Toem guide7/5/2023 ![]() Combined with the total lack of pressure around getting things done beyond simply having boxes to tick, it’s an incredibly relaxing experience to just walk around, snap pictures, and take everything in. While the use of smaller “rooms” is certainly a practical decision in terms of world design and presentation, it also has the effect of recreating the feeling of being a child in a big world, in the sense that you can only really focus on small chunks of it at a time, and feeling boundless enthusiasm over all of the new things there are to look at and learn about. The whole point is to take things in however you want. It can sometimes be hard to focus when deciding what to pay attention to in each room, or which direction to go in next, but the great thing is order rarely matters and you’ll have plenty of opportunity to see everything, so you can forget about fretting over the optimal or “best” way to make it through. TOEM is broken up into six distinct regions, and each of them is broken up into many separate “screens” or “rooms” (even while outdoors), so that you can navigate the regions in smaller, more focused chunks and get a feel for the distinct locations within them. TOEM has a lot of neat tricks up its sleeve, and probably the best one is the way that it captures the childlike sense of wonder as you wander through new locales. In fact, the more characters you talk to, the longer your checklist grows, and the more you begin to marvel at the sheer amount of stuff there is to take in, despite the relatively small size of each area you explore. There are loads of quirky, charismatic creatures to meet, and a plethora of tasks to take on, but only if you feel like it. You’re off on a journey to get more familiar with the place you live, to see the sights, and to document as much as you can along the way with your trusty camera and photo album. Playing as a child with their first camera, you explore a hand-drawn cartoon world in grayscale that’s every bit as bright and cheery as something rendered in full color if anything, the monochrome presentation allows the focus to be on the design of the characters and the rich ways they animate, emote, and interact. ![]() It’s an adventure purely for the sake of adventure. Games like this treat their worlds less as a framework within which to establish bombastic set pieces and more as a vehicle for integrated storytelling.Īnd this is exactly what TOEM is. ![]() I also love an excuse to engage with a game in a way that’s less about getting to and doing the next thing as soon as possible, but instead places its emphasis on the journey and taking in the sights and sounds around you. ![]() It’s really hard not to get caught up in a whimsical world that is all about feeling good and seeing cute things everywhere you look, because it turns out good vibes are literal brain candy. From the opening moments to the time you roll credits, you are never without details to absorb, and every single one of them is trying to tell you something about the world you’re in it welcomes you with open arms and invites you to discover it completely, and to take your time in doing so. I’m a sucker for games that lead with their heart, and TOEM does exactly that.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |