Carto
X
Forgot password? Recovery Link
New to site? Create an Account
Already have an account? Login
Back to Login
0
5.00
Edit
Carto is a charming adventure game wrapped around a unique, world-altering puzzle mechanic. Use this power to explore mysterious lands, help a quirky cast of characters, and guide Carto on her journey back to her family.
Separated from her Granny during a storm, young Carto must use her innate cartography powers to map and manipulate the world around her on her quest to be reunited. As she discovers new “pieces” of the game map, players can rearrange them to shape the levels themselves – unlocking new paths, puzzles, and story moments.
Carto will traverse strange new lands, learn their cultures, and enlist the help of new friends along the way in this hand-crafted adventure.
Features
- Employ a unique puzzle and exploration mechanic: rearrange pieces of your map, and watch the world change around you!
- Chill out and explore peaceful-yet-mysterious lands across a 5-7 hour story
- Meet a colorful cast of characters and learn about their unique cultures
- Bask in lush, hand-drawn visuals across a variety of biomes
- Experience a beautiful soundtrack with over 30 original tracks to accompany you on your adventure
Steam User 21
You ever have an experience so nice the cynical part of your brain just shuts off?
I miss clicked and started the game up by accident and ended up not turning it off till i finished it was really nice like a little break with a friend.
If you like the art style and enjoy a light puzzle game every now and then just go ahead and play it you wont be disappointed.
Steam User 20
A phenomenal puzzle adventure for everyone!
The entirety of the game was played on the Steam Deck, this review reflects my opinion on this platform - playing it on PC might be a different experience.
Preface
In the past, I always had some fear towards puzzle adventure games - mainly because the ones I’ve completed until now all had a level of abstractness inside them, which was true to the puzzle mechanics and the story as well. Myst, for instance - one of the most popular games in this genre - while providing a nice experience for me, left countless questions unanswered upon completing it.
However, Carto is a completely different case: it has the exact level of depth and difficulty I was looking for with an unusual game mechanic - and on top of that a genuinely heartwarming storyline.
The Story
In the beginning, we meet a lovely duo consisting of Carto, a little girl, and her grandmother traveling through the world in an airship. However, from nowhere a huge storm strikes them and makes the ship unstable - causing Carto to fall from it, into the unknown - with map pieces, that her grandma uses. Her only companion is a little map, which will be the main mechanic used in the game.
Our main objective and the driving force for our little cartographer is to collect every single map piece scattered throughout different biomes and to reunite with her grandmother as soon as possible. She sends her notes occasionally and watches her above whenever she has a chance.
While our little protagonist only speaks a few words very occasionally she has no problem making friends in this world - right at the start she gets a new best friend, who will stick with her on the mission! Her charm also affects every single inhabitant living in this world - many great and funny dialogues are spoken through the game - with quite a few of them being rather philosophical!
At first look I thought this was mainly intended for younger audiences, however, the tale of the little Carto speaks for everyone - it is essentially an inner journey for her, and for us on the other side of the screen is the feeling of being excited again about new things. It is something that is unique in childhood, and I think is superbly represented here.
The Gameplay
The aforementioned map won’t just serve us as a companion - it is actually our most valuable help!
According to the story, we are cartographers - people who can move physical lands only with their map. This is the main mechanic that is being used here - it has no additional level of depth, and the short tutorial we are given at the start will actually be useful until the end.
In the majority of cases, we need to form either a pattern or figure out the pattern itself using the map pieces we find scattered through the already placed map pieces. And this is maybe the most important part of keeping in mind - Carto is a puzzle adventure game, meaning that apart from solving the puzzles you are required to explore the map, in order to progress further. This also gives you the chance to learn more about the people and to find some really well-hidden secrets!
While the main mechanic is really easy to understand the game could include some kind of a hint system - many puzzles require thinking outside of the box which is great, but several ones are just feeling too random. One example of this is a puzzle where you are required to uncover the secrets of the desert - I will be honest, I used a guide to get through that, but for whatever reason, my logic couldn’t be applied there. However this is a rare case, so I think the difficulty of the puzzles is fitting even for casual players like me. I’ve seen that some reviewers completed this game with their child, so I’m positive this could also work as a fun family activity - but the puzzles I think are clearly not designed solely for children.
The adventuring part is a real blast, given that every different continent has something new to offer. I especially like the fact that the developers made the lore isolated, so if someone is interested they can read it, but it is totally not necessary. And yes, even if it’s simplistic Carto has quite a bit of lore to read up - it’s mostly written in a comedic way but it provides some background to where you are.
Some puzzles are only solvable by exploring the pieces, and these were maybe my favorite ones - they require you to focus on the small details, on objects that at first glance would look trivial.
Final Verdict
Carto is a phenomenal puzzle-adventure game made for everyone - whether you are a vivid puzzle fan or a casual gamer, this title has many things to offer.
The storyline, the art- and the audio direction all deserve praise, in my eyes the only negative point is the number of hints given out to the player.
Follow our Curator page, Summit Reviews , to see more high-quality reviews regularly.
Steam User 17
you can hug the bear, 10/10 game
Steam User 13
Charming game about little Carto who gets separated in a storm from her granny and has to navigate through a vast world to find her way back. On her journey she will visit different lands and meet the people living there. From them she will learn about their culture, traditions and wishes. And even though Carto herself needs help, she is always ready to help others in need and with them she will experience one big adventure!
Gameplay wise it's a puzzle game where you have to rotate map pieces to create new paths for yourself, but as you can't stand on the piece you wish to rotate, it can take some shuffling for you to find the right way. Sometimes you can even uncover some secrets! The puzzles are mostly straightforward, but some are pretty hard (especially the icebergs), so younger audience might require some help with it. I have really enjoyed the puzzles, it felt nice to see the world uncovering before you. The game has really cute colorful graphics and charming music. Overall experience is very relaxing and once you reach the end you will be filled with heartwarming feeling. <3 I can totally recommend it!
Steam User 8
Finished it in just over 8 hours so it was a longer game than I was expecting for the price. I got 50% of achievements. I just followed along the story. Most of the puzzles weren't too hard but I did have to look up a bit that required more out of the box thinking to do unexpected things. It was an enjoyable play through. A good cozy game.
Steam User 7
I am not big fan of puzzle game but I found myself enjoy this game. The art is superb and I am fond of the bgm as well. For puzzle itself, I feel like this game is missing a chance to increase the difficulty and offer new challenges in each chapter, at least from my gameplay. only one chapter that give not one 'square' block map to play and match with . But I don't have any issue on that though. For the story, not much here. TLDR: I recommend this game for all people who enjoy playing cozy puzzle game.
Steam User 7
Carto is a charming and beautiful game made by Taiwanese indie company (respect!).
It is an excellent puzzle game!
It offers unique perspective to solving the puzzles, similar to games such as Hue, GOROGOA, Monument Valley, Framed and Old Man's Journey.
It is a fairly short game (~5hrs), with some relaxing puzzles and some that require having a brain.
Once again, I left game running over the night ffs.