Bring color to the desaturated land and save the world | First Impressions - Arto

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In the world of Arto, an event known as the Chromacylsm has drained all color, and our protagonist has been chosen to restore it and save the land. Players control Liv, an apostle of Goya, the chromatic Divinity of the Painted Arto. Liv is unaware of what is happening, and is unraveling the plot's mysteries alongside the player despite being destined for this task.

Liv, as the chosen one, possesses the ability to imbue vibrant color into anything she encounters: the surrounding land, trees, water, and the entire landscape.

The gameplay experience of Arto is a highly mesmerizing one, with a great combination of a soothing soundtrack as well as a vibrant world full of beauty, wonder, as well as mystery. The actual gameplay is more of a third person action-adventure hack and slash, with fixed isometric camera angles. It has platforming and souls-like elements with regards to the movement and combat.

Arto’s combat is simple, but highly challenging. Liv can dash, block or parry, and attack a simple melee combo attack with her magic sword. The whole combat motion of dodging, parrying, and hitting enemies is very fluid and highly satisfying to perform.

Defeating regular mobs is easy enough and can be repetitive, but the visual effects are impressive enough that it never fails to be gratifying every time.  The boss fights on the other hand are very challenging, requiring timing, great reflex, and mastery of the bosses telegraph attacks in order to best.

Arto also takes the players on a colorful and delightful journey across various biomes with differing art styles and brings different mechanics to the equation. There are some slight platforming and puzzle elements to the game, but nothing really extraordinary with it. Most of the magic comes from the highly satisfying ‘color everything around you’ gameplay, as well as the fluid combat.

Arto seems to be an incredibly enjoyable indie game that has the potential to become a hit if only it gains more attention. I strongly recommend giving this game a chance and experiencing it for yourself.