A bush-plane oriented flight simulator where back country flying is the focus and the enemy is the elements and your piloting skills is the kind of gameplay that Deadstick held up as a promise when it was first announced. The sim has gone through quite a bit of its own developmental turbulence but the news is trending in the right direction with the announcement that the project as a publisher, a developer, and the original creator is staying on to shepherd it towards release. Let’s have a look!

Deadstick is not dead

The game’s premise is that you’re flying a bushplane in a fictional back-country region where you make money by flying jobs. There’s a survival element where your pilot needs to occasionally sleep and bad weather can mean the difference between a successful cargo delivery and a costly disaster.

I’ve written periodically about Deadstick, the bush flight simulator, over the last several years. There was even the one time that a fake website was created by a disgruntled “fan” that fooled many of us into thinking the project was well and truly dead. At that point we knew that it may be a while before it resurfaced with lead developer, Chris, needing to turn attention to other projects.

Now it sounds like there is lift beneath this project’s metaphorical wings and that is good news. They have a new publisher, Mythwright who have a small number of more casual games under their belt, and a developer by the name Spiral House. According to a new video by Chris, the original creator, many of the developers at Spiral House worked on Deadstick previously so there is already familiarity with the product.

I hope that this project can come to fruition because it sounds like an awful lot of fun.

Watch the video and keep an eye on the product’s page on Steam.


12 responses to “Deadstick is alive with a new publisher and developer”

  1. So nice to see this product back on track. This will be a nice diversion from DCS and I have always wanted a “run your own company” aircraft game.

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    1. Agreed! I think there’s space for something like this in the genre. Hopefully they can get it to the finish line.

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  2. I don’t really understand the reason for this to exist when we have MSFS and Neofly.

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    1. There’s some things that Deadstick had planned out that we don’t quite yet have fully together with MSFS. The gameplay loop here looks to be more of a, get out of your tent/bed at home base, go to the job board, get a job, fly the airplane, pick up and load stuff, fly to the next spot, return and get the money. If you screw up the landing you’ll have to get the airplane repaired. If your pilot gets tired, you find a spot and pitch a tent for the night, etc. It’s a more focused bush plane adventure and it brings in some elements from some of the survival games out there.

      Not sure if all of those concepts will make it into the final edition of what they are doing but it definitely does need to differentiate. The basics of the actual flight part of bush flying MSFS has down solidly – you probably know how much I love to do that! 🙂 Curious how much MSFS 2024 will change the conversation too.

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    2. In addition to what Shamrock said, you can upgrade your aircraft with different wheels, engine, and sadly I don’t recall what other upgrades are available. I think it will be much more like snowrunner with lots of customization that I don’t believe is available for MSFS.

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  3. I think if this sim came out a few years back it could of found a niche…but with MSFS 24 looming and having more career elements, and let’s be honest unreal graphics I think this sim will be a hard sell moving forward.

    If they do have some of those survival elements perhaps it could be unique. Still I’ll be waiting for it. Looks cool.

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    1. Some visual updates are likely needed. Things have changed over the last few years for sure. I wouldn’t be surprised if it makes a few leaps forward at some point.

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  4. Frederico Zveiter Avatar
    Frederico Zveiter

    I wish the best of luck for the team and the project! Can’t wait to play it!

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  5. The mission structure of this game sounds very appealing. I hope the progression system is good, it could really set this apart from the likes of MSFS20. Wasn’t aware of this game before but now I’m looking forward to it!

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    1. Absolutely! If it has the right mix it can carve out an interesting niche within the genre.

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  6. Commenting for the first time ever to say, heck yeah!!! Also, love the content, your dedication is an inspiration to us all.

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    1. Very excited that Deadstick appears to have newfound momentum.

      And thanks for the comment Piotr! Appreciate it.

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