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Aloft Expands with Bloom & Blight, Its Biggest Early Access Update Yet
Astrolabe Interactive and Funcom’s relaxing survival sandbox Aloft has just received its most ambitious update yet. The Bloom & Blight update is now live on Steam Early Access, introducing a complete gameplay overhaul with reworked progression systems, new biomes, and expanded restoration mechanics that deepen the game’s signature balance of exploration and tranquillity.
A World Reimagined
Since its Early Access debut in January 2025, the game has been praised for its serene yet purposeful approach to survival, inviting players to soar across floating islands and restore life to a fractured ecosystem. With Bloom & Blight, that world just became denser, more dynamic, and more rewarding to explore.
The update enhances the world generation, resulting in richer terrain variety and more meaningful exploration loops. Players can now uncover Life Sapling islands, overrun with blight and in need of restoration through new flora, fauna, and funga minigames. Healing these islands not only restores balance but also unlocks new resources and progression paths tied to the expanded tech system.
Three New Tech Trees
The most significant addition comes in the form of three new tech trees — Knowledge, Research, and Sailing — that define how players develop their tools, mobility, and restorative abilities. Each tree builds on discoveries made through exploration, letting players specialise their skyfaring journeys with a clear sense of progression and purpose.
Life Trees now serve as vital nodes of advancement, offering Insight Basins that connect directly to these tech trees. Players can activate them by healing groups of Life Saplings, creating a seamless connection between exploration, restoration, and technology.
Combat and Corruption
Not all is peaceful in the skies. Two new corruption strains in the Sportox and Flogade introduce more aggressive challenges to an otherwise serene world. These mutated enemies introduce new status effects, such as Asphyxiation and Scorch, forcing players to adapt to new Windstone and Serrated Bone weapon tiers.
To counter these threats, players can now hunt down corruption nodes and disable them strategically, unlocking rewards and pushing back the spread of corruption across the skies.
Exploration has also been reimagined. Players can now unlock wind lanes that act as fast-travel routes between island clusters, giving greater mobility across the sky archipelago. Upgraded skyships and improved navigation mechanics enhance the freedom of flight, while Lost Atlases guide players toward mysterious castaway islands hidden in the clouds.
A Milestone for Aloft’s Early Access Journey
Bloom & Blight marks the third major update for Aloft, following Critters & Wonders and Puzzles & Pyrologics earlier this year. Together, these updates have expanded the game’s vision from a cosy sky survival sandbox into a more complex ecosystem simulator with layered exploration, strategy, and crafting.
While the update brings sweeping changes, including a new save system, it also lays the groundwork for future expansions, ensuring upcoming content can seamlessly integrate with existing worlds.
Aloft is available now in Early Access on Steam. According to Astrolabe Interactive, the team will continue refining the game on the road to its full 1.0 release.
