FAR: Lone Sails began life as a student project back in 2015 when lead developer Don Schmocker was still in university. He later teamed up with fellow student Goran Saric to continue on with the project, and together they formed a studio called Okomotive in 2017. The game was finally finished and released on PC in the spring of 2018, published by Mixtvision, and then made its way to Xbox, PlayStation, and Switch in 2019. Now it is making its way to even more platforms when iOS and Android versions launch later this year. So, what the heck is FAR: Lone Sails? Well, check out the trailer from the PC version’s launch first because it’s one of those games that’s easier to understand when you see it in motion.

FAR: Lone Sails is certainly a different kind of adventure. You set out in your rickety, sail-driven vehicle to cross vast stretches of a post-apocalyptic landscape. There’s no outright storytelling as you go, but hints to what happened in this world are peppered subtly throughout the game. Mechanically your job is to keep your vessel going by operating various switches and levers on the inside of it, as well as keeping up with maintenance tasks and ensuring that the whole thing doesn’t, you know, go up in flames. You’ll also be solving various puzzles in the environment that will allow you to continuously open the path forward. Continuing forward through this desolate world is your main motivation.

It all seems quite weird, but in a very good way, and this is one of those indie titles that feels like it’ll be most at home on the touchscreen of a mobile device. FAR: Lone Sails is currently up for pre-order on the iOS App Store with an expected release date of October 1st, though Mixtvision has only confirmed a more vague Q4 release window, and it’s avialable for pre-registration on the Google Play Store if Android is more your thing. It’ll cost just $3.99 and I’m very much looking forward to checking it out later this year.