A Look At: Sky Shapers

One of the greatest joys of being an Amiga gamer is the thrill of surprise releases that seemingly come out of nowhere. I do my best to keep up with games in development and, until a few years ago, actively supported many of them however I could. But Sky Shapers? I hadn’t heard of it at all until APC-TCP/Amigashop announced its big box release. If it had been in the news before and I simply missed it, that’s entirely possible—I’ve been “out of the loop” for a while now.

Big Red Box In Tha House…

Lately, I’ve been hesitant to buy physical games for two simple reasons: the outrageous import costs to Norway (this one alone set me back 30 euros in tax) and the fact that my gaming cave is so packed that I’m struggling to find space for even a single box or jewel case. Yet, despite this, I still caved and picked up a few new games this year—partly to support the developers, but also because I want them in my collection.

Sky Shapers arrives in a bold, red, glossy box with a strikingly unique design, unlike anything else in my (thousands of) game boxes. Whether that’s a good or bad thing is subjective and something I’ll touch on later. What I can say for certain is that the print and box quality are excellent, continuing APC-TCP and Amigashop’s strong tradition of high standards. They’ve once again kept within the standard box size and format—identical to the Tiny Little Slug release I reviewed a few years ago. I really can’t praise APC-TCP enough; they consistently deliver great products and genuinely listen to the community.

So, to keep it simple: If you want a box with a unique style on the shelf, buy it now.

A True Poster Child?

The box release includes a large A3 poster, much like other titles from this publisher. The print quality is excellent, with no complaints there. However, it’s a bit disappointing that the artwork is simply a repeat of the box, CD cover, and manual—it would have been nice to see some variation.

The CD itself is a CDR, but the quality feels better than what many smaller publishers typically offer.

As for the CD cover, it comes in a simple yet effective slipcase. Surprisingly, it even features a fully printed backside (matching the box art), which was an unexpected but welcome touch.

Going Manual…

These days, game manuals are often stripped down to the bare minimum—or removed entirely. But Sky Shapers takes the opposite approach, offering a surprisingly substantial manual.

You might wonder why a simple vertical shooter needs a big manual. Well, it’s not that big—around 20 pages—but some are in color, and it actually includes some interesting details. For instance, one fun fact: the lead artist’s daughter created a drawing that later inspired the design of the game’s first boss. Little touches like that make it a worthwhile addition!

Examples Of How To Do It…

Here are a few pages from the manual—just some quick snapshots. It covers the story, enemies, and overall goal of the game (and much more), all laid out clearly and well-organized. There are even some interesting tidbits worth reading. That said, I have to admit, I might be one of the few who actually enjoys reading these just for fun!

So, What About the Game Itself?

From the very first moment, it’s clear that Sky Shapers is a passion project. What’s not immediately obvious, however, is that this is the team’s first game—everything was learned on the fly. The coder taught himself Blitz Basic through Amiga magazine tutorials, experimentation, and trial and error. Most impressively, the entire game was developed on real Amiga hardware, the old-school way. That alone makes it worthy of attention.

The project took five years to complete, largely due to the “learning by doing” approach—but also because, well, the team has lives and families outside of the Amiga!

The game takes advantage of extra RAM and a faster CPU if available, though it requires an AGA chipset at minimum.

Gameplay-wise, it includes high-score saving and even a detailed post-level stats screen. This breakdown shows how many enemies you defeated (versus the total possible), which weapons and pickups you used, and more. Features like this add a layer of depth and replayability.

One of the game’s standout elements is the bird animation—it’s fantastic and, in my opinion, one of the best aspects of the game.

There’s also a massive intro sequence, with clear effort poured into it, plus level intros and other visual touches. The artist has definitely been busy, and it shows!

Smooth Controls & Gameplay

The controls in Sky Shapers are solid and responsive, 2 button joysticks/pads supported as well as the usual joystick + Keyboard combo we all grew up with. For the most part, the game runs smoothly at 50 FPS. The only slowdown I experienced on my 030/50 setup was during miniboss and boss explosions. These sequences, reminiscent of Wings of Fury, feature a chain reaction of smaller blasts culminating in a big explosion—a great visual touch that genuinely made me smile.

The game consists of three levels, each divided into three waves, with a miniboss at the end of each wave. The final level stands out, featuring highly effective parallax scrolling that adds a nice visual depth.

Enemy Variety & Weapons

Enemy types and attack patterns are varied enough to keep things engaging, with an impressive 37 different enemies—quite substantial for a game of this scale.

There are also weapon upgrades and pickups, plus a special “boss weapon” called the BFL, which helps make the game more approachable. That said, I initially struggled to understand what I was picking up—was it good, bad, or something else entirely? The manual explains it, but I wish there had been more in-game feedback, like text or sound cues, to clarify pickups in real time.

Areas for Improvement

While the graphics have their strengths, I feel the chosen color palette doesn’t do them justice. The palettes used are “too much in your face“, which makes the visuals look less polished than they actually are. This was likely an early design choice that couldn’t be easily changed later, but a more refined palette would have enhanced the overall presentation significantly. It does feel like the graphics evolved without a clear, cohesive plan from the start (which is, by the way, very normal for first projects).

Another issue is hit detection, particularly with the meteor showers. Some collision boxes (spritebobs) are larger than the actual drawn objects, leading to unfair deaths.

Finally, the game would greatly benefit from more audio. Having both music and sound effects playing simultaneously would have elevated the experience significantly. As it stands, the game feels a bit empty in this regard.

The Verdict…

All in all, Sky Shapers is a highly impressive release for what it is and the efforts put into it, especially considering it’s the team’s first project. The fact that it was developed entirely on real Amiga hardware, with much of the process being learned on the go, makes it even more remarkable.

The color palette takes some getting used to, but I’m confident the team will refine their approach in future projects. The coding still has room for improvement, but given that this was their first game—built through trial and error, tutorials, and pure dedication—it’s an incredible achievement.

You can buy the game from Amigashop for 29 Euro (Physical and digital) or on their itch website for a euro or more (digital).

The team’s website is also worth a look.

An unnoficial WHDLoad installer is available upon request from the developer, with an official version planned for a future release.

PS: The gifs had to be grabbed from a YouTube video from the developer since for some reason my pictures looked horrible and no time now to redone. It will be fixed if requested/needed.

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