The Collage Atlas

More an art piece than a game, it's a short, gentle and beautiful trip. It won't be for everybody but I'm glad I got to experience it.

A lovely little thing, it really hit the spot on a quiet weekend afternoon. Good for fans of cozy games and interactive art, not something to hurry through. Definitely make sure you play on a decent monitor so the line art doesn't get crunched.

Quietly Magnificent.

I like this, the art direction is pretty striking (definitely has that papercraft aesthetic), and the resulting message I drew over the runtime was decently uplifting! Also, this works well on the Steam Deck! (although the game probably looks better on a larger screen)

Came to this via Nathan Gibson's Indie Game Works artbook. An extraordinary amount of time, craft and patience have gone into designing this hand drawn world. For a one-man band, kudos. Clearly, a work of passion and single-minded dedication. Is it art in and of itself? Yes, possibly. Sadly, the largely monochrome visuals in this game weren't my cup of tea. Even after ten minutes I found myself wanting a bit more variety. Again, no dig at the creator; it's just my subjective opinion. The loose, fragmented, abstract narrative wasn't up my street either. Something concrete to uncover, people to discover and names to latch onto - I didn't realise how much a game might need these until it was missing. Unlike, say, Proteus which absolutely has no story or even any gameplay, so doesn't attempt to occupy your time, this game does have something. It's just not nearly deep enough to sustain my attention. Likewise for the gameplay. Perhaps it's meditative for some. For me, I couldn't fully immerse in the lovely setting (the birdcalls, the ticking clocks, the opening out of the landscape to an inky horizon) because every time I captured letters to move on the game, or found a key, or any sort of object - a small cut scene would start with overlaid, reverbed acoustic guitar. Overall, a fantastic effort and genuinely a wonder to view. But, not for me to stay here that long. I would recommend, though, because no doubt it absolutely is up some people's street. Just neither artsy or intellectual enough to stimulate, or gameplay-heavy enough to occupy attention.

A beautiful game with puzzle elements and lots of secrets to find.

Beautiful