Sometimes the best gaming experiences come from unexpected places. When Antro from Spanish indie developers Gatera Studio landed on Xbox, I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect from this rhythm-based platformer set in a dystopian underground world. Two gaming sessions later, I can confidently say this is one of the most stylishly compelling indie games I’ve experienced this year.
Underground Rebellion With Real Heart
Antro drops you into the role of Nittch, a courier navigating the grimy depths of a futuristic underground society. After a global collapse left only one percent of the population alive, survivors have been forced into massive subterranean megacities controlled by an oppressive totalitarian government. When Nittch receives a mysterious package, he finds himself caught between La Cúpula (the government) and Los Discordantes (the resistance).
The storytelling is refreshingly minimalist yet emotionally powerful. Rather than drowning you in exposition, Antro uses environmental details, brief cutscenes, and subtle character moments to build its world. References to Nittch’s lost sister add genuine emotional weight, whilst “Big Brother”-style propaganda broadcasts effectively establish the oppressive atmosphere without feeling heavy-handed.
Rhythm Meets Rebellion
What sets Antro apart is how seamlessly it integrates music into every aspect of gameplay. This isn’t just a platformer with a good soundtrack—it’s a game where movement, music, and narrative flow together in perfect harmony. The core gameplay splits between traditional side-scrolling exploration and pulse-pounding rhythm-based running sequences that had me completely absorbed.
During the exploration sections, you’ll navigate beautifully detailed environments, collect graffiti cans to tag walls, and solve light puzzles. These quieter moments provide welcome breathing space whilst building the world through visual storytelling. The environments are genuinely stunning—every corridor and room tells a story through carefully placed details and atmospheric lighting.
Then the music kicks in, and everything changes. The rhythm-based sequences transform Antro into something special. You’ll dash through collapsing structures, slide under obstacles, and leap across chasms—all perfectly timed to an absolutely phenomenal soundtrack mixing hip-hop, drill, electronic beats, and industrial ambience. When it works, you feel like you’re dancing through chaos, and it’s absolutely exhilarating.
Button-Matching Brilliance (And Frustration)
One of Antro’s most interesting mechanics involves rhythm-based door puzzles where you must press specific button combinations in time with the music to unlock passages. I’ll be honest—these sections were equal parts delightful and maddening. There’s something genuinely satisfying about nailing a complex sequence perfectly, but the precise timing required can be brutally unforgiving.
Oddly enough, these challenges actually helped reacquaint me with my Xbox controller’s button layout. After years of muscle memory, I found myself consciously thinking about button positions again, which created an unexpected learning curve. When you finally master these sequences, though, the satisfaction is immense.
Technical Excellence With Minor Hiccups
Running on Xbox Series X, Antro performs admirably. The game maintains smooth framerates during even the most chaotic sequences, and the loading times are practically non-existent. I only encountered one significant technical issue during my playthrough—getting stuck in the scenery during a particularly intense chase sequence, forcing me to restart from a previous checkpoint. Thankfully, Antro’s generous checkpoint system meant this was more of a minor annoyance than a major setback.
The visual design deserves special praise. Gatera Studio has created a 2.5D world that feels both artistically stylised and functionally clear. The contrast between the gritty underground environments and the pulsing neon highlights creates a distinctive aesthetic that’s immediately recognisable. Character animations are fluid and expressive, even with the deliberately minimalist character designs.
Audio Excellence
This is definitely a game best experienced with headphones. The soundtrack isn’t just background music—it’s integral to the entire experience. Each track perfectly complements its corresponding gameplay section, creating moments where your actions feel choreographed to the beat. The sound design extends beyond music too, with satisfying audio feedback for actions like smashing surveillance drones or tagging walls with graffiti.
The voice acting, whilst minimal, effectively conveys character personalities and story beats. Having subtitles for both dialogue and song lyrics is a thoughtful accessibility touch that ensures no player misses important story elements.
A Few Rough Edges
Antro isn’t perfect, and I’d be dishonest not to mention its shortcomings. The inability to remap controls feels like an oversight, particularly given how precise some timing challenges can be. Some sections rely heavily on trial-and-error gameplay, which can lead to repetitive restarts when combined with occasionally generous checkpoint spacing.
I must specifically mention the “Fans” level—an absolutely diabolical sequence that had me questioning my sanity. Without spoiling the specifics, this particular challenge ramps up the difficulty to near-sadistic levels. It’s the kind of section that will either make you feel like a rhythm gaming god or have you contemplating controller-shaped holes in your wall. I eventually conquered it, but not without some choice words about the level designer’s parentage.
The game also lacks replay incentives beyond collectible hunting. There’s no new game plus, level select, or score chasing modes, which limits its long-term appeal once you’ve experienced the story.
Perfect Pacing
One of Antro’s greatest strengths is its pacing. Clocking in at just a few hours, the game never overstays its welcome. I completed it across two extended gaming sessions, and this felt perfect for the experience Gatera Studio was crafting. It’s long enough to develop meaningful mechanical skills and emotional investment, but short enough to maintain intensity throughout.
This compact runtime works in the game’s favour. Every moment feels purposeful, every sequence builds towards something meaningful, and you’re never left feeling like content has been padded to artificially extend playtime.
The Verdict
Antro is the kind of indie gem that reminds you why the gaming medium is so special. It takes familiar platforming mechanics and elevates them through exceptional audio-visual design and genuine creativity. The rhythm-based gameplay creates moments of pure flow state that few games achieve, whilst the dystopian setting provides context that never feels derivative or clichéd.
Yes, it has rough edges. Yes, some sections (looking at you, Fans level) might test your patience. But when Antro clicks—and it clicks more often than not—it delivers an experience that’s genuinely unique in the gaming landscape.
For Xbox players seeking something different, something that combines style with substance and rhythm with rebellion, Antro delivers exactly what you didn’t know you needed. It’s a confident debut from Gatera Studio that left me genuinely excited to see what they create next.
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