Togges – Review
Follow Genre: Puzzle platformer
Developer: Regular Studio
Publisher: Thunderful Games
Platform: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series XIS, Switch
Tested On: Switch

Togges – Review

Site Score
6.8
Good: Massive environments filled with lots of secrets to discover
Bad: Mechanics aren't explained very well
User Score
5.0
(1 votes)
Click to vote
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Rating: 5.0/10 (1 vote cast)

Publisher Thunderful Games’ official website bills Togges as “a game unlike anything you’ve played before”. It’s a bold claim that certainly raises expectations, especially since Togges doesn’t really look all that remarkable at first glance. Additionally, “unlike anything you’ve played before” doesn’t necessarily equal good, so we approached Togges with a healthy dose of skepticism. Was two-man indie dev team Regular Studio’s debut title able to convince us of its supposed uniqueness?

Story

A text crawl welcomes players to the story of Togges, speaking of an endless wall that protects the known universe from unknown dangers and a king that must protect all existence. Right after that deliberately vague story setup, the game introduces us to Toomba. This little guy is a robot vacuum who also happens to be our protagonist. Shortly after a short tutorial, which takes the shape of a standard device setup procedure, Toomba is approached by King President himself. This is the king from that introductory blurb, and he needs Toomba’s help in dealing with the Void, which is a dark matter that is spreading across the galaxy. Toomba needs to unite the leaders from different planets and form an alliance capable of dealing with the Void. Fortunately, our little vacuum hero doesn’t need to tackle this arduous task on his own. In fact, he’s got hundreds of little friends that can help him: the titular Togges. These are sentient blocks that come in different varieties, from fire-resisting red Togges to yellow ones that conduct electricity. Together with the Togges, Toomba sets out on a quest that spans the galaxy. The story that unfolds is cute but not that deep, and it isn’t going to set anyone’s world on fire. It’s serviceable but we did feel like things could have been fleshed out a little better.

Graphics

With its clean but colorful visuals, Togges goes for style over substance. The varied environments aren’t overly detailed but the game’s stylized approach adds to the charming atmosphere. You’d expect the cartoonish visuals not to be too taxing on the Switch, but unfortunately, the game’s performance isn’t as good as we expected. There were noticeable performance drops directly related to the amount of Togges blocks we dropped, and the visuals were muddier than we would have liked. Togges is by no means unplayable in its current state, but a visual performance patch would be a welcome addition. Your mileage may vary on more powerful platforms that Togges is also available on, of course.

Sound

The cheerful and carefree atmosphere that permeates Togges is nowhere more noticeable than in the game’s music. The soundtrack starts out with upbeat tunes but once you’re actually given free rein over the environments, things start to sound more relaxed. There’s no real voice acting present, although characters do communicate with one another through gibberish sound effects. The overall sound design is great but not particularly remarkable, with the music being the relative standout element.

Gameplay

If you were to take the classic 3D platforming formula from the ‘90s and inject it with block-based puzzle gameplay, the end result might end up looking suspiciously similar to Togges. Taking control of Toomba, your aim is to drop the titular block-shaped creatures so that they can reach specific areas in the 3D stages and collect pieces of fruit that are spread out across the environment. Toomba is able to move around freely without issues, and Togges’ challenge isn’t in the light platforming gameplay that the game presents to the player. Instead, Togges dares the player to use their practical puzzle-solving abilities to work their way through its elaborate puzzle stages. The game takes a casual approach, without any repercussions or negative consequences should you make a mistake. This should, in theory at least, make Togges a relaxing puzzle platforming experience, but there are a handful of structural hiccups that prevent the game from feeling truly worry-free.

Granted, the game gets a lot of things right too. The core gameplay loop presents you with a stage and you’ll need to use different kinds of color-coded Togges blocks to make your way across the levels collecting fruit along the way. Collect enough fruit and the door to the next stage opens. You typically start out with 1000 Togges that you can lay out across the stage. That sounds like a lot, but the stages are elaborate and you’ll find that the limit is often very tight. Fortunately, Toomba can suck up Togges again, so there’s definitely some wiggle room, although this is a necessity, not a luxury. This is especially true when you’re aiming to go beyond the basic level requirements and want to completely clear a level by taking on additional challenges.

These challenges involve finding collectible letters that spell out the game’s title. You’ll find them hidden away in secret spots or in hard-to-reach areas, but you’ll also be able to collect them by completing specific tasks. You can complete a level without getting every single one of these, of course, but a lot of the game’s enjoyment comes from the sheer variety and out-of-the-box thinking that is necessary to collect them. There are often multiple solutions to the different puzzles, and they don’t always involve the Togges themselves either. As you play through the game, upgrades for Toomba itself become available, ranging from a radar that helps you sniff out hidden collectibles or a bomb ball that allows you to blow things up. These are invaluable in finding every secret available.

Where Togges could have used extra work is in how things are explained to the player, both in terms of pacing and in the actual explanations themselves. There are games that over-explain everything and tend to hold your hand, and there are games that leave you to figure things out on your own. Togges definitely falls into the latter category. There isn’t anything inherently wrong with that approach, provided that whatever the game throws at you feels logical and intuitive. Unfortunately, the game doesn’t explain some of the most basic elements, meaning it’s likely that you’ll hit roadblocks because of how obtuse everything is initially. A good example of this comes early on. The game doesn’t explain that you’ll need to hop into a plane in order to go to the next level. Since we didn’t know this was what we needed to do next, we got “stuck” until we turned to the internet to find a solution. A little in-game blurb could have gone a long way to improve the overall gameplay flow.

Obtuseness aside, there’s a lot that motivates you to keep playing once you’ve figured out the mechanics. Exploration is fun and rewarding, and experimenting with the different kinds of Togges that you unlock is satisfying. As we spent more time with Togges, we found that hunting for secrets and collectibles was our main motivator to keep playing, rather than seeing how the story unfolded. Fortunately, Togges absolutely nails this aspect, if you can make it past the poor explanation of certain mechanics. If you prefer a tight, focused experience then Togges probably isn’t going to be the game for you, but if you like finding surprises in a massive, worry-free sandbox-like environment, then Togges might just be up your alley.

Conclusion

Despite that bold claim on Thunderful’s website, there is nothing in particular that stands out about Togges’ individual ingredients. However, the resulting dish is solid and enjoyable. The initial lack of accessibility and underwhelming visual performance drag the game down slightly, but these are minor blips that don’t outright ruin what Togges has to offer. With its casual, worry-free atmosphere, cutesy aesthetics, and simple story, it’s the video game equivalent of comfort food: it’s nothing special, but if you’re looking for something to take the sting out of a dreary winter afternoon, Togges has your back.

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Rating: 5.0/10 (1 vote cast)
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Togges - Review, 5.0 out of 10 based on 1 rating
SebastiaanRaats


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