Ato Review: An Emotionally Charged Pixelated Trek Through Feudal Japan

Ato captures a simple premise with atmospheric environments, heart-piercing audio design, and an emotional narrative that is anything but.

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Ato is a game that likely flew under your radar (even though we DID feature it in last week’s weekly indie game round up). There is no need to fret, however, as the game is now available on Steam. Ato – from developer/publisher Tiny Warrior Games – is successful in its attempt of capturing a simple premise with atmospheric environments, heart-piercing audio design, and an emotional narrative that is anything but simple.

Ato is set in the Era of Feudal Japan, with players taking on the role of a former warrior who has traded his violent past life for a more peaceful one with his wife and child. Almost immediately, his past comes back to haunt him as a cult of ninjas abducts his child, forcing him back into the ways of the sword.

Immersive Without A Word

Pretty much every aspect of Ato is a defining feature that makes the game unique, from the pixelated, yet visually stunning environments and backgrounds to the ambient music that effectively invokes whatever emotion it is going for. This is even the case for the overall story, which doesn’t feature any words or voice acting, but is told through well-executed cutscenes with character actions and subtle facial expressions that can be seen even within the pixelated design.

Ato is a platformer that focuses its gameplay on two primary things: movement and combat. As players progress through the game, they unlock new (and necessary) maneuvers that not only allow them to reach formerly unreachable areas and solve puzzles, but aid in combat as well. Things like double jump and dashing become pivotal actions for both making your way through each maze-like level – which felt very similar to the level design in MindSeize, another recent indie Metroidvania – as well as evading attacks during combat, which are epic in their own right.

Bosses-Only

Combat consists only of boss encounters, with each battle having its own strategy and personality. Players need to utilize patience and effective swordplay to defeat each enemy. It’s during these encounters where Ato truly shines thanks to the weight of what’s at stake effectively being felt, should the player be defeated. There is a sense of accomplishment after each encounter, which increase in difficulty as the game progresses. And just when you think you’ve succeeded, the game throws you for a rather otherworldly loop with even more challenge.

While hardly having any faults, Ato did struggle at certain points during my gameplay. This mostly happened in the way of in-game loading taking place while moving between areas, which slowed down gameplay to a lag, but were short and barely impacted the experience. Unfortunately, this also happened during some of the boss encounters, with one such instance lasting for the entirety of one of the more narratively pivotal battles, which was a shame.

Ato-tal Success

Ultimately, the glitch wasn’t enough to reduce my enjoyment of the overall game. It’s clear that Tiny Warrior Games put a ton of effort into making a beautiful and emotionally charged game in Ato. The environments and audio design are worth it alone, but for platforming fans in general, Ato is a must-buy.

A PC copy of Ato was provided to TheGamer for this review. Ato is available now for PC.

Link Source : https://www.thegamer.com/ato-review/