1 Year of Laya’s Horizon
Today marks one whole year since the debut of Laya’s Horizon! This past year has flown by and we can’t believe how much time has passed since Laya took her first leap onto mobile devices everywhere.
As our largest and most ambitious project to date, looking back on all that’s taken place fills us with so much joy and gratitude for having this wonderful community with us through it all.
To celebrate this milestone, we’ve put together a collection of some of our favourite moments and are also having a special Anniversary Giveaway. From fan art to feedback and everything in between, we hope you’ll enjoy this look back at a year with Laya and the Windfolk!
Soundtracks and Snapshots
Releasing the Laya’s Horizon Original Game Soundtrack was at the top of our to-do list following the game’s release. Sound has always played a key role in immersing players in our games so it was important for us to ensure that they could experience the soundscapes of the island wherever they went.
The talented duo at Wobblersound crafted a collection of tracks that truly capture the essence of each biome and the entire soundtrack is officially available across all streaming platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music and Bandcamp!
The team also began brainstorming alternative ways to explore the island and what started out as a desire to create more opportunities to pause and enjoy the scenery eventually became one of our biggest updates yet!
Snapshots introduced a new way to experience the game in an adventure alongside resident artist, Zeph. Players can search for over 60 floating cameras around the island and strike a pose as they fly by each picturesque location while also having the option to share their images with friends.
Fan Art Favourites
While it’s rewarding to see our worlds come to life through the concepts developed in-house, nothing warms our hearts more than when fans take the time to put together beautiful pieces inspired by our games. We’re so appreciative of when our characters are interpreted in each artists’ own unique style and their creativity never ceases to amaze us!
We’re especially grateful to have received the two phenomenal fan art pieces above by our friends Atata and Eli which depict Laya sporting her different charms and capes available in the game.
Reviews and Nominations
We sincerely appreciate all of the feedback we received over the past year as each review plays a crucial role in improving our process for future projects. Not only are they a key component to determining what makes our games engaging but they also remind us why we continue to do what we love by creating meaningful and artful experiences for our players. Here are some stand-out reviews and recognitions from this year:
Mikhail Madnani, TouchArcade includes Laya’s Horizon on their list of Best Netflix Games in 2023:
“Laya’s Horizon from Snowman was one of the biggest surprise announcements from Netflix for its games catalog. It plays brilliantly while looking amazing, and is easily Snowman’s most ambitious game yet. It is an essential if you have a Netflix subscription and is absolutely worth checking out on iOS and Android.”
Laya’s Horizon receives a Polygon Recommends Badge and is included on their list of Best Mobile Games to Play in 2024:
“Laya’s Horizon fits a whole dang open-world exploration game onto your phone. The game was created by the developers of the viral hits Alto’s Adventure and Alto’s Odyssey, and sends players on a full 3D adventure where you explore by gliding through the sky. What really makes this an easy recommendation for me is that it pairs a simple but beautiful polygonal art style with a touch control scheme that actually makes it feel good to fly. Add the fact that this it’s just a nice, relaxing game to play and you’ve got the recipe for a refined mobile game.”
Along with these reviews, Laya’s Horizon was selected as The EDGE Awards’ Runner-Up for Mobile Game of the Year while also being nominated for Best Mobile Game in the New York Game Awards and for two categories in the Pocket Gamer Awards as Best Netflix Game and Best Platforming Game. It’s always an honour to receive awards and recognition for our hard work and we’re so grateful to have been nominated alongside so many stellar studios in the industry.
Anniversary Giveaway
To show our appreciation for your continued support, we’re giving away a limited edition print of the above concept by Laya’s Horizon 2D Art Director, Mathijs Demaeght! Starting today at 12pm EST until tomorrow we’ll be posting a series of trivia questions to the @layashorizon Instagram story. Be sure to follow the account and direct message us with your answers to each question to enter for a chance to win!
From all of your thoughtful comments to seeing the game run perfectly on a toaster, each moment has made this year one for the books! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for joining us on this journey. We hope you’ll continue to enjoy playing Laya’s Horizon for years to come!
Laya’s Horizon is available on iOS and Android with a Netflix subscription. Head to the App Store or Google Play Store to play it today.
Want to chat more about Laya’s Horizon with our community? Join the conversation on the Snowman Discord server! For all upcoming news and updates, follow @layashorizon on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
If you’re a member of the press who’s interested in chatting about this release, please contact Ryan Cash at ryan(@)builtbysnowman(dot)com.
