Terra Atlantis is a vaporwave inspired First-Person Shooter. This means the games visuals have a Retro inspired vibe. If you didn't know Terra Atlantis was a modern PC-game, you could mistake it for being a PS1 Port. Since this was done intentional and seems to fit well, I have to say, that I like the visual design. The soundtrack of the game is also very calm, like you would be taking a long meditation and in fact pretty relaxing.
The relaxing ambient stands in a bit of contrast to the gameplay, which can become quite intense. Terra Atlantis has some kind of story about people trying to find a new planet called Terra Atlantis, where the gods that abandoned earth have gone and created some sort of new paradise. The story doesn't really lead anywhere and can safely be ignored. This game is more focused on its atmosphere than a strong narrative.
After a brief tutorial, the game offers the player 4 very different levels, that can be completed in any order to unlock a final stage in the Olympus. There are a jungle, desert, snow and a temple level to explore. I appreciate the level diversity, but was very annoyed by the enemy placement in this game. These are some of the cheapest I have ever experienced in any game. Terra Atlantis is primarily a shooter, with very minor platforming elements. The shooting itself feels satisfying and is very precise, even though it lacks variety. There is only one weapon with infinite ammo, nothing else. The game isn't really challenging, but can feel very cheap a lot of times. In the jungle and snow level especially the environment is just filled up with thousands of bushes and trees, you can't look through and enemies hiding inside and instantly running at you from all angles (fun fact: most enemy models represent computer folders and error messages, which is quite funny). You can't see or really anticipate them. The gunfights therefore have nothing to do with skill or reactions and instead mostly consist of shooting in all directions on every environmental element possible. This really annoyed me and was so unnecessary. The game never gets insanely hard or anything, but just very annoying. Equally annoying is the fact, that dying in the final stage teleports you into random previous stage, that has to be completed once again. This isn't the case in any of the other levels and just another example of an unnecessary annoyance.
Result:
Terra Atlantis really nails the vaporwave style and is therefore probably worth playing for the vibe alone. Movement and gunplay feel precise and satisfying. The level variety is appreciated. The level design and enemy placement however is very frustrating and prevent the game from reaching its potential. Terra Atlantis is also rather short and can probably be completed in around 30-40 minutes. If you ever wanted to experience a PS1 like FPS on PC or are curious about vaporwave, than the game is worth a recommendation. You just got to prepare for plenty of frustrations along the way.
6/10
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