Altered Alma returns to the neon world of Aeon Drive | Hands-on preview
Fans of Metroidvanias will most likely agree that it’s rare to play one that feels truly original. Most cherry pick ideas from one another liberally, often injecting just one or two new elements in to stand apart. Altered Alma is another example of this: it’s a game that doesn’t showcase any new ideas, but puts them altogether in such a way that it feels compelling and enticing.
From the short preview build I played, I got strong vibes of 2Awesome’s own Aeon Drive too, which Altered Alma is either a prequel or sequel to or remake of (I think – it’s not made clear). One of the first mechanics you unlock for traversal is the Quantum Blade, which allows you to throw it and teleport to wherever it sticks. As Jackelyn “Jack” Tywood, a “Crusader” in Neo Barcelona, you’re immediate job is to find a crew for your 200-year-old space craft, the Esperanza. Aided by pacifist Harry, Jack strikes out towards the Ramblas, seeking armorer Patch as her first new recruit.
Like last year’s Cookie Cutter, the combat in Altered Alma is fast and brutal. You can slide through enemies and projectiles, and perfect parries will stun attackers. You can also unlock Neon Abilities that unleash powerful skills and then must cool down before the next use. Exploration might lead to wrecked robots that carry cores with which to augment Jack’s various stats.
Jack herself is very nimble, able to wall-jump around, slide through openings, and, of course, teleport using the Quantum Blade. It can be used over and over without penalty, so some areas require you to chain teleports together to overcome traps and barriers.
Enemies often come at you in groups but begin spread out, so utilising your slide and parry makes short work of them. Now and then they’ll glow with a red circle, which is your trigger to use the Quantum Blade to perform an instant kill – which are often quite brutal.
At this stage it’s hard to talk much about the story. I don’t understand what Alma is, or what your little sidekick drone, VERA, is used for beyond a way to context Jack’s respawning, but there are friendship meters for each member of the crew. They’ll approve or disapprove of your conversation choices, which can eventually lead to romance. Not sure yet just how romantic Altered Alma will turn out to be, but I always appreciate a friendship mechanic that encourages talking to the NPC allies. It’s a great way to flesh out the universe and make you care about the people in it.
Sadly, the demo is quite buggy. I lost sound completely more than once, and a few times an enemy attack would just leave Jack spinning in the air until she died. Twice, the game just locked up, still playing idle animations but completely refusing to move or access the pause menu and I had to force quit the game to get out. Obviously it’s early days, but there are certainly issues there to iron out.
Once they’re taken care of though, I’m very much looking forward to playing more Altered Alma. It doesn’t light world on fire in terms of originality, but it looks lovely, moves smoothly, and has an interesting world to explore – as well as interesting characters to explore it with.
