As far as I recall it was the summer of 2017 when Atone decided to smear all these vectors on the internet out of New Zealand and even then, just as now, I found them unusually pleasing to look at.

My interactions with Wildboy Studios a few months later said still-early-in-development, and it still seems to be albeit with a teaser due any day now. I thought it’d be a fair bit wiser to wait before speaking of the game but lo, here comes another concept to bid me a pleasant night.

Alfheim concept art #ATONE #design #illustration #gameart #screenshot #conceptart #gamedev #indiedev pic.twitter.com/f4N0ipQESr

— Wildboy Studios (@Wildboystudios) March 28, 2018

Gorgeous, yes? It’s okay you can fall in with this crowd and say erm, not really, and I won’t stagger. Admittedly the Hyper Light Drifter inspirations are prevalent alongside Monument Valley, Samurai Jack and a chap named Dave Chenell.

But to state that Atone renders absolutely no standalone charm of its own I’ll not condone, although I’m still not certain what about it piques my interest the most or at all.

Is it the 2D Norse narrative? The gods created Alfheim and man established The Elder Tree-nurturing Isa at its heart. Devastation from the enemy, a dying chieftain and fifteen years later, little Estra is left to decipher the meaning of it all.

Battle screengrab. #atone #atonethegame #gamedev #indiedev #indiegame #illustration #design #colours #forest pic.twitter.com/Q8zbCtMjrY

— Wildboy Studios (@Wildboystudios) August 10, 2017

Besides coming-of-age she’ll have puzzles to contend with, large-scale cinematic brainteasers even. Daunting as that sounds though, a lot of it will be avoidable and/or secret, bringing the uninterested relief and Estra a bunch of unnecessary difficulty.

But even here there’s no certainty which of Atone’s oddball star cast is out for blood. Something called a zoomed-in dialogue (Zialogue) is meant to help by taking you up close/personal with conversing parties and keeping you privy to just about when hell is to break loose.

Upon which you better be just the right amounts of dexterous or better yet, see if we could all just be friends. Additionally water colors, a vast map, original lingo and an apparently reverberating soundtrack FTW.