Toki Tori is exactly what everybody needs sometimes: a game to relax with that isn’t insultingly easy. Toki Tori moved as quickly or as slowly as the player wanted, it was beautiful to look at, and each level presented a challenge without feeling stressful. Toki Tori 2 changes the formula from the first game but, so far, retains the charm of the original.
What it is: Toki Tori 2 is a 2D puzzle platformer with a focus on exploration. Unlike the first game, Toki Tori 2 is stitched together via an overworld map. Revisiting past areas is encouraged, and allows the player to progress further and explore areas that were previously unavailable. The combination is an uncommon one, but adding Metroid to the original formula works here.
Why we’re excited: The world doesn’t have enough puzzle platformers, and of those it does have not many are as pretty to look at or rewarding to play as the preview build of Toki Tori 2 that Two Tribes supplied. Everything is vibrant, and puzzle elements are simple to pick out of the environment. Everything in the game world serves a purpose, and Toki Tori 2 manages to communicate a lot of information with absolutely no text allowing the player to discover mechanics on their own. Most games over-tutorialize by making a starting area mandatory and yelling about the controls throughout. Toki Tori 2 allowed me to progress at my own pace, and the revelations meant a lot more when I made them myself instead of having a wizened old teacher lecture me for the first 20 minutes of gameplay.
What we’re wondering: The preview build was just that, and with no indication of how long the final product will be, I can’t speak to the difficulty curve, value proposition or puzzle variety. I enjoyed what I played, and the overworld map looks substantial though, so I have high hopes for the finished product. It will be interesting to see just how the Wii U and PC versions differ as well. Will there be a definitive version? If so, will the PC version feel incomplete due to the Wii U’s unique controller?
Toki Tori 2 releases in March for the Wii U and later in 2013 for PC.
