The Collage Atlas
- April 19, 2024
- John William Evelyn
Get on Steam"The Collage Atlas" is a hand-drawn adventure game where players explore a dream-like world and shape its growth and soundscape through their movements. With intricate details and hidden secrets, the game encourages exploration and discovery while touching on themes of agency, memory, and hope. The dynamic soundtrack, featuring vocals by Frankie Rose, adds an extra layer of immersion to the player's journey.
Reviews
- The game features stunning hand-drawn art and a beautiful soundtrack, creating a serene and immersive experience.
- It offers a heartfelt story with uplifting messages, making it feel more like an interactive art piece than a traditional game.
- The puzzles are simple and enjoyable, allowing players to explore at their own pace while appreciating the intricate details of the world.
- The game is relatively short, which may leave some players wanting more content or depth.
- Some players found the gameplay to be repetitive or lacking in challenge, making it feel more like a walking simulator.
- The sound design has been criticized for inconsistent volume levels, making it difficult to achieve a comfortable listening experience.
- graphics9 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their striking art direction, featuring a unique papercraft aesthetic and stunning hand-drawn visuals that evoke strong emotional responses. Players appreciate the painstaking detail and immersive quality of the artwork, which, combined with a powerful soundtrack, creates a beautiful and reflective experience. Overall, the visuals are considered a major highlight, making the game worth playing for its aesthetic alone.
“The power the soundtrack holds combined with the hand-drawn graphics is mind-blowing. Very few games have made me cry, and this game will make you feel things. You will cry when playing this game; I'm not sure if they're happy tears or sad tears or even a mix of both, but if a game can invoke that much emotion and awe...”
“Absolutely beautiful game. I loved the art style and the soundtrack; it's really good if you want to play something relaxing - a dreamy world you can immerse yourself in and reflect.”
“The artwork is stunning and well worth the price of admission.”
“I was initially drawn to it because of the striking visuals which were so painstakingly created, and I wondered if that was going to be all it had to offer.”
“Again, didn't finish it though so maybe that would have gotten better further on and I'd still recommend it for the visuals alone, just need a bit more patience than I have.”
“I'll not give it away, it's best really to dive into this one on the basis of the aesthetic and sound alone.”
- story8 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The game's story, while brief, is beautifully crafted and evokes the essence of a Robert Frost poem, intertwining a delicate mystery with personal themes. Players appreciate the artistic direction and the way simple puzzles enhance the narrative experience, although some find the storytelling fragmented, resembling separate quotes rather than a cohesive plot. Overall, the story is a standout aspect that captivates and resonates with players.
“This game is pretty short, but what it lacks in length it makes up for in beauty and story.”
“I was intrigued by the delicate mystery and the personal story that was being unveiled.”
“The story itself is like living a Robert Frost poem.”
“Like separate quote tiles in a store, rather than conveying a proper story.”
“There are simple puzzles to solve along the way as you journey through the story, nothing too hard or complex as the main focus of this game is the poem you are playing through.”
- gameplay8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The gameplay is described as visually stunning and artistically rich, with a journey that incorporates intuitive mechanics, though it leans towards being more of an interactive art experience than a traditional game. While some players appreciate the minimal challenge and clear instructions, others find the gameplay repetitive and lacking in depth, leading to mixed feelings about its overall engagement.
“Well, it appears you're going on some sort of journey, and it's no mere walking simulator either; it actually has some gameplay!”
“The necessary instructions are integrated into the gameplay and are quite clear.”
“The game drops various mechanics that are easy to intuit, and there's enough here that it never gets boring.”
“The gameplay and challenge are very minimal, and as one other reviewer said, it's closer to interactive art.”
“Visually stunning and I liked the sound, but I found the gameplay a bit too boring for my tastes.”
“I think the only potential negative, outside of players looking for something more mechanically dense, is that the game can feel fractal in its goals.”
- music5 mentions
- 80 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its emotional depth and ability to evoke strong feelings, often described as both beautiful and soothing. Coupled with stunning hand-drawn graphics and immersive sound design, the soundtrack enhances the overall experience, making it a perfect choice for players seeking a reflective and relaxing journey.
“The power the soundtrack holds combined with the hand-drawn graphics is mind-blowing. Very few games have made me cry, and this game will make you feel things. You will cry when playing this game; I'm not sure if they're happy tears or sad tears or even a mix of both, but if a game can invoke that much emotion and awe...”
“Absolutely beautiful game. I loved the art style and the soundtrack; it's really good if you want to play something relaxing - a dreamy world you can immerse yourself in and reflect.”
“Good lord, I could go on about the sound design and the music in general for a while; it's so good.”
- emotional4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its emotional depth, featuring beautiful hand-drawn art and a powerful soundtrack that evokes strong feelings, often leading players to tears. Its wholesome message and poetic storytelling create a deeply moving experience, making it a standout in its ability to connect with players on an emotional level.
“I was positively surprised by the poems on top of the beautiful art, and the game has a wonderful wholesome message.”
“The power the soundtrack holds combined with the hand-drawn graphics is mind-blowing. Very few games have made me cry, and this game will make you feel things. You will cry when playing this game; I'm not sure they're happy tears or sad tears or even a mix of both, but if a game can invoke that much emotion and awe...”
“An emotional experience, a poem where you are part of the tale, intricately hand-drawn.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is praised for its stunning visuals and relaxed, poetic ambiance, reminiscent of titles like "Dear Esther." Players find it to be a lovely and immersive experience that enhances the overall enjoyment of the game.
“Lovely atmosphere; if you liked Dear Esther, you should definitely try this one.”
“Absolutely stunning world with a very relaxed, poetic atmosphere.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Overall, players report minimal performance drops, with most experiencing stable frame rates around 60 FPS, suggesting that optimization is generally effective and unlikely to cause issues for the majority of users.
“I only saw a few performance drops from 60.”
“I doubt any players will have performance issues.”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players generally find the grinding in the game to be non-tedious and easy, viewing it more as a relaxing sequence of events rather than a frustrating chore.
