Bottom LineĪlto's Adventure is a captivating side-scroller for Android that offers surprisingly rich and rewarding levels of gameplay. Adjusting the brightness on your phone can help. Nighttime activities can be challenging: Seeing obstacles ahead during a night run can be tricky.

Combining the compelling visuals with the soothing soundtrack and ambient sounds of birds, bells, and even llamas (although they sound like sheep to us), the game creates a nice tension between the serene environment and the excitement of completing snowboarding aerials and maneuvers while avoiding rocks, chasms, campfires, and elders. Strangely enchanting: As you play, days and nights pass by and the weather changes. When you crash, tap the screen to get back to boarding where you fell. Zen Mode comes with an orchestral soundtrack. Zen-like: From the home screen, swipe left to get to Zen Mode, where you can play without distractions - no scoring, no game over - just you and the slopes. Among the items you can buy are a helmet that protects you from a crash and items that can help you fly and hover and call llamas to you. You can also buy a coin doubler - a magnetic scarf that doubles every coin you collect - but otherwise, everything you can acquire in the game - through the Workshop - you buy with coins you gather in game.

Or pay up: For $4.99, you can unlock the game and revive your character after a spill, with just a click. When you crash, however, the game periodically displays an ad to revive your character. Play for free with ads: For free, you have access to all the levels in the game. One of them even runs the workshop you can visit to buy and upgrade items with coins you collect in the game. As you gain levels, you unlock new snowboarders, each with various snowboarding strengths and weaknesses.

ProsĮasy to get going: The gameplay basics are easy to learn - tap to jump and hold to perform snowboarding aerials or maneuvers - but the challenge is timing your jumps to grind and flip as you ski down the slopes to earn coins, collect your llamas, and complete tasks to level up. In the charming Alto's Adventure platform game for Android, you're a snowboarding herder, gathering llamas, collecting coins, and avoiding disapproving elders as you perform tricks boarding down the mountainside.

Alto's adventure - zen mode soundtrack