Featuring an amazing backsplash of environments and amazing character design, does TOHU have more under the hood than your typical point and click puzzlers?
Title: TOHU
Developer: Fireart Games
Publishers: The Irregular Corporation
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC, Xbox One, PS4, Xbox Series X (Reviewed), PS5
Release Date: January 28, 2021
As I started playing through TOHU what really struck me was the amazing art design. It’s world is flush with interesting bits and creatures as you learn the mechanics. You play as T Girl, who’s abilities to jump and crawl through small tunnels while propel you through the worlds set out in front of you. Occasionally you will have to lift something that The Girl is just not able to, and with a press of a button you become Cubis, a hulking robot with a rotating cube head. It’s a interesting mechanic that, to me, doesn’t come in to play often enough.
The Girls planet, which is a fish, is disturbed by an evil Stranger. The Stranger destroys the sacred engine that is integral to the planet. Leaving Chaos in it’s path, the Stranger leaves the planet and the Girl heads to her Juncles to get his assistance to fix the engine. This is where the game really takes off. You begin trying to solve various puzzles around his house and planet, some of which are easy, but a good portion required some either planning or deep thought.
As a point and click puzzler, don’t expect too much action. Instead you will find yourself having to get the timing just right to sneak past an antagonist, or plotting the course of vines without having any holes, and it seems so easy but what the hell vines just do what I need to come on man why is this so hard JUST DO WHAT I NEED DONE. Make sure to mind each and every environment as well, as something as simple as birds on a wire or drawers can be a hint to a puzzle in later areas.
You travel from planet to planet on the mission to find the pieces needed to fix the engine and The Girls planet. Each planet is beautiful, and elegantly designed. I found myself scanning each and every inch of every screen to absorb the details. Each animal is incredibly interesting and cute (in a way that a flying screwdriver can be). The music, which is done by Christopher Larkin (who also did the music for Hollow Knight), adds another amazing layer to the ambience of TOHU. As you travel from planet to planet, a narrator chimes in furthering the plot and explaining what is going to happen in the next planet in an incredibly pleasant way.
GRADING
Gameplay: 9/10- A great point and click puzzler, with some puzzles all across the spectrum of difficulty.
Graphics: 9/10- The level, character and art style remind me of a Cartoon Network show, and are created with such love it comes through in each frame.
Control: 9/10- Point and click is very receptive.
Sound Design: 9/10- Again the sound track by Christopher Larkin is amazing.
Overall– 9/10 TOHU is an amazing game, from the thought out levels and character design, to the complex puzzles and finally the soundtrack, this game is as close to perfect as you can get.
FrankenCulture 