
The map size matches perfectly with the 3v3 teams. Spawn points make it so that you’re never really able to escape the madness, so you’re forced to keep moving or at the very least have a good grasp (PUN) on the grappling hook so you can quickly grab onto something while getting shot at. In addition to the grappling hook, there are also power ups you can pick up along the way too. Again, the power ups cater to different play styles, which helps keep the dynamic fresh. Each respawn changes out your loadout (aside from the grappling hook) so you’re not always guaranteed to have whatever loadout you find to be perfect. There are several crates you can get on the map that will change your weapon and power-up, but they’re random so you may trade a gun you don’t like for a gun you like even less. There’s a refresh timer on those crates so if you’re rocking gear you don’t want you may want to keep an eye out for these on the map.
We only got to play Team Deathmatch at PAX, but there is a Free for All and King of the Hill mode as well. From my limited experience at PAX and in the beta (at the time published I believe the servers are down for those in the beta), it feels like a really well balanced game. I’ve never felt completely unable to gain an edge, nor completely stomp on my opponents either.
I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for the full release of this game, and encourage you to do the same if you’re a fan of competitive shooters that are really dynamic and require a lot of flexibility with playstyles and gear. I enjoy the concept and the gameplay is really fun.
For more information about Sky Noon, check out the Steam page or the Developer (Lunar Rooster) website and you can also check out their social media pages on twitter or YouTube.
Written by Andrew(@SoAfterISaid)
