Spoiler free... Okay well it's really just a diorama puzzler
I like puzzle games, and often find myself doing them as a sort of pass time between other things. This game, for all that it is, exists on every platform including as a phone game, and it's pretty easy to see that in the simplicity of it all. You can pass the hours away simply solving puzzles and finding every 'extra' that exists on the level. There is a bigger story to the game at large, but it is inconsequential to the game play.
As for the gameplay, the controls are very simple point and click or drag if the object needs to be moved in anyway. I did run into a bit of issue where if I clicked and dragged the object wouldn't move to indicate that I needed to actually continue. This did lead to a little frustration because I'd be spinning around the diorama looking for the next piece of the puzzle having not completed the one I was working on. It wasn't game breaking, but really threw me off several times.
The visuals are all very bright and colorful. There are so many varying designs to the doors that you go through, and the themes are just fun in their execution. There are a few flashing lights, but nothing that blinks the entire screen, just lighting and the like from effects of the doors.
Musically the game is very basic, and at times a little insulting to the way the themes are executed. Nothing that I can really write home about, but I remember not really paying attention to it after a while. Sound wise, the effects are loud and in some cases very distracting to the overall game play. The background sounds can be repetitive and for some reason louder than anything else. You can adjust it in the sound settings, but by default the sounds in this game can be jarringly loud and obtrusive.
As far as cute little games go, this is by far one of the cutest I've played in a very long time. I really had a lot of fun with all the camera mechanics of taking a cute picture for my album. Each little zone takes you through a few interconnecting maps to solve riddles of what sort of photos the game wants you to take. Nothing too demanding of your time, so I would consider it a rather low impact cozy sort of game to play.
You aren't only forced to take photos of what you're asked, either. The game offers a lot of freedom to interpret the riddles in your own way with cute extras to spice up what you keep. There is a decided emphasis on taking your time and enjoying the game for what it is, and not just min-maxing your way to a 100% playthrough. While the minimal will get you to the ending, and I believe in the short playthrough time, the time I spent just enjoying the photography aspect, exploration, and solving the extra puzzles kept me busy for a while.
The music in the game is really cute and very simple, though there are moments of long silence when the track completes. You have the option of changing music, which was a really fun extra added into the game play. The voices are fun too. I know jumbly languages that are just mumbling gibberish isn't for everyone, but there is a real charm to how they did it in Toem! It's not annoying, and they don't make the same two sounds over and over which is nice. I'm not a fan of repetition like that.
Controls are easy to figure out and very intuitive, so you aren't stuck struggling with how to do things. The camera is on a fixed angle though, so if you want a free roam look-around you have to go in camera mode. Thankfully it's not terribly fish-eyed or bothersome to someone like me with very bad motion sickness. You turn the map around you to access certain areas, look at scenery, and solve puzzles, so keep that in mind as it can hinder progress when you forget.
There is an extra after the game is over that the devs gave everyone for free, and it adds at least another hour or two if not more game play to enjoy. I would gladly spend the money to buy this game again to support this dev team and encourage more games like this to pop up more often. An absolute gem of a game to try if you have the time and money to pick it up.
Spoiler-free-- It's a fighting game! YEEAAAHHH LETS GOOOOO!!!!
So, I am a huge fighting game fiend and have loved playing fighters since my cousins were playing Mortal Kombat on the playstation during family gatherings. I've walked the gambit from Virtual Fighter to Bloody Roar to Tekken to Street Fighter. I've tried Rivals of Aether and enjoyed Blazeblu back when I would go to conventions. This game is too much fun. Worth the money spent, especially to support this small dev team who ended up redesigning this after a C&D from Hasbro. [I'm sure you can figure out why.]
The combo system is simple but effective, and it feels more arcade than your current big AAA fighters with like a million button combos. PLAY IT ON CONTROLLER. Keyboard sucks. It's not impossible, but the combo system works the best on controller. Which makes sense. That being said, it has a robust system to teach you the full gameplay as well as tutorials to get you through the whole of learning how to play a fighting game! Something that honestly should be included in all fighters, but isn't.
The sound was really good for a team that has 6 people on the roster, and especially since it was originally a fan game anyway. Voice lines can get a bit repetitive, but it's a fighter game so I wasn't coming into this expecting a whole lot. Visually the game was smooth and the movement and attacks worked for the four legged fighters and didn't feel off-putting. Granted they mostly look the same, again it's a fighting game and you can only kick so many different ways. The combo and special attacks looked stellar and without going into a crazy amount of detail, they fit the characters they were attached to!
The little lobby is cute, though it's a pixel setting, so don't expect anything like the AAA titles out on the market right now. The currency being salt is also very fun, as you go into the salt mines. The story mode is your standard fair with some little gaming elements like platforming and what feel like boss battles, but for the most part that wasn't the reason I'm here. I enjoyed it while I played, though the season pass adds quite a number of characters to the roster that I didn't access, the ones at the start of the game are just as fucking cute and viable! This is one I'm going to be keeping installed for a while.
This game is worth every penny, especially considering it is based on the Iñupiaq tale, Kunuuksaayuka. This game was made in partnership between the Cook Inlet Tribal Council and E-Line Media, which means this is a video game produced by Indigenous people! The story itself is told in the language of the Iñupiaq people, and the imagery is absolutely fantastic. As you progress there are checkpoints that unlock various small insights to Iñupiaq way of life and beliefs. All in all it's a really cute game worth your support! They even came out with a DLC!
The controls and platforming in the game are pretty intuitive with little tutorials for each new item or weapon that you receive. Sometimes combinations of items need to be used to solve puzzles and the sensitivity can be a little off, so expect a few things to take a couple of tries to complete. Still, the sequences are very story-esque and it really does feel like you are playing a narrated story being told around the fire.
Visually this game was stunning, as the backgrounds and imagery was not like many other games I've played before. There is a paperdoll quality to it all that makes it fell like a story over just playing through a scenario. Musically the sound of winter was felt as most of the background sound accented the weight of the vast snow fields you run through. Where it did change was always during a high tension moment, so you could always know when danger was lurking. It was never intrusive or distracting, but the more intense bits did often get very loud. There was a real cinematic feeling to all the music in the game.
I can't think of any real struggles I encountered while playing that wasn't related to the sensitivity of the controls. It can get a little frustrating when you can't quite get the series of buttons to go off in the timing that you pressed them, but at no point was this game breaking. I did personally struggle with some of the weather scenarios, but I think that was intended by the game! All in all, this game was an absolute treat to play through!
So this is one of those really lovely exploration games where it's more about the journey than anything else. You can expect a lot of wandering about, and you'll more than likely stumble upon the direction you need to go simply by following collectibles or a school of fish. Minimal game explanation in the beginning with a complete lack of dialogue puts the direction and pace in your hands, so I suggest taking your time with it.
The game controls for keyboard and mouse feel similar to other diving sims. I usually go controller for things like this cause the up and down really throw me for a loop, and the controls are incredibly sensitive for better or worse. It took me a while to get used to how fast the response was and how you'd just keep going up if you didn't level yourself out.
Relatively relaxing game play, I didn't really find myself getting stressed out over any specific components. There really aren't any puzzles that will stump you for hours. I only ever encountered a single time that anything was 'jump scare' worthy and even then it was easy to spot. You cannot die, and there is no combat which means you are free to explore without fear of triggering any sort of chase sequence or game over. The name of the game is exploration, and so long as you are doing that you will easily complete the game.
Motion Sickness
So, I do suffer from some gnarly motion sickness. The kind that makes it near impossible for me to really enjoy a first person game, and require that I disable all sorts of screen shaking effects for most games. That being said, I was alright for the most part playing this game. There is very little screen shaking, but the camera can move independently of the character which can make it a little disorienting when the directional controls are so sensitive. I found myself getting turned about a lot, so I guess it's a good thing there are no chase sequences in this game.
Thalassophobia
I do not suffer from this personally, but I do get antsy with games that have drop off points because I've been trained to 'fear' the big creature waiting to keep me in bounds. That being said, there are several points in which you are either floating over an abyss or actively swimming into/around one. Player beware, you're in for a... moment of 'eugh' as you try not to look down the great maw of the abyss. Also she's looking your way, I think the abyss likes you.
