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Endless runners are probably one of the few casual game types as old as Tower Defense. They have been done and perfected in every way and in every style: from the sublime futuristic to the flash game classic to the puzzle version to the mobile modern to the ridiculously popular. Any new entry must stand up to these and the thousand others which already exist. Alto’s Odyssey looks pretty, but doesn’t have much new to add to this tired genre.
Alto’s Odyssey is the sequel to Alto’s Adventure, a snowboarding version of the same game. I haven’t played Adventure, but from what I hear, Odyssey has all of it and more in desert form. Both of these games have remarkable graphics and are picture-perfect for almost every frame. The sound design is equally impeccable, leaving me waiting for the next thunderstorm every time. Odyssey starts without ornament – your only trick is a backflip. As you progress and complete goals, more game mechanics become available – you can change which biome you start in, buy a wallriding sandboard, and go wingsuit flying. Unfortunately, there’s quite a bit of difficulty and not a whole lot of challenge to all of this.
Each aspect of Alto’s Odyssey is flawed in a crucial way. The missions to advance in level are somewhat vague and, in many cases (find a lemur, for example), out of your control. Jetpack Joyride is the best comparison here – there are dozens of missions, each of which requires you to accomplish something you wouldn’t necessarily do in ordinary play. You can make your own game out of completing missions; and though there is still some luck involved, it is primarily a question of altering your play to accomplish an objective.
Next, the power-ups are interesting, but not particularly useful. As an example, I was greeted with a “Tip: Lotus Flowers smash rocks!” when I crashed into a rock (sometimes it was “Look out for that rock!” which is less helpful). Lotus Flowers are random power-ups which last for only a short time and are activated immediately after pickup. I could imagine a tip like that making sense if Lotus Flowers went to an inventory that could be activated on-demand, but since they start immediately after collection, both the tip and the power-up aren’t particularly useful. The same can be said of the coin magnet power-up. There are occasions when the magnet is within a group of coins, which makes sense. Most of the time, though, they don’t allow you to pick up any coins you wouldn’t be able to normally.
You might argue that Alto’s Odyssey is intended as a mindless game, allowing you to zone out and enjoy the pretty backgrounds and pleasant sounds. Indeed, this seems implied since there are not very many opportunities to fail, and the usually standard (for endless games) increasing speed is mostly absent. I accomplished an objective to “travel 1,500 meters” without actually touching the screen. The trouble is that the times you have a chance for failure, there is little warning and a lower tolerance for error than I would expect if this game were meant to be contemplative.
Two points in support of this jump out to me: rocks and wallrides. Rocks are the simplest of hazards, easily avoided. However, once the sun sets and darkness falls (as in the screenshot), rocks in silhouette do not stand out at all. In the screenshot above, there’s a rock at the far left edge of the screen. There’s also a pillar to its right. The rock will end your playthrough. The pillar is just set dressing. Especially at night, your character can be lost among the backgrounds and set dressing, making avoiding rocks something you must focus on the character for – which runs counter to this playing as a relaxing game.
The sandboard introduces a wallriding mechanic. Unfortunately, since your only input is to tap the screen, there’s very little way to distinguish between “wallride” and “backflip”. Starting a backflip can often lead to death, but wallriding is necessary to cross chasms. In some cases, you have to chain together wallrides – which can be quite troublesome if you aren’t paying full attention. These together make me think that this game is meant to provide some difficulty, but it accomplishes it in a way that detracts from the otherwise contemplative experience.
There’s one last problem. The endless runners I mentioned above the fold are all classics in their own right and are each superbly made. They also have another thing in common: they’re all free (Jetpack Joyride has in-app purchases, but nothing I’d consider mandatory). Both Alto’s Odyssey and its prequel are $4.99 on the App Store as of this writing. In my view, you will get equal or greater enjoyment out of any one of those free endless runners than you will get out of Alto’s Odyssey. There are just too many other great games out there to (quite literally) waste your time playing. Tier Three.