Alto's Odyssey will surf its way to Android July 26 (Update: It's out now!)

Update, July 26, 2018 (01:03AM EST): It’s taken a while, but Alto’s Odyssey has finally backflipped its way to the Play Store. The Android release comes roughly five months after the game was first released on iOS.

The endless runner has a similar formula to Alto’s Adventure, but introduces several additions and tweaks. For starters, the first level takes place in the desert, as you zip down dunes and leap across canyons. In addition to titular star Alto, users can also unlock several other characters, with each having their own attributes.

We spent a few minutes with the game already, and fans of the original game will feel right at home over here. The opening desert environment certainly makes for a vibrant departure from the original title’s frosty peaks. Otherwise, the bouncy balloons and environmental elements (e.g. whirlwinds) make for a fun experience.

Alto’s Odyssey is free to download via the button below, but the game does have video ads and in-app purchases.

Original article, July 17, 2018 (3:10PM EST): With Alto’s Adventure having performed very well on Android, developer Team Alto announced that Alto’s Odyssey will finally launch on Android July 26.

By comparison, the iOS version of Alto’s Odyssey launched February 21. The five-month gap might seem like a long time, but remember that it took a full year for Alto’s Adventure to jump from iOS to Android.

According to Snowman founder and CEO Ryan Cash, the shorter launch gap is something that the studio hopes to further improve. “Our goal is to keep getting better at that,” Cash told The Verge.

For Alto’s Odyssey, Team Alto will once again team up with Noodlecake to release the game on Android. Much like Alto’s Adventure, the sequel features ads and in-app purchases instead of a one-time purchase.

Alto’s Odyssey improves upon its predecessor in several significant ways. For one, the game features three zones instead of the one snowy mountain in Alto’s Adventure.

Alto’s Odyssey also includes a new wall-riding mechanic, a “lotus flower” item that does not hamper your speed and makes you impervious to damage, balloons that you can bounce off, and procedurally generated areas to keep things fresh. It all adds up to a game that, while it feels familiar, is a beauty to behold and an incredibly fun game.

Where Snowman does not need to improve is with how well Alto’s Adventure performed on Android. The developer teamed up with mobile developer Noodlecake Studios to publish the game on Android. That turned out to be a smart move, since Snowman reached audiences in countries where iOS does not have as much of a presence as Android does.

“Our top countries for Android are so different from our top countries for iOS,” said Cash. Countries like Russia, India, Brazil, and Mexico were in the top five countries for Android downloads of Alto’s Adventure. These are countries where the iOS version sees fewer sales and bring new players into the fold.

Team Alto, formed by folks from Snowman and others, likely hopes to see even greater success with Alto’s Odyssey.