Short trip

Alto’s Adventure should much more appropriately be called "Alto's endless ride down an increasingly challenging slope with potentially life-threatening jump sections in the most inappropriate clothing imaginable". Because in the endless runner from 2015 for cell phones, we ride down a minimalist mountain landscape on a snowboard. We increase our speed by performing stunts and Alto's ever-lengthening scarf serves as an indicator of our combo streak. That's it.

Sounds simple, but it really isn't. The jump passages become more and more challenging as we hurtle through the biomes until we inevitably kiss the dirt. The simplicity of the game principle, however, creates a frenzy in which we try, both relaxed and obsessively, to make Alto go further and further. Schizophrenic? Possibly. But it still works - at least for me.

The score

The whole thing is supported by the sweet, minimalist graphic style and a calming soundtrack. It was composed by Torin Borrowdale and includes two pieces: Alto’s Theme and Zen Mode. While the former is a piano piece that drifts a little into jazz and is less captivating, fans of Life Is Strange, the building mode of SimCity 4 or the background music of the local wellness oasis should have more fun with the spherical second track. The OST may not be a revelation, but it is absolutely sufficient for what it wants to be: decelerating background music for a cute little indie game.