At the start of the year I highlighted some of the games I was looking forward to, but since then many others have also been announced for 2016 releases. It’s now at the point where I have had to pick and choose which titles I can afford at their release. Ugh, damn you Year of Plenty, and damn you adulthood!

One such game that has fought its way onto my list is Worlds Adrift, a massively multiplayer title that is best described as a persistent sandbox where players build airships to visit floating islands. If that hasn’t piqued your interest, then maybe the fact you can swing around grappling hooks will. Still no? Fine, then let’s quickly cover the main reason I’m intrigued by Worlds Adrift – the SpacialOS engine. Developed by a company called Improbable, it utilises cloud computing that can not only cater for thousands of players to play in a huge game world simultaneously, but simulate persistent real-time physics.

worlds-adrift-island-creator-01

Let me elaborate on that last statement with a few examples. So, if a player cuts a tree down but doesn’t harvest it, it will remain there until someone else does something with it. Want an example that doesn’t involve trees? Well if two airships fight, chances are bits of their vessel will be shot off by huge cannons. Provided it lands on an island and doesn’t fall into the abyss, scavengers could grab those discarded engines or wings for extra resources.

And that is why I’m looking forward to Worlds Adrift.

To keep players busy until its release later this year, Bossa Studios has released the Island Creator. It allows players to design their own floating islands using all the currently available in-game assets. Best of all, you can upload your creations to the Steam Workshop, and the best ones will even find their way into the full game. While I highly doubt my masterpiece, called ‘Full o’ Trees’, will make the cut, the latest episode of So Let’s Investigate… demonstrates what players can do with the creation suite, as well as get an idea of the character controls that will be in the full game.

Worlds Adrift Island Creator is available for free on Steam, and you can find out more information by heading over to the Worlds Adrift website.