(sorry if i have any typo, english is not really my first language)

Ato is an atmospheric metroidvania game with a wholesome vibe to it and a enojyable feel to it

The game has a thoughtful map designed for constantly going back and forth to areas you've been throught with better upgrades, but also not in rate that makes you constantly going back and forth (unless you're trying to 100%)

the game has fluid combat that while might have some improvements (specially on the lock on attack) it's still way better then most games i've seen, and it matches quite well the boss fights and areas

the story, altought simplistic in it's nature, fits quite well the whole vibe of the game, and is easily understood in no dialogue, only character action, and small pieces of the scenary and character design, specially the statues of the final boss and it's minions scattered around the more you approach your goal

some nitpicks:
1) if you're going to 100% it's get's really bad to try and find on the map rooms that you've missed, specially when the open door is as small as the wall line itself, maybe add as one of the option boss rewards something that makes the invisble rooms appear with dotted lines?
2) sometimes when two rooms are adjacent their walls combine with eachother on the map, making a 2 pixel thick wall, but most times don't, making a 1 pixel thick wall, idk if that's a layout error or what but my perfectionist sense keeps buzzing about it
(update: it's just a screen error, dev said inthe comments)
3) i really think the addition of the "shadow enemies" accross the map are unnecessary, because most of the time you're either running across them with the super speed ability or they break the flow of the exploration by forcing you into a battle, i specially deslike the straw hat enemies since they have long ranged attacks which they often charge behind other enemies, as well as the samurai, which has a ridiculous long range high atk sword, and is the bulkiest shadow of them all, yes i know he is a late game shadow but he always breaks the flow of my explorations when i'm forced into battle
exploration and map layout is the strongest part of the game by far, and while i love the boss fights trying to integrate this type of combat into the game is not really done in a smooth way imo

the game has it's flaws, of course, but in my opinion it's still a great game that really deserves more attention then it got, the simple nature but pure enjoyement i got from these 9 hours of gameplay can't be measured (even if a good hour and a half was cross referencing my map with the full one trying to find the remaining rooms), will recommend a lot and i think any fan of metroidvanias should check out

will look forward to your next games, as well as frog hop and nameless (bought the whole package)

(sorry if i have any typo, english is not really my first language) Ato is an atmospheric metroidvania game with a wholesome vibe to it and a enojyable feel to it The game has a thoughtful map designed for constantly going back and forth to areas you've been throught with better upgrades, but also not in rate that makes you constantly going back and forth (unless you're trying to 100%) the game has fluid combat that while might have some improvements (specially on the lock on attack) it's still way better then most games i've seen, and it matches quite well the boss fights and areas the story, altought simplistic in it's nature, fits quite well the whole vibe of the game, and is easily understood in no dialogue, only character action, and small pieces of the scenary and character design, specially the statues of the final boss and it's minions scattered around the more you approach your goal some nitpicks: 1) if you're going to 100% it's get's really bad to try and find on the map rooms that you've missed, specially when the open door is as small as the wall line itself, maybe add as one of the option boss rewards something that makes the invisble rooms appear with dotted lines? 2) sometimes when two rooms are adjacent their walls combine with eachother on the map, making a 2 pixel thick wall, but most times don't, making a 1 pixel thick wall, idk if that's a layout error or what but my perfectionist sense keeps buzzing about it (update: it's just a screen error, dev said inthe comments) 3) i really think the addition of the "shadow enemies" accross the map are unnecessary, because most of the time you're either running across them with the super speed ability or they break the flow of the exploration by forcing you into a battle, i specially deslike the straw hat enemies since they have long ranged attacks which they often charge behind other enemies, as well as the samurai, which has a ridiculous long range high atk sword, and is the bulkiest shadow of them all, yes i know he is a late game shadow but he always breaks the flow of my explorations when i'm forced into battle exploration and map layout is the strongest part of the game by far, and while i love the boss fights trying to integrate this type of combat into the game is not really done in a smooth way imo the game has it's flaws, of course, but in my opinion it's still a great game that really deserves more attention then it got, the simple nature but pure enjoyement i got from these 9 hours of gameplay can't be measured (even if a good hour and a half was cross referencing my map with the full one trying to find the remaining rooms), will recommend a lot and i think any fan of metroidvanias should check out will look forward to your next games, as well as frog hop and nameless (bought the whole package)