Alto’s Odyssey review: More of the same great, great game

Six months after its iOS release date, Alto's Odyssey is finally available on Android. It's been a long wait, but not nearly as long as the first title. Android users were waiting a full year for that one.

Developer Team Alto has stuck to its guns and released a title that's not much of a departure from the previous game — not that that's a bad thing, since Alto's Adventure has become a classic title since its release in 2015. Read on for the full Alto's Odyssey review.

Sandboarding down the slopes

As opposed to the first release, which saw Alto snowboarding down the side of a mountain to gather up his escaped llamas, Alto's Odyssey takes place in three separate biomes, each with their own unique scenery.

You start the game sandboarding down a desert level, and later on you encounter hot air balloons, waterfalls, temples, and more. Even better, many of these new elements can be interacted with.

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For example, you can bounce off of hot air balloons to gain a bit more air time, or slide along a temple wall to gain a quick speed boost. Ropes connecting hot air balloons also move, adding another element of difficulty.

The coolest addition by far is wallriding. Once you finish the first few levels, you gain access to a sandboard that lets you ride up the side of some vertical walls. Like all things in Alto's Odyssey, the mechanic is smooth and satisfying to use.

Alto's Odyssey features an amazing soundtrack. You'll definitely want to put on your headphones before you strap in to another zen session of endless gameplay.

Gorgeous graphics

Although it's plain to see, any review of Alto's Odyssey would be remiss not to mention the game's breathtaking graphics. Despite it's simplicity, the game really manages to draw you in to the never ending descent.

Alto's Odyssey is so gorgeous that Google Assistant decided to auto-awesome several screenshots.

Like the first game, the colors in the background shift as you play the game, giving the impression that time is truly passing. Beautiful sunsets, starry skies, and relaxing rainstorms all fill your screen at various points.

The game is so gorgeous, in fact, that Google Assistant decided to auto-awesome several of the screenshots I took while playing the game. Even without using the built-in camera feature to remove the UI, Google thought the sunset scenery would be something I'd like to see again. Google was right.

Even more new features

While basic gameplay hasn't changed much from Adventure to Odyssey, there are a few small changes and improvements that make the game feel fresh after all these years.

First up is the removal of the hover feather, which lifted you just slightly off the ground. It gave you immunity to rocks blocking your path, but also slowed you down. It's been replaced by a lotus flower power-up that simply makes you immune without slowing you down.

Another is the change to the angry elder that chases you in Alto's Adventure beyond a certain point. Now your pursuer is an angry lemur. I'm not sure which one is more terrifying.

All of the changes, from wall riding to lotus flowers, feel more like polish than anything truly new. Team Alto essentially took an amazing game and made it slightly better for the sequel. It might not be terribly ambitious, but if it works, don't fix it.

A return to free-to-play on Android

Like the first title in the series, Team Alto worked with Noodlecake to bring their iOS title to Android. As before, the price tag has been dropped to make it a more Android-friendly free-to-play title.

The game is primarily monetized through ads, which can be disabled with a one-time purchase.

This means that the title is primarily monetized through ads. When you crash, you can watch a 30-second ad to continue your run, and occasionally an ad will automatically play between runs. These can be eliminated with a single in-game purchase.

There are a few other options for purchases, like unlocking all new characters or doubling your coin income, but there isn't any content that's exclusively for paid players. Paying only slightly enhances an already excellent experience.

Alto's Odyssey review: Conclusion

If you enjoyed Alto's Adventure, Alto's Odyssey is the same, but better. You could criticize Team Alto for not taking any chances with the new release, but when you have such a winning formula, why rock the boat?

Alto's Odyssey is available now and can be downloaded for free by clicking below. What do you think of Alto's latest descent? Does it live up to the original? Let us know in the comments!

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