Tiny Wings. A game I first played the demo of over a decade ago in an Apple Store. It’s an endless game where you play as a rotund bird who goes island to island trying to outrun the night. It can’t fly, however, hence the title: “Tiny Wings”, but the physics are relatively floaty, and you can hold down on the the screen to drop very quickly, and if you time it well on the abundance of slopes on each island, you can build up a ton of speed, sending you soaring into the air. The gameplay is a lot more intuitive than my description might be making it sound.

I have a lot of nostalgia for Tiny Wings. The momentum based gameplay was immensely satisfying to me in the store. After leaving the Apple Store I begged my dad for weeks to buy the game on his phone, which only increased in frequency with every Apple Store visit. One fateful day of begging he did buy the game, and I was overjoyed to experience the full version of a game I had anticipated so much.

Have you ever had a memory of something or someone that was just simply perfect? Even if you knew that it wasn't perfect at the time or the circumstances in that moment weren't perfect, were you still thankful for that memory to exist and be a part of your life? This game definitely fits into that category.

I picked this game up when it first came out when I was around eight. I would play this game on and off again as I got older and my hand-eye coordination got better. Yet despite that, I never really felt like I got better at this game. Admittedly, a few of the challenges (especially later on in progression) are way too hard for anyone to get in a considerable amount of time. Flight School also definitely kicks my ass.

But, I can't say that I care all that much. I have just this small ball of joy welling up inside of me every time I send this little bird on an island adventure. Once you get the hang of the mechanics there's really not much else to learn other than timing. Even with the near impossible tasks the game sets me up with can't help but make me smile as I feel like a kid again trying over and over but not getting anything. And I think that's what makes this game simply perfect.

That, and the vibe is absolutely immaculate. The simple upbeat yet nostalgically melancholic music with the constant breeze and birds chirping is so perfect it could bring tears to the right person. The artstyle is so distinct and adorable too. Who is Andreas Illiger and what have they been through to make this? I wanna meet them! This is a life I would wanna live. Just sliding and launching myself into the air trying to fly from island to island while the only worry I'll ever have is the day ending.

Reminds me of me running down the steep hill in my front yard in May while the breeze blows. Perfect, even though I was darn well aware that homework was piling up before school ended.

Also reminds me of one of my buddies from swim team's father before he passed away. I never spoke to him much or made a close connection, but he always seemed like a chill guy with a great amount of enthusiasm. He was aware of the fact that I disliked the loudness of the airhorn during the 500 so I would hide in the bathroom and he agreed to tell me when it went off so I could come out after it. Even though I still had to deal with the air horn, that gesture from him was simply perfect.

Or when he was taking me home from swim practice and we swung by McDonald's and he got me something. It was annoying that swim practice at the time was so far away from school, but it meant that that moment got to happen. And that moment was simply perfect, too.

I hope that buddy from swim team and the rest of his family are doing well. They didn't deserve to have such a caring person be taken away from them this soon. But I hope he's in a better place now, whether that be in the clouds that the little bird breaks through for just a moment, or swimming in the ponds that the little students slowly struggle through.