App Review: Alto (Part 2/2)

Alto's Odyssey is a follow-up to Alto's Adventure. Everything remains pretty much the same except for the environment. There are some nifty new features to enjoy.

Sequels generally don't turn out better than the original, especially if they are so much alike. However, Alto's Odyssey gives the original some serious competition.

The Premise

This game has an identical premise to its predecessor. There are some new characters, but this is largely cosmetic because these characters have the same abilities as the old ones.

There are some new locations as well. These have different backgrounds and effects.

The Aesthetics

Beautiful as the last one, and there are tiny additional details that you may not see right away unless you look closely.

The Experience

Alto's Oddessey provided everything I loved about the original, and then some.

For real, it's like Alto's Adventure with a different environment and new tricks. Just about everything that made Alto's Adventure enjoyable, makes it into this one in some form or other.

The Interface

There's very little new about the interface, except for the rock walls, water pools and balloons. They add a new dimension to the physics of the game, as mastery of some of these new elements may be crucial to crossing chasms. In particular, balloons now allow you to do a quadruple flip!

What I liked

Everything I liked about the original.

Animated backgrounds. The layered backgrounds animate occasionally. Buildings crumble. Trees stir in the wind. Balloons drift. And it's all so subtle you don't catch it unless you look closely.

Share via email. The captions are cute!

The Feather has been replaced by a Lotus Flower, and it allows you to survive falls and break rocks! The crate drop feature is cool as well.

Birds of paradise. They are really awesome, you can have more than one, and they help you collect coins.

What I didn't

In the original, you are chased by nomads with whips. In the sequel, you are chased by lemurs. Doesn't really feel like an upgrade.

Some blocky visuals show up at times, and I don't really see a reason for them to exist.

The Wingsuit still sucks. Honestly, I can't see a compelling reason for it to exist. It does help in some cases, but the player can do just fine without it.

Conclusion

Noodlecake Studios achieved almost the impossible with this one. The original was good; the successor just wins by a hair. Play either, or both games. Revel in the artistry!

My Rating

9.5 / 10

Alto-gether excellent game,
T___T