Ladies and gentlemen, meet our nominee for iOS Game of the Year, Alto’s Adventure. And it’s only February.
Created by Snowman, the studio behind the Checkmark and Shifts productivity apps, and released earlier this week Alto’s Adventure is not free to play, but nor does it rely on those stupid in-app purchases. And truth be told, $1.99 is a small price to pay for such a beautiful game. Featuring a somber soundtrack and smooth execution, Alto’s Adventure is an endless runner that requires you to recapture runaway llamas while performing various tricks to progress and unlock new characters, each with its own distinct set of capabilities and snowboarding styles. One of the game’s top strengths is that it doesn’t go out of its way to throw in extra features and mechanics to wrap your head around, which helps contribute to its zen-like effect.
If you’ve ever played Ski Safari, the setting will be all too familiar: with the exception of some power-ups, there’s a striking resemblance between the two titles in terms of what you do in the game. However, the sheer beauty of it all is where Snowman managed to differentiate itself from the rest of the category.
While the obstacles you face as you head down the mountain are randomized, the game moves through a cycle of day and night with the sun rising and setting. That means sometimes you’re playing at night, controlling the character’s silhouette as you move through dark forests, jumping campfires and seeing skies lit with lanterns. The game features a range of weather, so you’ll encounter thunderous rainstorms, drizzle and snow. The way Alto cuts through the snow on the ground is beautiful with powder kicking up behind his board. Other little touches are subtly animated, from the character’s scarf billowing behind him when he jumps to flocks of birds and sunlight reflecting off ice patches. The visuals look like a cross between Journey, and Monuments Valley, which is actually the highest compliment we can offer a mobile game.
The piano music is a great accompaniment to the action but it’s the noises of the forest and weather effects that really make the game feel immersive, despite its relatively simple two-dimensional world.
After a few hours of playing the game, Alto’s Adventure now has pride of place on my iPad dock, and it seems like it will be there for quite some time. The game is currently available as an universal app for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch, and you can download it for $1.99 over at the App Store.
