Aviassembly Revisited: A Journey of Redemption

A tremendous improvement over the demo
Last year, we talked about Aviassembly’s demo, its very promising core concept - and also our mad journey in working around its limitations at the time . In April 11, 2025, the game was officially released in Early Access - and of course, we were in terested to see how it’s evolved ever since our first look! Back then, we mentioned how improvements to the game’s construction and flight systems could make it into a very solid game - and I’m pleased to say that is exactly what happened. Few times have I seen a game improve so much in so little time as Aviassembly did, and after our first article highlighted so many of the demo's flaws, it's only fair that we highlight the ways in which they've been addressed prior to release, turning this into a very strong title.

We're excited to show you what we've found upon playing the game, so buckle up - it's time to create some flying machines! The Building System
This is an area which has seen vast improvement since the demo - from quality-of-life upgrades such as being able to save your aircraft designs to new features such as being able to fine-tune the position of a part, building in Aviassembly feels much better! The impact of something seemingly small such as being able to fine-tune the placement of a part in the X, Y and Z axis has a tremendous impact, and allows for much more believable creations, both aesthetically and functionally. It is now a breeze to do things such as placing your piston engine’s nacelle in-line with the wing, for a classic DC-3-esque look. It wouldn't have been possible to make something that looks like this in the demo. Compare it to our last article's "Twin Scrunklo Mk. V" - this aircraft fills that same in-game role, yet Aviassembly's balance changes and new editor features allow it to look much better. The fine-tune feature allowed not only giving this aircraft a low wing, but also to recess the extra fuel tank inside the fuselage, reducing drag and making the aircraft look a lot better. New tools are also available for the fuselage parts, allowing players to angle and change the corner shapes on those fuselages as they see fit. This gives players a much greater degree of freedom over their design configurations, making things such as low- or high-mounted wings possible. These new fuselage-shaping tools are an incredibly helpful addition, and leave nothing to be designed compared to other games in the genre. The edge editing feature allows you to make fuselage corners more or less round. Wings are still only available as fixed, non-editable parts, which means you cannot adjust wing area, sweep, dihedral, or planform - players are restricted to the game's preset wings. While this is a major limitation, it's something KSP players will be well used to, and as we'll see later, the decreased complexity is a good match for the game and the niche it sits in.

Another limitation is that, unfortunately, it is still not possible to make pusher-propeller aircraft, since the game sees the engine, instead of the pilot's seat, as the "front" of the aircraft. However, many other configurations, including rather unusual ones, are possible. The new tools allow players a vast degree of freedom on aircraft configurations, but of course there are limits. Here, I originally intended the left (port side) boom to house the cockpit, but since the builder does not allow one to set a symmetry plane offset from the cockpit, I ended up placing it in the centreline. Admittedly, this is an extremely minor inconvenience which will only be felt if you try your hand at really unconventional designs. There are also many more parts available now - including retractable landing gear! Many new additions greatly increase the number of tools in the player’s box of problem-solving items, such as drag chutes and electric engines. The game even shows the retractable gear "ghosted" in the built-in drag visualizer, showing these parts have no drag penalties when retracted. And aside from these functional upgrades, players are now also able to color parts, selecting from a preset color palette which perfectly matches the game’s charmingly cozy graphics. It is a welcome addition which can really make your creations pop.
The Flight System
Tweaks to the game's flight system and part performance means this is not only a viable early-game design, it also performed well enough to carry me through most of the campaign's first island. Note also the throttle slider on the lower left corner. The game’s flight mechanics and controls have also been touched up, and one of this game’s previously weak points has been addressed - the throttle control now works as a continuous slider, allowing the player to leave the engine in a desired power setting and bringing it closer in line with the control scheme of most flight games out there. Flying an approach to the lumber mill. Sadly, there are still no wheel brakes, so the only way to slow down on the ground is using reverse thrust - however, this does keep the control scheme dead simple and allows players to "self-pushback" (powerback) with ease. This fact alone improves the experience of flying in Aviassembly drastically - but it doesn’t stop there, because fuel consumption rates have been tweaked as well, and the performance values of parts in general seem to have been rebalanced - for instance, it’s now possible to create a perfectly functional monoplane at the game’s start. The Journey, Part II Having taken a look at these new features, I decided to start a new save file and experience Aviassembly’s campaign, eager to see how these changes impacted the gameplay. The cargo loading screen allows you to see exactly how much cargo space and weight each item takes, and what's the current weight and available space in your craft. Right off the bat, the cargo system has been largely reworked, with a completely different balance than before. Changes in part cost and performance also mean that conventional designs are perfectly effective right from the game’s very start - my very first aircraft was a completely conventional monoplane, and it was perfectly adequate for the game’s first quests. The "Monoplano Mk I", my first aircraft for this playthrough - no funny business required this time, it's a completely conventional configuration, looks reasonably similar to a 1920's airplane, and performs accordingly. Speaking of quests, they’ve changed considerably as well - there’s now a much greater variety of them, including new mechanics such as fragile cargo items which require smooth touchdowns on landing. The game even has a very simple story which gives meaning to these quests as you progress. The classic time-attack quests are still there, and as funny as having fruits go bad on you within 70 seconds sounds, as a gameplay mechanic it's a great way to force the player to combine cargo capacity and speed.
Far more impactful than the story, though, is the new system for completing quests: If you need to deliver 5 crates of fruit somewhere, you don’t need to deliver them all at once - instead, you could deliver 3 in one flight, and then 2 in the next, for example. You’ll even get a partial reward on your first delivery, allowing players to incrementally upgrade their designs if you’re just under budget for the upgrade you need to finish the quest. At first, I feared this ability to partially complete quests would detract from the game’s challenge, but I was happy to see it did not at all - the many new items fill that gap, and you’ll still need to build highly optimized aircraft for certain quests (such as carrying one very large and heavy item, or delivering foodstuffs very fast). I'm delighted to report the game still allows you to get away with some truly insane designs. This particular abomination uses a hybrid distributed propulsion system and was my answer to having to transport a very large, very heavy piece of cargo near the endgame. Instead, I’ve found this new system hits a sweet spot between challenge and player-friendliness - you can progress gradually if you’re struggling to complete a certain quest, for instance, but nothing feels too easy. There’s some very good balancing work put in here by the developer, and it is definitely worthy of note. The combination of this new quest system and the reworked cargo system allows players to progress in a very different way from the demo - it is entirely feasible to gradually upgrade designs for most quests. For instance, my first monoplane design, fitted with upgrades every time I unlocked new, higher-performance parts, carried me through most of the first “part” of the campaign on the starting island.
This family of single-engine monoplanes carried me through most of the early game. From left to right, then top to bottom: (1) - Monoplano Mk I; (2) - Monoplano Mk II with storage space increased via wingtip travel pods; (3) - Monoplano Mk IIId with new wings, a more powerful engine and retractable landing gear; (4, 5) - Monoplano Mk IIIe, losing the wingtip travel pods for increased speed and range, able to cross the island without refueling; (6) - Monoplano Mk IV with new wings and empennage, able to reach islands across the ocean using less than half of its internal fuel
At the end of the campaign, I had a few “families” of aircraft, gradually upgraded and/or stretched as budget allowed and mission requirements dictated - a change of pace for sure, and in my opinion, a welcome one. Another early-game aircraft family and a pleasure to fly, the twin-engne "Explorador" was my main go-to whenever large cargo capacity was required. From left to right, then top to bottom: (1) - Explorador Mk I; (2) - Explorador Mk Ib, with increased fuel capacity, this version could cross the ocean and was used to complete the weather station quests; (3) - Explorador Mk II, with new wings, extended fuselage, and stronger landing gear. A mid- and late-game aircraft family, the unconventional "Tandem-Transporter" family was my answer to not being able to edit wings - if I can't get a larger wing, I'll just add more of them! From left to right, then top to bottom: (1) - Tandem-TP Mk I; (2, 3) - Tandem-TP Mk II, with a larger fuselage and two additional engines to carry larger, heavier payloads; (4) - Tandem-TP Mk III "Sisyphos", designed to carry a very large rock aloft; (5) - Tandem-TP Mk IV "Sisyphos II", designed to carry even heavier payloads; (6) - Tandem-TP Mk V "Sisyphos III", designed to carry the largest, most forbidden of rocks Speaking of the starting island, as the campaign progresses you get to fly to other islands and take up new quests there. There are three areas currently in-game; the starting island , the snow island , and the desert island , each one with its own set of places to visit, quests to complete, and available resources. Remember the desert airbase? You can finally land there now! You need to complete the quests on the other islands first, though. It is now much easier to fly to these islands, thanks to the performance tweaks and new parts, such as the retractable landing gears, which greatly decrease drag. This is particularly welcome since some of the missions require you to transport cargo between different islands - sometimes under a timer! I found these inter-continental missions, if you will, to be a very entertaining addition. The "Pescador" aircraft family was designed to deliver fish - an item which expires very quickly in-game, requiring expeditiously fast delivery. From left to right, then top to bottom: (1) - Pescador Mk I, which as a result of my poor planning on how to spend research points, had to make do with less than ideal parts for the job; (2) - Pescador Mk II, with extra engine power and a stronger empennage; (3) - Super Pescador Mk I, a late-game aircraft designed to transport fish to neighboring islands at supersonic speeds; (4) - Alfinete Mk I, a modification of the Super Pescador, trading some speed and range for lighter weight and better low-speed controllability, in order to transport very fragile and even more time-sensitive cargo at short ranges The much longer campaign means not only that you’ll have a lot more content to go through, but also that it’s perfectly possible to unlock every single available part by the time you reach the game’s final missions. There’s also plenty of open ocean, which gives the game ample room for expansion in case the developer decides to add new islands and quests in the future. Final Considerations  First of all, it’s important to point out this game isn’t directly comparable to sandbox “plane builders” such as SimplePlanes and Flyout - if you’re looking for a game where you can bring your ideas to life with complete control over how they look and function, there are better options out there. However, Aviassembly excels at what it sets out to do : it is an accessible, objective-driven plane-building game with a low barrier to entry. This gamified approach to aircraft design makes it, in my opinion, a perfect fit for younger players interested in aviation : it allows them to explore things such as aircraft configuration and design constraints without being overwhelmed by complexity, and apply problem-solving creativity in a child-friendly environment. The new part placement/adjustment functions, tweaks to the game’s balance and flight controls, and much greater variety of available parts allow for a much greater variety of designs and make this a very strong “build-a-plane” game. The more balanced approach to goals, which allows for gradual completion of in-game quests while still maintaining a good level of challenge, is particularly noteworthy. Aviassembly has come a long way ever since its early demo days, and the amount of effort and care put in by the developer is clear and worthy of praise. Overall, it is a very solid game which fills a previously unexplored niche in its genre. If you’re looking for a cozy, casual approach to flight games which scratch that problem-solving itch in your brain - this is definitely a game worth checking out! Connect with 'Aviassembly' Steam Developer Website Discord Presskit X.com
About the Writer Caio D. "Hueman" Barreto An incurable aviation fanatic since childhood, fascinated by the design and history of practically anything that flies. A long-time fan of flight games, he holds a bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering and pursues his hobbies of drawing, writing and flight simulation on his spare time. See Staff Profile .