Alter World - Can't quite make its mind up
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iOS
| Alter World
STEP AWAY FROM THE LIGHT SWITCH

Lights on. Lights off. Lights on. Lights off.

Please stop

No, no I won't. For I have been playing Alter World, a game where at the flick of a switch you can go from a nice sunny dimension of loveliness to a grey wilderness of thorny death.

Well that sounds unpleasant

It is. But it makes for a fun video game premise. It's a 2D platformer based on Stephen King's Dark Tower series that explores alternate dimensions and parallel worlds. You play as a child who, one fateful day, loses their dog through a door that leads into another world. Understandably alarmed, you must now hop through worlds to bring it back.

I'd just call the RSPCA, but I suppose I should ask about the controls?

There are two buttons to the right of the screen: A and B. Pressing A makes you jump, and swiping the screen left and write steers you in mid-air. Pressing B switches between dimensions, which you'll need to do because some platforms you need to reach a level exit won’t exist in your dimension.
Come again?

What I mean is, each level requires you to navigate your way across a ravine to a door. You have to jump from platform to platform, avoiding obstacles, and trying not to fall to your death.

The catch is that sometimes the platform you need exists in another world. So you have to make a leap of faith in one dimension, quickly press B, and land on the platform in the new dimension.

I think I get it - but that sounds hard

It is - especially when pressing B means the platform you're standing safely on disappears in the new dimension. Alter World is not only a game about speed, but also a game about remembering. It requires you to memorise increasingly complex level layouts, and you're bound to fall to your death a few times while doing so.

Dying is all part of the fun then?

Sadly yes. It does anaesthetise the sense of peril somewhat when you respawn straight away, but if there was a limited life mechanic you'd quickly reach phone-smashy-smash levels of frustration.

The biggest failing of Alter World though is its art style. At first glance the game seems beautiful - it winks at you across the bar and lures you away from your Old Fashioned with a flash of its delicate gold rays and opalescent backdrops.

But…?

But then you get closer and realise that it's just an illusion. With your nose pressed up to the screen, you see that the character you’re controlling and the backdrops they’re exploring seem disjointed.

The child's scarf is stirred by the tendrils of a breeze, but its cartoonish style sits atop a world that's more ethereal. It feels superimposed, out of place, and jarring.

You could argue that "out of place" is how a child tumbling into another dimension might feel

True, but Alter World hasn't altered the worlds enough to make them feel truly divided or truly the same. The art style of the child and the worlds you explore aren’t different enough to make an Alice in Wonderland-esque statement, nor similar enough to feel like they’re part of the same game.

Instead they sit in uneasy limbo with each other, making the experience feel like a placeholder demo rather than a fully-fledged game.

So would you recommend it?

I enjoyed Alter World - jarring design aside, the game mechanics are solid and the premise is a memorable one. The puzzles are challenging, and all the ingredients are there for a world you want to explore every nook and cranny of. It just needs a bit of spit and polish first.

Alter World - Can't quite make its mind up

Alter World packages a fascinating premise into a slightly battered presentational box
Score
Alysia Judge
Alysia Judge
After spending months persuading her parents that it's a valuable career path, Alysia is still not bored with writing about games. That's a good thing really, since skills like spaceship navigation and zombie slaying are pretty much non-transferable.