Atma, the choice of balance belongs to you, Guardian.
I add way too many games to my Steam wishlist that I’ll probably never end up buying or playing, but Atma was one of the freebie games and I figured why not. Normally the free games are short and sweet and not too stressful.
Usually.
Fortunately for me, that was the case with this game. I highly enjoyed it, though there were some flaws throughout. It’s hard to complain about a freebie. You get what you pay for, right?
Gameplay
The gameplay of Atma is super interesting to me. It took me a moment to get used to, though–and by moment, I mean I became stuck on a part in the beginning where I needed to use a power and couldn’t figure out for the life of me what I kept doing wrong. The game does tell you how to use your powers mechanic, but if you’re confused, just head into the menu and you can refresh yourself on what the buttons do.
You only have two abilities to choose from, so it doesn’t boggle your mind, which I like. The puzzles were simplistic in nature, but they did require a bit of thought.
As far as enemies, there aren’t many, and there’s only one boss fight.
Do choices matter?
I want to say yes.
At the start, you’ll get two choices. I’m thinking it’s a choice between easy and hard mode, though the two aren’t terribly different. At another section of the game you’ll come across a second choice. Think of it as a good ending and a bad ending…though there’s not much of a difference at the end.
So I guess the game tries to make choices matter, but in reality…I suppose they don’t really make a proper, noticeable change.
How long is it?
An hour, maybe less, maybe more, I’d say–more if you’re interested in reading what everyone has to say. You can find more times on How Long to Beat.
Where can I buy it?
On Steam.
Navigation
For some reason, you can’t run. That might aggravate some gamers, since you have to make your way to and from different areas. Not often, mind you, but often enough it’s noticeable that your character can’t do more than walk.
This is where the puzzles come into play. They aren’t difficult, and I think these are what makes Atma so interesting. You use your abilities on these obstacles.
Graphics
I thought that maybe the game creators were the same that made Songbringer, since the graphics looked so similar, but it doesn’t seem so. Still, if you’re played Songbringer you know what I’m talking about. And even if you haven’t…well, the graphics look the same. It’s not necessarily a pretty picture to look at, but more of a mess of pixels that creates a grand layout.
Like, some artists are meticulous down to the last detail. And then there are artists that let the paint fly and the end is more fascinating and admirable.
Definitely for the pixel art game lovers.
Soundtrack
The music is very zen-like, but the tune changes on a dime when it comes to battles. There’s not much to say on it. But I feel it goes with the different portions of the game.
Final Thoughts
While I had trouble with the controls–which is basically my fault because I kept forgetting the right trigger on the controller–and there were a lot more spelling problems at the end of one route, which made it seem more rushed, I enjoyed this game. I feel like, despite it being so short, they could’ve got away with selling it at a small price point.
With some touching up, they still could.
Is Atma worth the full price?
You’re kidding, right? It’s free…
