Airborn

Airborn is a first-person VR action shooter set in a sci-fi futuristic world where players engage in high-stakes aerial combat against relentless robotic enemies. The game emphasizes intuitive physical control schemes that enable agile, motion-sickness-free flight maneuvers, allowing players to combine devastating firepower with unparalleled mobility while unlocking perks and customizing loadouts to become the ultimate aerial weapon.

Airborn: Review

Introduction

In the saturated landscape of virtual reality gaming, where titles often struggle to define their unique identity, Airborn emerges as a singular, exhilarating experience that redefines aerial combat. Released on July 24, 2020, by the enigmatic indie studio “Still Not Sure,” this VR-exclusive shooter offers a pure, unadulterated power fantasy: soaring through boundless skies as a superhero, decimating robotic fleets with unparalleled mobility and devastating firepower. While its lack of narrative depth might deter players seeking story-driven journeys, Airborn carves its legacy through masterful design, intuitive controls, and an addictive arcade loop. This review posits that Airborn stands as a benchmark for VR flight mechanics, delivering a cathartic, motion-sickness-free experience that elevates the medium’s potential despite its minimalist scope.

Development History & Context

Developed by “Still Not Sure”—a studio whose identity remains deliberately obscured—Airborn was conceived as a passion project born from a simple question: What if VR could make you feel truly airborne? The team’s vision was to create a game that leveraged VR’s strengths—immersion, physical interaction, and spatial awareness—while mitigating its notorious pitfalls, particularly motion sickness. This led to the development of a proprietary “physical control scheme,” which uses tracked controllers to simulate intuitive flight movements without requiring players to stand or walk. Technically, Airborn was optimized for the SteamVR ecosystem, targeting mid-tier hardware like the Oculus Rift S and HTC Vive with modest requirements (GTX 970 GPU, 8GB RAM). Released during a period when VR was still battling mainstream adoption, Airborn distinguished itself by focusing on raw gameplay over spectacle. It arrived alongside ambitious titles like Half-Life: Alyx and Beat Saber, but where those games leaned into narrative or rhythm, Airborn doubled down on arcade simplicity. Its development context reflects a growing trend of indie VR developers prioritizing “feel” over feature creep, proving that limited scope could yield focused brilliance.

Narrative & Thematic Deep Dive

Airborn intentionally eschews traditional narrative, offering no campaign, characters, or dialogue. Its world is a blank canvas: a sky dotted with futuristic airships and robotic foes, devoid of lore or context. This absence is both a strength and a limitation. Thematically, the game explores empowerment through movement and destruction. Players embody a faceless “ultimate weapon,” a blank slate whose sole purpose is to ascend and dominate. The lack of narrative allows players to project their own fantasies—be it a superhero, an ace pilot, or a deity of the skies. However, it also results in a sterile environment devoid of emotional resonance. Unlike contemporaries like Robo Recall, which use humor and world-building to enhance immersion, Airborn’s minimalist approach risks alienating players seeking depth. The game’s arc is purely mechanical: survival, score-chasing, and progression. In a medium where narrative often drives engagement, Airborn’s commitment to pure action is a bold, if divisive, choice. It prioritizes catharsis over context, a trade-off that defines its identity.

Gameplay Mechanics & Systems

At its core, Airborn is a high-octane aerial shooter built on three pillars: mobility, combat, and progression. The physical control scheme is its crowning achievement. Players hold two motion controllers to simulate flight: tilting them to steer, pulling back to ascend, and pushing forward to dive. This system is brilliantly intuitive, enabling dizzying aerial maneuvers—loops, barrel rolls, and strafes—that feel natural and responsive. Crucially, the design minimizes motion sickness by eliminating forced locomotion, allowing players to remain seated while still experiencing a profound sense of motion. Combat is equally streamlined. Enemies range from agile drones that swarm the player to colossal warships that require focused fire. Players wield a customizable arsenal, starting with basic lasers and unlocking energy blasts, homing missiles, and area-of-effect weapons through a progression system. The loop is deceptively simple: survive waves of enemies, rack up points, and use experience to unlock perks like increased speed, damage multipliers, or auto-aim assists. This creates an addictive “one more try” dynamic, where each attempt is a chance to refine tactics or beat a high score. However, the game’s lack of structure—no missions, stages, or objectives beyond survival—can lead to monotony. Boss fights, such as the first encounter with a massive mech, are thrilling but suffer from abrupt difficulty spikes and hitbox inconsistencies that feel unfair. UI elements, like a floating control panel for upgrades, occasionally disrupt immersion, though they can be repositioned for convenience. Despite these flaws, Airborn’s mechanics are a masterclass in VR design, transforming the act of flight into a visceral, joyful experience.

World-Building, Art & Sound

Airborn’s world is a testament to stylized minimalism. Set in a futuristic, sci-fi sky, the environment is a breathtaking backdrop of cloud-draped archipelagos, metallic airships, and vibrant nebulae. The art direction favors bold colors and clean lines, creating a painterly aesthetic reminiscent of animated films like How to Train Your Dragon. Character and enemy designs are equally striking: robotic foes feature geometric, biomechanical forms, while the player’s suit is a sleek, futuristic exoskeleton with glowing accents. The sound design is equally meticulous. The low hum of the engines, the sharp pew of laser fire, and the explosive thuds of enemy destruction are meticulously mixed, creating a soundscape that amplifies the sensation of speed and power. The soundtrack—a dynamic orchestral score—swells during intense moments, heightening the tension without overwhelming the player. Together, art and sound forge an atmosphere of exhilarating freedom. While the lack of environmental storytelling (e.g., no lore or interactive elements) leaves the world feeling abstract, its visual and auditory cohesion makes every moment in the air feel epic. It’s a world built for spectacle, inviting players to lose themselves in the sheer joy of flight.

Reception & Legacy

Upon release, Airborn was met with widespread acclaim from players and critics alike. On Steam, it holds a “Very Positive” rating (88% of 93 reviews), with players praising its “Iron Man-like” flight mechanics and addictive arcade loop. Reviewers highlighted its intuitive controls and stress-free motion-sickness design as standout features. However, criticism focused on its limited content—specifically, the absence of a campaign—and occasional performance hiccups during boss fights. Commercially, it remains a niche title, appealing primarily to VR enthusiasts seeking pure action rather than narrative depth. Its legacy is twofold: within VR, it’s cited as a benchmark for flight controls, influencing titles like The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners (which later incorporated similar aerial mechanics). Outside VR, it exemplifies how indie developers can distill complex ideas into focused experiences. The studio’s decision to prioritize “feel” over scope has become a case study for minimalist design, proving that innovation can thrive in simplicity. Though it hasn’t spawned a sequel or expanded universe, Airborn endures as a cult favorite, celebrated for its pure, unadulterated fun.

Conclusion

Airborn is a paradox: a game with a minimalist soul that delivers maximalist thrills. By stripping away narrative and excess, “Still Not Sure” crafted a VR experience that is both technically brilliant and emotionally direct. Its physical control scheme sets a new standard for aerial movement, while its arcade loop offers endless replayability. While its lack of depth may limit its appeal, Airborn succeeds in its core mission: to make players feel truly alive in the sky. In the annals of video game history, it stands as a testament to VR’s potential as a medium for pure, unfiltered empowerment. For those seeking a superhero fantasy or a masterclass in VR design, Airborn soars above the rest—an unforgettable ride that reminds us that sometimes, the greatest stories are the ones we write ourselves in the act of play.