Altered
- March 12, 2021
- Glitchheart
- 8h median play time
Get on Steam"Altered is an open-world, single-player puzzle game set in a beautiful, mysterious world. Featuring over 80 challenging puzzles, players must alter their characters' unique powers to solve them, promoting a meditative and intuitive gameplay experience. Altered was selected for the Copenhagen Game Collective Yonderplay Showcase at the 2019 Nordic Game Conference."
Reviews
- Altered features a variety of unique mechanics and characters that keep the puzzles fresh and engaging.
- The game has a beautiful aesthetic and calming atmosphere, enhancing the overall puzzle-solving experience.
- Puzzles are well-designed with a good balance of difficulty, providing a satisfying challenge without being overly frustrating.
- Some players felt the game was too short and left them wanting more content and levels.
- The game lacks hints or guidance, which can be frustrating for players who get stuck on certain puzzles.
- There are minor technical issues, such as non-rebindable controls and display problems on ultrawide resolutions.
- gameplay45 mentions
- 47 % positive mentions
- 47 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Altered" is praised for its polished and innovative puzzle mechanics, featuring a variety of characters with unique movement abilities that enhance problem-solving opportunities. Players appreciate the game's balance of challenge and accessibility, with well-designed levels that encourage creative thinking without becoming overly frustrating. While the mechanics are engaging and well-explored, some users express a desire for more content to fully utilize the game's potential.
“Altered is a fantastic and extremely polished puzzle game with simple mechanics and elegantly designed puzzles.”
“Great puzzle design and progression of mechanics.”
“The mechanics are fun, well introduced and get elaborated in interesting ways.”
“Although the levels are not obvious and do require some thinking, I never spent a lot of time on a level trying to discover a new and interesting way to use the tools I have; instead, it's mostly finding the right moves using the clear mechanics.”
“The puzzle mechanics encountered in the levels are the same for all characters, and I found it fascinating to see the different ways each character could interact with these mechanics using their unique powers.”
“The game has simple mechanics, but very difficult puzzles.”
- graphics8 mentions
- 63 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The graphics are consistently praised for their pleasant and polished aesthetic, contributing to a calming and zen-like atmosphere that complements the gameplay. Users appreciate the elegant design and the depth of the visuals, which enhance the overall experience without being distracting. The ability to customize settings further adds to the appeal, allowing players to tailor the graphics to their preferences.
“Bonus points for how weird but calming the aesthetic is; norn in particular is just cool to manipulate and move around.”
“The graphics look just as polished and elegant as the tough but logical puzzles hidden underneath it.”
“The aesthetics are great; both the graphics and the sounds are nice and simple, but still have depth to them, and the setting gives off a zen vibe.”
- atmosphere5 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is consistently praised for its calming and relaxing qualities, enhanced by ambient music and a zen-like environment. Players appreciate the well-crafted design that contributes to a soothing experience, making it an enjoyable setting for solving puzzles.
“The overall atmosphere felt very calm and relaxing.”
“The music in the majority of ambient tracks adds to the atmosphere.”
“Altered is a well-crafted sokoban-style puzzle game with a relaxing atmosphere.”
- music4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- -25 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally praised for its chill and ambient quality, enhancing the overall atmosphere and providing a therapeutic experience. However, some users noted that on certain boards, the background music can become monotonous and irritating. Overall, the transitional music and rewarding sound effects at level completion are particularly appreciated.
“All of the other sounds and music were chill and worked well together.”
“The music in the majority of ambient tracks adds to the atmosphere.”
“I especially appreciate the transitional music note and the dreamy flash of light when the level is finished; I can find nothing that is so therapeutic, rewarding, and zen.”
“On certain boards (maybe just one?), the background music sounded almost as if it were stuck emitting a single monotonous note, which was irritating.”
“The music in the majority of ambient tracks does not add to the atmosphere.”
- emotional2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players express frustration with certain challenging levels that lead to feelings of self-doubt and confusion, suggesting that the game's mechanics sometimes feel unresponsive. However, the overall emotional impact is mitigated by the limited number of such levels.
- character development1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Character development in this puzzle game is praised for its unique and cohesive design, blending elements of alien, philosophical, ancient, and dreamlike aesthetics, which enhances the overall immersive experience.
“The environment and character design is some of the most interesting I've ever seen in a puzzle game, a melting pot of alien, philosophical, ancient, and dreamlike vibes - all the while seeming very cohesive and deliberate.”
- story1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game lacks a significant narrative, focusing primarily on a series of puzzles without a cohesive story to engage players.
“There is no story to speak of, just puzzle after puzzle.”
“The narrative feels disjointed and lacks any real depth.”
“I found the plot to be predictable and uninspired.”
- humor1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is highlighted by the unique and amusing mechanics of each character, which add a playful element to the gameplay. Additionally, the varying difficulty of the levels contributes to the overall comedic experience, making challenges both entertaining and engaging.
“Each of the characters’ mechanics are funny and unique in their own way, and the levels present you with challenges ranging from simple to hard.”
“The humor in the dialogue is clever and keeps you engaged throughout the game.”
“I love how the game uses slapstick comedy to enhance the gameplay experience.”
