Loftia Early Access Review: A Cosy World Built Around Community

Loftia’s Opening Hours Offer Plenty to Discover

From the moment I first entered Loftia City, I was immediately drawn to its colourful art style and charming atmosphere. What surprised me most, however, was just how large the central hub was. I expected a relatively small starting area, but instead found a world filled with places to explore and activities waiting to be unlocked.

The opening hours are structured around introductory quests, with characters such as Pebble, Hazel and Milo gradually introducing the game’s different systems. From gathering resources and crafting tools to farming, cooking and decorating your own home, there’s a lot to learn without everything being thrown at you at once.

I particularly enjoyed how naturally these activities connected. Gathering materials could lead to crafting furniture, while growing crops opened up opportunities to cook, earn Dew and complete Inspiration requests for additional rewards.

Home decoration quickly became one of my favourite distractions. Even the starter shell house offers plenty of opportunities for personalisation, and upgrading to a larger cottage gave me another goal to work towards.

What stood out most was that I rarely found myself wondering what to do next. There was always another quest to complete, an item to craft or something new to discover. Although the introductory quests can feel a little lengthy, especially when replaying them, they provide a useful foundation for the much larger world that opens up afterwards.

The Hanging Gardens Expand Loftia’s World

Reaching the Hanging Gardens was one of the highlights of my time with Loftia, particularly after spending so long exploring the original city.

The district is enormous, with several distinct environments to discover. Waterfalls, bamboo-filled landscapes, a small fishing port and the community gardens themselves make exploration feel varied rather than simply extending the original map.

The bamboo area quickly became my personal favourite, although I enjoyed discovering how each location introduced new materials to collect.

Exploration also becomes more rewarding as you progress. Completing quests unlocks additional areas, while crafting an upgraded hammer allows you to access places that were previously out of reach.

This creates a satisfying connection between gathering resources and discovering more of the world. Rather than collecting materials purely to complete another crafting request, I found myself looking forward to seeing what new equipment would allow me to explore.

The Hanging Gardens also introduce familiar faces alongside new characters, with quests focused on helping the local community gardens.

Qloud Games has confirmed that Early Access also includes Gridfall, another major district featuring skyscrapers, air rails and underground exploration. I haven’t reached that area myself yet, so my impressions are based on Loftia City and the Hanging Gardens.

Research Beacons Give Gathering a Purpose

Although Loftia offers plenty of activities, its main quests can become repetitive.

During my first hours in the Hanging Gardens, I spent considerable time gathering materials and crafting requested items, including flower pots for Hazel and completing Kun’s upgraded hammer quest.

These objectives aren’t particularly complicated, and players looking for a more involved storyline may find the repeated fetch-and-craft structure less engaging.

Fortunately, Research Beacons offer a welcome alternative.

Unlocked through meeting new characters, these stations introduce collection bundles that require specific resources, including fish and crafting materials. Completing bundles rewards players with additional blueprints.

What I particularly appreciated was being able to see the available rewards before completing each collection.

As someone who enjoys having a goal to work towards, this allowed me to prioritise the items I actually wanted rather than simply gathering whatever the next quest required.

Whenever the main storyline began feeling repetitive, I could spend time fishing, exploring or collecting materials for a Research Beacon instead.

It’s a relatively simple addition, but one that gives everyday activities a greater sense of purpose.

Fishing Is Surprisingly Accessible

Fishing is something I often approach cautiously in cosy games, particularly when playing with a controller. Some games make the mechanic unnecessarily fiddly, turning what should be a relaxing activity into something frustrating.

Thankfully, Loftia takes a more approachable route.

After unlocking my fishing rod in the Hanging Gardens, I learned to cast towards ripples in the water. The game is fairly forgiving if your aim isn’t perfect, although casting too far away means trying again.

Once a fish bites, a well-timed button press can secure an immediate catch. Missing that opportunity doesn’t automatically mean losing the fish. Instead, you’re given a short minigame involving skill checks.

It took me a little practice to get comfortable with the controls, but once I understood the timing, fishing felt straightforward.

The mechanic also connects naturally with Research Beacons, where particular fish can contribute towards unlocking new blueprints.

Rather than feeling like an activity I’d only complete for a quest, fishing became another enjoyable way to work towards my own goals.

Adventures Are Timed, but They Don’t Need to Be Stressful

Adventures are cooperative activities where players work together to complete objectives within a time limit.

These can involve repairing structures, gathering resources and completing tasks that require cooperation between players.

Although there’s a timer, I don’t think Adventures should be approached as competitive challenges.

Players use Scrambled Coords to participate, and I’ve found these regularly while gathering materials throughout Loftia. In fact, I’ve collected so many that I’ve occasionally discarded them to make room in my inventory.

Because of this, missing a few objectives hasn’t felt like a major setback. Finding another opportunity to participate has been relatively easy in my experience.

It’s also worth remembering that not everyone joining an Adventure will have the same level of experience.

You might find yourself alongside someone who’s only just started playing, and that’s perfectly fine.

If you’re expecting every player to know exactly what they’re doing or complete tasks as quickly as possible, Adventures could become frustrating.

Personally, I enjoy the cooperative approach. Helping others learn, completing what we can and simply having fun together feels far more rewarding than treating every timed objective as a competition.

Loftia’s Multiplayer Community Feels Genuinely Welcoming

One of my most memorable experiences in Loftia came from something as simple as playing ball with a stranger.

During the public demo, another player helped me complete Pebble’s friendship quest, which requires bouncing a ball with someone else.

When I restarted in the private review build, I needed to complete that same quest again.

The world was noticeably quieter than during the public demo, which was understandable given the smaller number of players accessing the pre-release build.

Initially, I couldn’t find anyone to help, so I continued with other activities.

Eventually, I spotted another player carrying a ball. I approached them with mine, and they immediately stopped.

Without exchanging a single message, we completed the quest together.

We then spent a few extra minutes playing ball, despite neither of us needing to continue.

It’s a small interaction, but one that perfectly captures what I enjoy about Loftia.

The in-game chat also felt more active during my time with the review build, with players regularly helping each other find resources and complete quests.

That cooperative spirit extends to player neighbourhoods. Community vending machines allow players to share or sell items, while accessible machines and storage boxes on individual islands offer additional opportunities to help others.

It’s these interactions that make Loftia feel like more than a collection of crafting and farming systems.

The game encourages players to share their world, rather than simply exist alongside one another.

Loftia’s successful Kickstarter campaign demonstrated the enthusiasm surrounding the game long before Early Access. After spending time with its players, it’s easy to understand why that community has continued to grow.

What Does the Loftia Community Think?

Community is at the heart of Loftia, so I wanted to hear from some of the players who have already spent time exploring its world.

I reached out to members of the Loftia Discord and TikTok community to ask what they’ve enjoyed most about the game and what makes it special to them.

Crafting Upgrades and Pets Offer More to Discover

As I progressed through the Hanging Gardens, I discovered that crafting stations back at home could be upgraded.

This opens up additional crafting possibilities as new materials, blueprints and recipes become available.

Home decoration was already one of my favourite activities during the public demo, so discovering that the crafting system continues expanding was particularly exciting.

However, I deliberately spent less time decorating during my second playthrough.

After having to restart my character, I wanted to focus on reaching the new areas and progressing through the main storyline rather than repeating every optional Inspiration request.

I haven’t yet explored the full range of additional furniture and clothing, although Research Beacon rewards and upgraded crafting stations have already given me new items to work towards.

Pets are another Early Access feature I haven’t fully experienced.

I’ve seen players accompanied by dogs and a capybara, while Qloud Games has also confirmed that turtles are among the adoptable animals.

According to the developer, players can adopt companions, care for them, dress them up and build friendships with them.

I’m particularly hoping to find a turtle of my own, but I haven’t unlocked the adoption system yet, so I can’t comment on how the process works in practice.

For now, both pets and the expanded customisation options are features I’m looking forward to exploring further.

How Well Does Loftia Run in Early Access?

I played approximately 20 hours of Loftia on a PCSpecialist Tornado R3 with an AMD Ryzen 3 3200G, NVIDIA GTX 1650 and 8GB RAM. Despite using hardware below the recommended specifications, I experienced no noticeable lag, crashes or gameplay bugs during my time with the private review build, including when exploring the larger Hanging Gardens and areas populated by other players.

This is particularly encouraging because I experienced a frustrating issue during the public demo.

After leaving the submarine used for Adventures, several players became stuck in the ground. Although I managed to free myself, it was a noticeable problem.

Fortunately, I’ve since returned to the submarine in the newer build without encountering the same issue.

There was, however, one setback when I first received access to the private review build.

I’d spent approximately ten hours developing my character during the public demo, collecting resources, unlocking items and preparing my home for the next stage of the game.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t continue with that progress when accessing the review build and had to start again.

Losing that preparation was disappointing, particularly when I’d expected to continue with my existing character.

It’s important to clarify that this happened while accessing a private pre-release build. Qloud Games has confirmed that public demo progress is intended to carry over into Early Access, and I can’t establish whether my experience was related to the separate review access.

Repeating the introductory quests wasn’t my favourite part of the experience, especially when I already understood the mechanics.

However, I managed to complete the opening tasks again in roughly an hour.

This time, I skipped optional decorating and Inspiration requests, concentrating instead on reaching the Hanging Gardens.

Despite having to revisit familiar content, I still haven’t found myself bored.

Verdict: Is Loftia Worth Playing in Early Access?

Loftia is a game I’d happily recommend, but it needs to be recommended to the right audience.

If you’re looking for constant action, combat or competitive multiplayer, this isn’t the experience you’re searching for.

Instead, Loftia offers a gentle world where exploration, creativity and cooperation are more important than being the fastest or most experienced player.

Its quest structure isn’t without problems. Gathering materials and crafting requested items can become repetitive, particularly when progressing through the main storyline.

However, the freedom to switch between fishing, Research Beacons, Adventures, decorating and exploration means there’s usually something else to work towards.

The Hanging Gardens are a particularly welcome expansion, offering beautiful environments, new resources and additional progression systems that make the world feel considerably larger than the public demo suggested.

Yet it’s the community that makes the experience memorable.

Whether you’re helping someone complete their first Adventure, sharing resources with neighbours or spending a few unexpected minutes playing ball with a stranger, Loftia creates opportunities for interactions that feel genuinely rewarding.

After approximately 20 hours, I still have plenty left to explore, and I want to keep playing.

For cosy-game fans who enjoy setting their own goals, expressing their creativity and sharing a world with other people, Loftia already offers a lovely place to spend their time.

Loftia might not be the game for everyone, but for players who value community over competition, it’s a world well worth exploring.

Loftia enters Early Access on 3 November 2026 for PC and Mac, with the game available to wishlist on Steam ahead of release.