Toren really is about its narrative, and that is arthouse gold. Like the finest of foreign cinema, this game challenges how the wisdom behind blockbuster design would dictate a game should be put together. It's constrained by budget and, perhaps, a lack in confidence to go all the way and risk complete innovation, but it's a beautiful, emotive, and powerful experience, and it's going to be one of my games of the year. If not one of my favourite games ever.
Toren is a nice addition to PS4 indies' library. At first sight, it seems like a classical adventure (platforming, puzzle, exploring, a little bit combat...) but underneath all that it explores vital concepts like death and life, and apply them directly to gameplay. I wish it lasted a little bit more because it's a really short game.
A beautiful fairy tale. An exciting history, an astonishing visual, supplemented by a great soundtrack. Special fondness for the final battle.
recommended
[DISCLAIMER: There will be some small spoilers up ahead. Also, I was a beta tester for some of the boss fights when the game was in it's development stage. Also this is a re-post from the pc review,]
I really don't like scoring games over numbers, I feel this is a system that does not truly convey an interactive experience, nor I feel slicing a game on it's different systems is the way to truly say **** is worth a look or not.
Rather, I like to look at the whole.
Toren is a game of simple mechanics. Perhaps 'subtle' is the word I am looking for, as in this is not a game defined by it's combo system Moonchild can do (despite having a sword at several points of the game and using it to actually hit and wound a Dragon), nor by the "salt the holy icons" moments the game have (which feel like a chore - both for us the players as well the character.)
I'd argue these little mechanics help tell the story.
You salt the holy symbols because it's a purification ritual.
You hide behind the statues because a terrible wind is blowing, and you do not want to fall down the platform.
The mechanics are there so you react and interact with the scenes and the story. Only when you confront the dragon there is a "fear", a "tension" that you might lose some short of progress (Well there are some platform/exploration that might end up resulting on your character death but those are uncommon).
So it's a game that doesn't want to train you or reward you for being awesome at platforms and most puzzles are basic - They often make sense in the logic of the world meaning they are really simple.
This leaves us with the center of Toren itself: It's story. It's message.
Once you actually know that it's a story is about the cycle of reincarnation as seen by some gnostic sects, all the symbolism makes sense.
All the concepts of the game match the mythos surrounding it, and the game ends with it beginning anew, as if you 'reincarnate' the experience to do all over again,
It's a game about learning 'truths' as seeing by said religious/cultural lens and navigating a beautiful world and having rituals that mark these learning experiences.
Which I guess makes Toren a "Narrative" game; A game where you do not play for it's sick jumping mechanics or kick ass sword combos, but by paying attention on it's muted and quiet story. Some reviews claim it's pretentious, yet all it does is take knowledge that exists outside the game and creating a symbolic experience for them.
If you wish to experience a story in which the gameplay helps convey some emotional moments for the experience, Toren is your jam. Take note it's a story that barely has any dialogues and it's marked by rituals. Trying to figure out said rituals was part of the fun for me, but your mileage may vary.
I truly feel even if you disagree with the game beliefs, seeing them executed in this form is interesting, unique even. I'd love to see more spiritual games like that being made, all sharing different point of views.
If anything I said here interested you, then take the game for a spin. It's cheap and in the short side length wise, you can beat it in about two hours and a half, perhaps more or less. But this game wasn't crafted to pad things up. It wishes to tell you a story, to show you a world, and then to give you the message that inspired the crafting of the story in the first place. And then it ends in a metaphor.
It’s sort of like a half-baked idea that had excellent ingredients, but those ingredients weren’t quite assembled correctly and it was removed from the oven too early. And so, the result is sort of edible, but far from tasty.
Despite some strong world design and a compelling soundtrack, Toren just can't keep up with the other great platformers on the market, even from the previous generation. The miserable visuals, combined with technical problems and loose gameplay, leave this journey coming up way short – and making us wish that The Last Guardian would surface sooner rather than later.
Toren felt like it was just trying to check things off of a “how to make a video game” checklist. Monsters? Check. Armor? Check. Jump button? Check. Scrolls? Check. A dragon? Check. Platforming? Check. Varied environments? Check.
Toren is great conquest to Brazilian game market, when I start to play I got really surprised the game has as very beautiful art (I love the cartoon like style), a great story and a awesome way to delivery it. I saw some bugs (there is a stair where I always get stuck on the top) but nothing which interfered in my gameplay. The only thing I have to complain is that the game is to short.
Game: Toren
Genre: Action Adventure
Publisher/Developer: Versus Evil/Swordtales
System: Steam (PC)
Total Score: 61/100
Value Score: 6.1/10
• Story: 6/10
• Characters: 6/10
• GamePlay: 4/10
• Graphics: 6/10
• Sound: 7/10
• Music: 6/10
• Length: 5/10
• Replay Value: 5/10
• Player Value: 6/10
Pros
+Design is colorful and vibrant, you can tell the developer had good intentions to make the game based on the art style and design
+Chapter select allowing you to replay certain sections rather than starting all over
Cons
-Design quality seems a mixture of 6th and 7th generation gaming, some poorly designed visuals from time to time.
-Animation is clunky
-Gameplay feels clunky and slow at times
-Puzzle and combat are a bore
-Very short
Toren is in the vein of Journey or Brothers: a Tale of Two Sons in that the "puzzles" are not hard unless you are a total idiot and that it is about enjoying the visuals and story. The visuals are really unique and sometimes amazing. Look up some screenshots for this game!! The game is wonky and a technical mess. The were some meta puzzles of how to get through the game without it breaking and having to restart the checkpoints. Might be worth putting up with if you like these types of games.
My interest in the game was only mildly sparked by an occasional unusual setting or character. But nothing connects well. And poorly written prose, choppy game events, terrible character animations, and buggy game play make this a title to avoid.
Interesting premise, story, and game that fails to deliver in the end. The visuals and music are the best part of the game which relaxes you. The game however doesn't feel deep enough to be satisfying. The gameplay is very basic, repetitive, and not fun. Overall, its a decent attempt at a videogame from a first time developer. I liked the spiritual aspect of the game.
SummaryExperience the mysterious world of Toren, the first adventure game from Brazilian indie developer Swordtales. You are Moonchild, destined to climb the tower (known as Toren) on a hauntingly solitary journey to find your purpose.