ATONE: Heart of the Elder Tree

 PC
Metascore
71

Mixed or average reviews - based on 4 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 4
  3. Negative: 0 out of 4
  1. Softpedia
    Jan 26, 2023
    90
    ATONE: Heart of the Elder Tree is a great experience, driven by a strong story, a good mix of mechanics, and impressive atmosphere. Puzzles make sense and are satisfying to solve and combat never becomes the core mechanic. The Nordic-inspired universe is both intriguing and filled with good characters. The relatively slow pace of the experience might be an issue for some players and a more robust hint system should have been included. But these are relatively small problems when compared to the charm and immersion it creates. Play it in small chunks, don’t be afraid to walk away from a puzzle for a few hours, and allow ATONE to provide a spark of magic with its mix of story and gameplay.
  2. GameSpace
    Feb 21, 2023
    75
    ATONE: Heart of the Elder Tree is a game with a lot of love put into it. This is an original idea that stands out from the background of pipeline games, and this is the kind of game that may surprise you.
  3. Noisy Pixel
    Jan 27, 2023
    65
    ATONE: Heart of the Elder Tree is a title that has the definition of “jack-of-all-trades, master of none.” It does a lot of things, but it doesn’t stick the landing most of the time. The story is very short, and while the soundtracks are good, I wasn’t a huge fan of the rhythm portions, especially because of their severe disconnection to the main tale.
  5. Multiplayer.it
    Jan 27, 2023
    55
    Atone: Heart of the Elder Tree is a half-successful work, therefore with notable aspects, in particular the graphic style, and with others that sink it, such as the musical combat system. Not that it is denied a complete turn, but ultimately it lacks the right compactness to become an important experience, also castrated by a certain lack of direction in the writing, which offers absurdly distant negative and positive peaks.