Sky: Children of the Light

-1.08
Slightly Bad
Price: Free
Ads: No
In App Purchases: Yes

iOS App Store
Google Play App Store

Temporal Dark PatternsTemporal Dark Patterns

This game has 146 reported Temporal Dark Patterns. There are 151 votes indicating the absence of a dark pattern.

-1.36

39 votes
3 votes
Daily Rewards -
39 / 3 votes
Encourages return visits every day and punishes you for missing a day.

38 votes
4 votes
Grinding -
38 / 4 votes
Being required to perform repetitive and tedious tasks to advance.

33 votes
10 votes
Infinite Treadmill -
33 / 10 votes
Impossible to win or complete the game.

16 votes
26 votes
Playing by Appointment -
16 / 26 votes
Being forced to play according to the game's schedule instead of yours.

15 votes
28 votes
Wait To Play -
15 / 28 votes
In-game timers that make you arbitrarily wait for something.

5 votes
37 votes
Can't Pause or Save -
5 / 37 votes
The game does not allow you to stop playing whenever you want.

43 votes
Advertisements -
0 / 43 votes
Forced to watch ads or given rewards for watching ads.

Monetary Dark PatternsMonetary Dark Patterns

This game has 159 reported Monetary Dark Patterns. There are 297 votes indicating the absence of a dark pattern.

-0.32

41 votes
1 votes
Premium Currency -
41 / 1 votes
Exchange rate between real money and in-game currency disguises the real price of items.

41 votes
2 votes
Artificial Scarcity -
41 / 2 votes
Limited time offers with unnecessary urgency.

29 votes
11 votes
Anchoring Tricks -
29 / 11 votes
Placing a cheap item next to an expensive item to make it look more affordable.

12 votes
30 votes
Pay to Win -
12 / 30 votes
A player can spend real money to purchase something that gives them an advantage in the game.

13 votes
29 votes
Recurring Fee -
13 / 29 votes
Encourages players to play as much as possible to get their money's worth.

7 votes
31 votes
Accidental Purchases -
7 / 31 votes
Making it easy to accidentally spend money with no confirmation or ability to undo or refund the action.

8 votes
32 votes
Power Creep -
8 / 32 votes
A permanently purchased item in the game becomes less valuable over time.

5 votes
35 votes
Pay to Skip -
5 / 35 votes
Spend money to avoid waiting for a timer to expire.

2 votes
41 votes
Gambling / Loot Boxes -
2 / 41 votes
Spending real money to play a game of chance for a reward.

1 votes
42 votes
Pay Wall -
1 / 42 votes
The game becomes impossible to continue playing without payment.

43 votes
Waste Aversion -
0 / 43 votes
Capped inventory forces you to destroy items or upgrade inventory. Also, having small amounts of left over premium currency.

Social Dark PatternsSocial Dark Patterns

This game has 130 reported Social Dark Patterns. There are 163 votes indicating the absence of a dark pattern.

-1.01

40 votes
3 votes
Reciprocity -
40 / 3 votes
Feeling obligated to return a favor, share resources, trade an item, etc.

38 votes
3 votes
Fear of Missing Out -
38 / 3 votes
If you stop playing you'll miss out on something or be left behind and unable to catch up.

28 votes
14 votes
Social Obligation / Guilds -
28 / 14 votes
To avoid letting down your friends, you are obligated to play when you don't want to.

19 votes
20 votes
Social Pyramid Scheme -
19 / 20 votes
You get a bonus for inviting your friends and then they have to invite their friends.

4 votes
38 votes
Competition -
4 / 38 votes
The game makes you compete against other players.

1 votes
42 votes
Encourages Anti-Social Behavior -
1 / 42 votes
The game incentivizes players to lie, cheat, or backstab other players to get ahead.

43 votes
Friend Spam / Impersonation -
0 / 43 votes
The game sends spam to your contact list or social media account.

Psychological Dark PatternsPsychological Dark Patterns

This game has 104 reported Psychological Dark Patterns. There are 180 votes indicating the absence of a dark pattern.

-0.43

36 votes
4 votes
Invested / Endowed Value -
36 / 4 votes
Having already spent time and money to improve your status in the game, it's difficult to throw it away.

36 votes
4 votes
Complete the Collection -
36 / 4 votes
The urge to collect all the items, achievements or secrets in a game.

17 votes
21 votes
Aesthetic Manipulations -
17 / 21 votes
Trick questions or toying with emotions or our subconscious desires.

4 votes
36 votes
Badges / Endowed Progress -
4 / 36 votes
Reluctancy to abandon a partially completed goal, even one forced upon the player.

3 votes
40 votes
Illusion of Control -
3 / 40 votes
The game cheats or hides information to make you think you're better than you actually are.

6 votes
36 votes
Variable Rewards -
6 / 36 votes
Unpredictable or random rewards are more addictive than a predictable schedule.

2 votes
39 votes
Optimism and Frequency Biases -
2 / 39 votes
Overestimating the frequency of something because we’ve seen it recently or memorably.

App Store Ratings

iOS:  (5.00) with 11,893 votes.
Google Play:  (4.68) with 43,318 votes.



Recent Dark Pattern Reviews

Aesthetic Manipulations reported on Feb 7, 2024
Emotional storytelling is kind of Sky’s thing, and the messages to players are generally positive. I give it a pass.
Anchoring Tricks reported on Feb 7, 2024
In-app purchases are ridiculously priced and often bundled to make them seem like a better deal
Premium Currency reported on Feb 7, 2024
There’s a limit to the currency you can collect per day, which encourages players to purchase additional currency for limited-time items before they go away
Daily Rewards reported on Feb 7, 2024
This is the only way to collect season currency
Fear of Missing Out reported on Feb 7, 2024
Mostly items, but also limited-time events that in some cases will never return
Infinite Treadmill reported on Feb 7, 2024
It’s never-ending, but expands at a reasonable pace
Grinding reported on Feb 7, 2024
You have to collect currency in the same spots every day, there’s a limit of 20 per day and it’s time consuming to reach the limit as earning 1 candle becomes more difficult the more you collect
Complete the Collection reported on Feb 7, 2024
Each “season” has its own “Ultimate” wearable items as rewards, which are only obtainable with the $10 season pass. The items never return and become status symbols for people who completed that season. Ties in with daily rewards and invested value because the only way to obtain them after buying the pass is to collect enough season currency from daily tasks.
Wait To Play reported on Feb 7, 2024
Opportunities to collect currency more easily and bypass the grind at specific times
Playing by Appointment reported on Feb 7, 2024
Opportunities to collect currency more easily at specific times, usually every 2 hours


Report a Dark Pattern

Screenshot From the award-winning creators behind Journey (2013 Game of The Year) and the highly-acclaimed Flower, comes a ground-breaking social adventure that is set to warm your hearts.

Welcome to the enchanting world of Sky, a beautifully-animated kingdom waiting to be explored by you and your loved ones.

In Sky, we arrive as the Children of the Light, spreading hope through the desolate kingdom to return fallen Stars to their constellations.

In the kingdom of Sky, you can...
- Soar and explore 7 dreamlike realms to uncover the mystery
- Encounter and socialize with like-minded players from around the world
- Feel free to express yourself with a delightful selection of character customizations
- Team up with others to adventure into darker realms, save spirits and uncover ancient treasures
- Gift candles of light to share appreciation and grow friendships
- Enjoy a unique musical experience and create harmonies together
- Join an ever-expanding world with new upcoming attractions, including seasonal events and expansion of realms