The Alto Collection was originally released half a decade ago for mobile phones and later made its way to windows before making it to us on the Xbox One. I must admit I had sank many hours into it on Windows, but for each journey down the mountain I’d wish to myself that I could instead be playing it on my Xbox, with a controller in my hand as I am a console player at heart. Thanks to theThe Alto Collection was originally released half a decade ago for mobile phones and later made its way to windows before making it to us on the Xbox One. I must admit I had sank many hours into it on Windows, but for each journey down the mountain I’d wish to myself that I could instead be playing it on my Xbox, with a controller in my hand as I am a console player at heart. Thanks to the release of The Alto Collection, I finally can enjoy this game on my Xbox I always prefer. The Alto Collection bundles up Alto’s Adventure and its sequel, Alto’s Odyssey, which originally released on mobile devices a few years ago. Why neither came to console sooner is unknown t me because they’re the perfect casual, meditative games that everyone ought to have in their gaming library. Alto’s Adventure casts you as the titular Alto. He’s a llama farmer who lives high up in the mountains. It isn’t a game with deep story or mystique, but it doesn’t need to be because it works well as it is. Alto’s llamas have somehow escaped, and so strapped onto a snowboard, it’s up to you to rescue them. Now begins an endless runner adventure, of capturing llamas, jumping over huge pits, avoiding rocks and performing tricks. The game ends should you take a tumble or fail to land a jump, but you’ll go straight back into a new game, determined to beat your previous score. It’s a beautifully simplistic game. The art style is blocky and basic, but it fits the game as if it were perfectly made for whatSnowman was trying to achieve. The twinkly music in the background does start to get a little repetitive after a while, but it sets just the right mood. Switching off and seeing how far through the mountains you can get is incredibly relaxing. There are objectives to complete along the way, as you play, and beating each of them will see you level up. They are typically straightforward tasks like snowboard 1,000 meters in one run, or jump over five rocks. Most of them you’ll complete without even trying. The real fun is simply seeing how far you can travel. Alto’s Odyssey is more or less the same game. When you load up The Alto Collection, you’ll be asked which of the two games you want to play. Both have their own objectives lists, their own high scores and their own unique un-lockable items. you can purchase items like helmets that protect you from a mess up, or upgrade items that you find during your play. It’s a shame these unlocks aren’t shared across both games, while there are some differences between them, but they’re similar enough that a shared progression would make sense and would have made for quite a unique experience for the games to pull from each other in this way. Rather than taking you through snowy mountaintops, Alto’s Odyssey sees you traveling through the desert. It shares the same minimalist yet beautiful art style, and has its own catchy sound track. There’s a little more to Odyssey as you’ll learn new skills as you play such as the ability to wall glide. Different obstacles in the environment make for slightly more interesting play, too; hot-air balloons litter the landscape, which you can bounce off of, and mini tornadoes give you a boost into the air. The collection is rounded off with a photo mode, which is a nice touch to see in a game like this. Alto‘s environments may be basic, but they’re a sight to behold. Factor in the day and night cycle that features in both games, and the changing weather like the thunder sound effects rippling through an 77" Sony A9G is quite the experience you won't soon forget and you’ve got something rather special. The photo mode is basic which allows you to you pan around and peruse the landscape; it’s great to have official support to capture some beautiful screenshots. The Alto Collection is wonderful in its simplicity. It goes to show that games don’t need to be crammed with special features, over-the-top special effects or Hollywood-worthy storylines to be engaging. Sometimes the most uncomplicated premise is the one that keeps us hooked. Sure, the endless runner genre is tied forever in my mind to the likes of Temple Run but give this one a go you won't be disappointed.… Expand
The Alto CollectionYour Score0 out of 10User Score
