Aviassembly

 
Developed and published by solo indie creator Jelle Booij, Aviassembly soared into PC Early Access on April 11, 2025. This title invites players to step into the hangar and construct their own custom flying machines from scratch. Instead of demanding a degree in aerodynamics, it offers a relaxing, objective-driven sandbox wrapped in a charming low-poly aesthetic. Consequently, you spend less time calculating thrust-to-weight ratios on a spreadsheet and more time laughing as your hastily assembled biplane miraculously clears a mountain peak.
Core Gameplay

Accessible Aviation Engineering: The hangar is your playground, featuring a snappy, intuitive editor. You can snap together fuselages, wings, engines, and landing gear to build whatever shape you desire. Therefore, balancing fuel capacity and cargo space feels like solving a creative puzzle rather than passing a math test.
Physics with Forgiveness: Once in the air, the flight mechanics are sturdy but incredibly forgiving. If you build an asymmetrical monstrosity shaped like a flying swan, there is a surprisingly good chance it will actually take flight. Furthermore, the newly refined continuous throttle controls make piloting your bizarre creations remarkably smooth.
Open-World Logistics: Your creations need a purpose, and the game provides one through a series of island-hopping cargo quests. You must carefully navigate the open world, managing fuel reserves while hauling awkward payloads between remote airstrips. Additionally, testing a new design against a difficult delivery requirement forms a highly addictive gameplay loop.
Rewarding Tech Trees: Starting with basic propellers, you slowly work your way up to high-end aviation technology. Completing quests earns you the cash required to research electric motors, jet engines, and massive cargo bays. As a result, the progression naturally guides you from building tiny crop dusters to fielding massive commercial airliners.

How It Stacks Up
Aviassembly is essentially Kerbal Space Program designed for a cozy Sunday afternoon. While other vehicle builders often trap players in menu-heavy, punishing simulations, this game provides clear goals and a breezy learning curve. Furthermore, its structured cargo missions give your mechanical experiments an immediate sense of direction. However, hardcore aviation nerds might find the flight model a bit too arcade-like for their tastes.



Game
Key Difference
Best For




Kerbal Space Program
Focuses heavily on strict orbital mechanics and catastrophic failure.
Aspiring rocket scientists and hardcore tinkerers.


SimplePlanes
Offers deep building mechanics but lacks the structured open-world progression and cargo missions.
Pure sandbox builders.


Microsoft Flight Simulator
Demands study-level realism without any of the vehicle-building aspects.
Dedicated aviation enthusiasts.



Key Details

Developer: Jelle Booij
Publisher: Jelle Booij
Platforms: PC (Steam Early Access)
Release Date: April 11, 2025
Genre: Vehicle Builder / Flight Simulator / Sandbox
Vibe: Cozy cargo hauling in the clouds

Who It’s For

Must-play for: Creative tinkerers who love snapping parts together just to see if they can fly.
Perfect for: Relaxing after work with a low-stakes, physics-based puzzle environment.
Skip if: You demand study-level flight simulators or highly complex aerodynamic mathematics.

Why It Works
Ultimately, Aviassembly succeeds by striking a perfect balance between creative freedom and structured gameplay. Many building games drop you into an empty world and expect you to make your own fun; however, the inclusion of a mission board provides a compelling reason to keep refining your designs. Moreover, the forgiving physics engine ensures that even your ugliest, most chaotic contraptions have a fighting chance of getting off the runway. By compressing the joy of flight into a bite-sized, accessible package, Jelle Booij has crafted a delightful indie gem that is incredibly hard to put down.