Alt254 Review (Steam)
Alt254 is a minimalistic open-world action-adventure game. You are ■, set on a journey of exploration and self-discovery, trying to understand the world around you and to overcome its dangers, enemies, and hazards. Will you survive your adventure and find the meaning behind all this?
Pros:
- Pixel art graphics.
- Download size.
- Graphics-Resolution and fullscreen.
- Controller support.
- You play as a singular pixel.
- Adventure gameplay.
- Chiptune soundtrack.
- Learn as you work mechanics out.
- Simplistic menu.
- Puzzles aplenty as you need to solve them to navigate the world.
- A handful of actions-dash, grab and move.
- All play out on a small screen in the center of the play area.
- Collectibles.
- Charming little game.
Cons:
- Minimal graphic settings.
- No Steam achievements.
- Absolutely no tutorial.
- Not even a full-screen game.
- The map is not easy to read.
- Little guidance results in a new level of tedium.
- Graphics - 8/108/10
- Sound - 7/107/10
- Accessibility - 7/107/10
- Length - 7/107/10
- Fun Factor - 7/107/10
Summary
Alt254 is a minimalistic game where you play as a single pixel, your goal is to explore this world and find colored keys to open more doors and advance the story. It’s classed as an adventure game but for me, it felt and played more like a puzzle game. I spent more time moving blocks to make pathways or open doors than actually fighting which suited me as fighting is a case of dashing into red blocks and avoiding their attacks, this tool a long time and felt so random it lacked any satisfaction. I was looking forward to this game so much and it after just an hour I felt disappointed as it was not near what I expected, I expected a more interactive world, more combat, and a lot more puzzle variety. What I did get was puzzles and key collecting with a bit of combat. I still love how this game looks and the idea behind it but it needs more content, more variety, and generally just push it forward. I won’t straight-up hate it as every now and then I am more than happy to sit down and play an hour or two of it no problem. Overall I found Alt254 dared to be different, I love its style and presentation but the content became stale and repetitive and never took risks.
