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Things to Know Before You Start Playing Aloft

Aloft turns floating islands into skyships. Here’s what to know about its open-world update, survival mechanics, gliding, co-op, and Early Access status.
Length4 min Posted Quest giverVGSources Team

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Aloft is an Early Access survival sandbox about turning a floating island into a mobile home, then exploring the sky by ship and glider. You can play alone or online with up to eight friends. Before setting out, know that navigation, survival needs, and glider rules have changed in the Discovery & Ancestry update—and those newer systems can be adjusted in the options.

What kind of game is Aloft?

Aloft blends exploration, resource gathering, crafting, building, sailing, gliding, farming, cooking, and combat against fungal corruption. Its defining idea is that a floating island can become your home and a vessel: build the parts needed to move it, then sail through the sky and explore other islands. The official store description also highlights hundreds of building and decoration pieces, and lists three diverse biomes for the Early Access build. Steam store page

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The game was released into Early Access on January 15, 2025. Astrolabe Interactive Inc. is the developer and Funcom is the publisher. As with other Early Access games, the build is incomplete and can change; the developer’s August 26, 2026 announcement calls Discovery & Ancestry the final Early Access content update and says the team is moving toward version 1.0, but does not give a firm 1.0 date. Steam store page Aloft update log

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What should you do first?

Begin with the basics: gather resources, learn how your island functions as a skyship, and build the components that let you steer it. The helm, rudder, and sails are central to moving your home. For choosing where to go, use the Table-Map and Spyglass, the navigation tools highlighted by the developer.

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  1. Gather and craft: collect basic materials and make the tools and components needed to develop your island.
  2. Make your island movable: build a helm, rudder, and sails so you can steer and travel.
  3. Choose a destination: consult the Table-Map and Spyglass to plan where to explore.
  4. Prepare for the trip: bring food and water, and account for rest if survival conditions are enabled.
  5. Plan glides around terrain: approach a ledge or another place with open space below before deploying your glider under the current default behavior.

These steps are a practical starting order, not a requirement to follow a fixed campaign route. The latest update makes the world more open-ended, so you can choose your direction.

What changed in the Discovery & Ancestry update?

Navigation is less linear

The revamped Table-Map no longer requires choosing individual sectors along a linear route. Instead, you can pick a direction and explore. The Spyglass and Table-Map are the main navigation aids called out in the update. Aloft update log

Islands have more environmental variety

The update adds sub-biomes such as lush jungles, snowy regions, prairie fields, and dense woods. Cluster events can also change the conditions you encounter, including fog banks, tornadoes, and debris fields. Aloft update log

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A Wind Spirit and Ancestral Memories add progression

You can earn the trust of a Wind Spirit companion. It can help control wind direction, can be called or dismissed, and can receive Arcadium Essence in exchange for Insight. Ancestral Memories provide upgrades including extra food and tool slots, momentum, health regeneration, a glider compass, and other buffs. Aloft update log

How do survival needs and gliding work?

Food, water, and rest affect combat

With the new survival conditions active, hunger reduces your maximum health, thirst prevents weapon combos and charged attacks, and exhaustion lowers your damage. If your health runs out, you become Wounded. These needs make preparation useful before setting out, especially when you expect combat.

Find open space before deploying the glider

In the current update, you need open space beneath you—such as at a ledge or cliff—to deploy the glider. This makes elevation and the terrain below you part of the decision to glide. If you prefer the previous behavior, the glider function can be adjusted or disabled in the options menu.

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Adjust the challenge to suit your session

The developer says both survival conditions and glider behavior can be adjusted or disabled in options. That gives you a way to keep the exploration and building focus while reducing the pressure of managing needs or adapting to the newer glider rule. Aloft update log

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Can you play Aloft solo, or is co-op better?

Both are supported. The Steam description presents Aloft as playable alone or online with up to eight friends. The main difference is how much work you personally handle and whether you want to build and explore together.

Play style What to expect
Solo You handle gathering, building, sailing, and survival preparation yourself, so progress can feel more deliberate.
Online co-op Friends can share those jobs, making it easier to split gathering, construction, travel planning, and other tasks. The store description supports up to eight friends.

The game’s extensive building and decoration selection makes cooperative construction a natural fit, but co-op is not a prerequisite for the island-and-skyship loop. Survival conditions and glider rules can be adjusted in either play style. Steam store page Aloft update log

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Is Aloft worth starting in Early Access?

It depends on how comfortable you are with a game that is still being developed. The core appeal is already clear: build a mobile island, travel between floating environments, and combine survival and crafting with exploration. But Steam cautions that Early Access games are unfinished and may change, and a final Early Access content update is not the same as a finished 1.0 release.

At the time of the cited Steam listing, the game was priced at $24.99, with 84% positive from 1,954 English reviews and 64% positive from 73 recent reviews. Those are time-sensitive store figures, not a guarantee of future price or player reception. Check the store page for the current price, review totals, and status before deciding. Steam store page

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