There was a time when open worlds made of flying islands really seemed like the New Hotness. I guess The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is the obvious trendsetter, but my mind always returns to Bossa’s ill-fated aerial MMO Worlds Adrift. I have fond memories of a preview session in which a developer and I tried to rebuild a wildly rolling airship in a hurricane. We failed, but a good time was had plummeting and dying.

More recently, we’ve had Lost Skies (another Bossa joint, born of Worlds Adrift’s crashlanded remains), Bohemia’s Hytales-ish Everwind, and the curiously fungal Aloft, none of which appear to have slipped the surly bonds of Earth and touched the face of the Steam Top 20 Most Played. Still, the zeppelin fanciers among game developers keep trying to make fetch happen. Here’s a trailer for Atmosfar, which now has an early access release date – 29th October.

In Atmosfar, you set forth to “uncover the fate of humanity’s final outpost” on an alien planet, but screw all that, the key thing to know is that you get two broad varieties of airship. Firstly, there’s the Wasp, a chonky hovercar that comes in three flavours to begin with. “Deploy a foldable camp with the Utility Wasp, airlift heavy scrap with the Cargo Wasp or stun your enemies with the Striker Wasp,” the devs explain on Steam. “It’s all about bringing the right Wasp for the job.” I’m pretty sure US elections function similarly.

You can’t fit many pot plants and free-standing wardrobes inside a Wasp, which is why the developers have also given us a Cloud Cruiser – a whacking great mobile airbase that looks like a Marvel helicarrier except manufactured by P&O, not Tony Stark. It’s got landing pads, a hangar, and a lounge where you can hang out with up to three co-op buddies. The interplay between Wasps and Cloud Cruisers reminds me a little of the beautiful symbiosis between Seamoth and Cyclops in Subnautica.

The islands themselves are very pleasant to gaze upon. While I wouldn’t say the aesthetics are strikingly unusual, this is perhaps my favourite-looking sky island game. They’ve rounded off the mountains, forest canopies and rocky undersides in such a way that they sit elegantly in amongst the heaped clouds. Can’t wait to land somewhere and immediately maroon myself by leaving my Wasp parked on an incline.

Atmosfar’s early access launch will include two regions. The game “will remain in Early Access for at least 9 months, however this period could be extended with more added content if enough Vagabonds join us on the flight.” (“Vagabonds” is what they’re calling Atmosfar players. I hate when devs try to characterise their players this way – it’s all Bungie’s fault for branding every Destiny player a Guardian. But you know what, it’s fine. This particular battle with community management is long since lost.)

Over the course of early access, they’ll be adding a third and final region, a fourth Wasp breed, and more building options for Cloud Cruisers. Devs Apog are also the creators of tycoon management game Airport CEO, which I guess is on the same wavelength.