Atone: Heart of the Elder Tree is astory-rich adventure RPGthat features rhythm battling mechanics. The game is rooted in Nordic mythology and takes place in Midgard. Once a flourishing place blessed by the Gods, Midgard is now tainted with darkness and has become a shadow of its former self. You play the protagonist Estra, who takes on the burden of saving her people.
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You’re given the quest to heal Midgard’s sacred Elder Tree, which would ultimately restore balance to the lands. Throughout your time playing the game, you will be faced with challenges and choices that may have you looking for advice to make beginning your journey to Midgard salvation more approachable.
8Follow The Gold
In a relaxing environment such as Atone: Heart Of The Elder Tree, where there are limited UI controls displayed, it is good to take note of what objective indications there are and potential patterns they may have. Throughout your time playing, you will come across gold objective icons.
The gold icons are what you interact with to trigger the next step in your story quests, but that’s not all. Occasionally, gold symbols appear in puzzle sequences and offer clues. It’s safe to say that if you see gold symbols in the game, it’s trying to tell you something important.
7Wear Headphones
Atone: Heart Of The Elder Tree is a gaming experience with an emphasis on music, so it is best to play with headphones to truly appreciate the melodies. It’s also important to consider that the game has a rhythm-based combat system, and the sound is crucial to your combat abilities.
Playing the game with headphones can improve your odds in battle and give you the edge you need to keep up with the tempo. Take Thyon’s advice, and let the beat guide you to victory.
6Adjust Your Difficulty
After taking on the role of Estra, you will come across a rock with a pink objective icon. This stone will provide you with the opportunity to adjust your difficulty settings, with the default setting at normal difficulty. You can choose between normal or story mode alternatively, which gives you a chance to customize your experience.
If you’re a rhythm-battling maestro, you can try hard mode and double your rhythm battle buttons. If you are playing with the narrative experience as your focus, maybe story mode is the way to go. However, if you choose to go thesweat-free story mode route, you are locked into it for the remainder of the game, and you are unable to receive achievements.
With itsimmersive storytelling and voice actingthat connects you to the characters, you might find yourself wanting to learn as much as you may about the cast and the lore behind them in Atone.
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If you follow the road less traveled, you just might find hidden story secrets or even loot. you’re able to explore paths at the edge of the environment, and enter hidden areas, diverging from what, at times, can feel like a linear game.
4Watch The Cut-Scenes
The developers of Atone: Heart Of The Elder Tree, Wildboy Studios, include the option to skip their beautifully animated cutscenes in the game. However, you really shouldn’t because you’d miss out on the story, which is the heart of the game, and all the juicy Norse mythology written throughout.
If you’re playing strictly for the beat-battling or puzzle-completing experience, you should know that the cutscenes often provide a clue to your next task. Although, if you are returning after completing the story, skipping the cut-scenes could be a great time saver and shorten your time between battles.
3Choose Wisely
Throughout the story of Atone, you will be offered opportunities to make plot-altering choices that will ultimately affect which of the four potential endings you receive. If you choose to make Estra merciless, you may have more consequences to deal with further into the narrative.
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It’s best to think your decisions through and determine how your choice could change the rest of your gaming experience. Advice aside, the four potential endings offer great replay value, and you’re encouraged to explore how each action transforms the game.
2Nordic Blessings
Like many RPG games, Atone rewards the curious player. In some locations, you can come across stone figures or statues. If the statue has the option to interact, you could receive a nordic blessing that improves your chances. The buffs are connected to Nordic runes Ing (foresight), Elgr (protection), and Turs (chaos).
The foresight buff provides you with ancient wisdom and improves your ability to overcome certain obstacles in the game. The protection buff does just that, granting you resilience and strength. Lastly, the chaos buff improves your luck, granting you the gift of fortune and fortitude.
1Restore Hearts
Rhythm fighting can feel like a bit of a learning curve, so you may take some damage early on. Once you take on the role of Estra, you start with only three hearts, and those hearts can dwindle quickly if you are struggling with the beat-battling mechanic.
The game doesn’t explicitly tell you how to consume your food, but you start the game with one ration in your inventory. If you go to your settings menu, you will find the keybinding to consume your food and restore your health to 100 percent.
