Some of the best mobile games are often the most straightforward. By happy coincidence, this also means that they’re especially easy to port over to other systems. The Alto Collection takes two of mobile gaming’s most celebrated titles, Alto’s Adventure and Alto’s Odyssey, and puts them together in one handy – albeit rather bare – package for the Switch.
The premise behind both games (which, aside from setting, are virtually identical) is simple: you slide down a never-ending mountain, accumulating points by collecting coins and performing tricks. The only button you’ll need to worry about is ‘A’; that’s it (well okay, you can also use the touch screen in handheld mode). This lets you hop over obstacles, grind onto buntings, and leap over chasms. If you hold ‘A’ down, you can also perform backflips, provided you get enough air time.
That’s really all there is to it. In terms of gameplay, there’s not a lot here that sets the Alto games apart from other titles in the genre, but the setting is what makes them truly unique. Each game boasts a beautiful backdrop, complete with full day/night cycles and changing weather patterns. The sunsets are particularly impressive, creating vibrant gradients of colour that really make the scenes come to life. This, in addition to the lovely, soothing soundtrack makes for an incredibly relaxing experience. If you don’t fancy keeping score or starting over when you bail, there’s even a Zen Mode if you just want to cruise down the mountain with no other distractions.
Aside from the main gameplay, there are items and collectables you can purchase with your coins. These include helmets, wingsuits, new boards, and more, all of which offer some sort of benefit, but none of which feel particularly essential. To aid in grabbing those sweet screenshots, the game also includes a photo mode via the pause menu, so you can set up and capture some really beautiful shots.
Ultimately, though, this all feels like extra baggage that isn’t necessary to the overall experience; there’s enough here to keep you entertained for a good while just in terms of pure gameplay, and although it’s not the kind of game that incentivises repeat playthroughs, there’s always that niggling feeling at the back of the mind to have ‘just one more go’. There are a couple of minor issues, such as the fact that some obstacles get obscured and really sneak up on you, and a distinct lack of extras that we’d like to have seen in a collection like this. But otherwise, the Alto games are well worth checking out if you’re after a breezy, relaxing experience.
Comments 16
Finally a Switch game that I can play without my shonky joycons!
It actually sounds (reads) and looks fine surprisingly. May even my an ok timepass.
Cheers for the review.
These are the only two games I’ll play on mobile. I’ve probably put in 60 hours between the two of them. And they translate beautifully to Switch. The games have a 92 and 88 on Metacritic, respectively. A 7/10 seems a bit short sighted, and the cons in this review don’t really make sense with the purpose of this game. This collection is an easy 9/10.
Call me a boomer but calling smartphone games "classic" is weird.
Great games but I won’t double-dip at that price. Switch gamers typically getting fleeced. Standard.
Got it for free on Epic Games a while back, worth the 5 hours I spent with it.
@N8tiveT3ch Monument Valley though! I used to think the same until I played those games
@N8tiveT3ch the device shouldn’t matter if the game is great, which they are in this case.
@moonymarauder Yup these were my favourite mobile games and I was devastated when my phone has to be hard reset, so I lost my progress. This was an automatic purchase for me, and it looks lovely on my TV
I have both of these on my phone. Outside of PLANTS VS. ZOMBIES they are my most played mobile titles. Very soothing.
These are stone-cold classics. My go-to business trip games for years and I must have played over a hundred hours between the two of them. I don’t need them on Switch too but I’d recommend them to anyone.
The art style of these games remind me of some older classics I used to play when I was a teenager. I probably won't be getting these games though they look good, but at least they brought back some childhood memories.
They look great docked and in handheld. Love those smooth 60fps graphics with awesome colors, mountains that are almost simple symbols yet are still beautiful, smooth slopes and hills, and falling triangular flags. I also think the music and sound effects are very good. I'd love to have the classic Plants vs Zombies and Monument Valley 1 and 2 on Switch.
This actually looks pretty cool, and it's on sale for only $7.50
I know this might be weird but I didn't even know these games were on mobile I got number 1 on PC and didn't even know it had a sequel so when I saw the trailer on Nintendo's YouTube channel I got super excited then even more when I noticed it was a collection and there was more than one Alto
Dope 2 games for 7 bucks and only takes 319mb I gotta get this immediately
Show Comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...