It was developed based on the central conceit of using touchscreen controls to create the feeling of wingsuit flight, set inside an explorable, peaceful world.

The game was positively received by critics, who acclaimed its open, relaxing gameplay and sense of flight, along with the quality of the island's environmental design.

[1] The island is composed of multiple biomes which the player may freely glide through, constrained only by gravity, and features numerous structures, trees, hot air balloons, and other gliders.

[4] Flying near the ground or objects or performing tricks such as diving give the player "sparks", or energy in the form of yellow triangles following Laya, which can be used to accelerate her flight.

[1] Producer Owais Akhtar describes the company's design aesthetic as creating games that center on "the rhythm of movement" with a "meditative experience".

Snowman had included a wingsuit element in Alto's Adventure, partially due to studio cofounder Ryan Cash's interest in flight, and wanted to explore that concept deeper.

This was alleviated by adding an "air cushion" to push Laya up when she is near the ground, and a time rewind mechanic when the player does crash, to make accidents less likely to end a run.

To fit with the game's aesthetics, they based the soundtrack on folk and world music, with an emphasis on woodwind instruments and a "light and airy" tonal quality.

The wide variety of woodwind instruments, including a quena, ocarina, bansuri, and transverse flute, were played by Austrian flutist Veronika Vitazkova.

[9] The music itself was designed to adapt to what the player was doing, changing tempo and volume and adding or removing instruments based on how fast Laya is flying or how close she is to the ground.

[13][17] Will Quick of Pocket Gamer praised the exhilarating feeling of flight in the game, and Rupesh Nair of IGN India said that the controls were the most fun part.