Toem (2021)

Genuinely, no notes. This was a joy to play front to back. I did all the in game achievements in one sitting with virtually no guide (there's one really obscure one). It took 5 hours and at no point was I bored or wanted to be anywhere but sitting there playing this game. It was just pure fun.

It's a very cozy game and maybe the best I've played in that genre. I fully intend to jump back in tomorrow to do the free postgame update content. If you like relaxed gameplay and/or taking photos of a bunch of things along with some light sidequesting, play this. I got it for free from someone else's code on GOG but I'm thinking I'm going to purchase it on Steam anyway to support the devs because they deserve it.

Does it happen to you that you finish a game, see the credits and you're ready to stand up when, suddenly... THERE'S MORE! Usually, for me, this feels awful. It feels like the game "took" the victory from me (I'm looking at you, Furi). It doesn't matter how good it was or how long or short it was. I was done and if I wanted to keep playing to get the platinum or beat it again, it should be my choice, not a "gotcha" from the game.

But when I finished TOEM and it turned out there was an extra level to explore, I was delighted and couldn't wait to see what it was.

That's enough review for it. Obviously, I went out of my way to get 100% in both the base game and that free expansion.

J'aime les petits jeux d'aventure sans prétention qui tiennent juste avec leurs personnages ou leur direction artistique. Toem tient avec les deux !

Dans un monde en noir et blanc façon doodles, notre petit personnage s'apprête à vivre sa première grande aventure. Il va partir de chez Mamie pour parcourir le monde en bus et gravir une montagne pour assister et immortaliser un phénomène rare le "Toem". Armé de son walkman...pardon, de sa hikelady et de son appareil photo, il va devoir rendre services aux PNJ qu'il rencontrera sur sa route pour payer ses tickets de bus. Souvent ces services seront d'aller chercher un objet ou de ramener une photo d'un item précis mais le jeu s'autorise des variation bienvenue: mini-jeux de fête foraine, cache-cache...

L'univers fourmille de petits détails, les escargots font la course, des oiseaux descendent les pistes de ski, l'ouvrier de la centrale électrique a pris des vacances sur une île tropicale...

Alors oui, les textures bavent quand on zoome, le mode selfie de l'appareil photo est parfois un peu aux fraises et certaines énigmes mériteraient d'être plus explicites... Mais Toem a été fait avec amour. Un amour qui transparait dans son extension gratuite qui propose un aftergame dans une nouvelle zone avec de nouvelles énigmes et de nouveaux personnages. Pendant les 3-4h que durera votre aventure vous avancerez sans trop de difficulté, à votre rythme.

Malgré son sous-titre "une aventure photographique", Toem n'est pas vraiment un jeu de photo comme l'est Alba. On est plus proche d'un A tiny Sticker tales ou d'un A short Hike où vous explorez une map qui se dévoile petit à petit pour découvrir d'autres puzzles. Et il le fait bien.

what a nice little game. toem is the perfect game to boot up in between some of your more involved, high-energy games. collecting everything and completing your collection is so easy, addictive, and fun that you'll find yourself easily motivated to do everything this game has to offer. it's a fun game to platinum on playstation and the adventure you go on is just very refreshing.

you can really tell there was a lot of passion put into this game and it doesn't drag on for too long. the game is on the shorter side, but i think it works in its favor as a journey where you'll take many pictures and meet many different characters. you can really only get the most out of this game one time as once you learn everything, you know everything - but it's a great time. i would highly recommend this to anyone who just wants a chill game to play for a few hours that was clearly crafted with a lot of care.

This game was a pleasant surprise to play. I love the aesthetic of the game. The black and white is a nice touch. I played this on the PS5 and everything just pops. The gameplay loop and puzzle was really thought out.

If you have ps plus extra or the switch (on the OLED will probably look immaculate).

Definitely play this.

TOEM is frequently compared to A Short Hike, a game that I really, really loved. I think that's a fair comparison: Both are short, relaxed adventures set in surprisingly large worlds filled with silly characters, rendered in purposefully lo-fi art styles and building to concise but satisfying endings. But its gameplay reminds me more of Hidden Folks and Alba: A Wildlife Adventure (which I also enjoyed). If you like any of those, you should give this a shot!