Our Rating

Not Yet Rated Avg. User Rating

Originally starting on the Game Boy Color and making his way to the Wii, the little chick known as Toki Tori has finally made his way onto the PC via Steam. For those of you who missed out on the previous versions, Toki Tori is about a chick trying to free all of his little egg friends that have been so dastardly stolen and placed in cages. Who put the eggs in the cages? You don’t really learn that either, but that’s OK. You’ll be so engrossed in finding the best way to solve the levels that you won’t even think about plot or storylines.

The transition from handhelds to consoles to PC has been a good one. Steam users get additional levels, bringing the total to somewhere near the 80 mark (spread out over 4 worlds), but also enhanced graphics. Toki Tori and his surroundings have been given a shiny coat of polish, bringing out levels of detail that were previously unseen. The game is incredibly vibrant and colorful, which may turn a few players off at first due to the almost childish appearance, but it’s easy to look past after a few levels.

In guiding your colorful friend through the levels, you’ll have your option of how you’d like to control him: via the mouse or the keyboard. Using the mouse gives the game a “point and click” element and ease of use while opting for the keyboard makes it feel more like an adventure game, akin to Super Mario Bros., rather than a puzzle. I personally chose the keyboard as it felt a bit more natural, but others who played along side me chose to use the mouse. The controls, especially with the keyboard, feel a little heavy at times, especially when your trying to get as close to an edge as possible or when trying to outrun a ghost or other enemy type.

Despite what some people may say about the game, playing it off as “for kids” due to the color tone of the graphics, it’s most definitely not. While most players will breeze through the first zone pretty quick, the difficulty ramps up. Experienced puzzle vets will finish all of the main “Normal” levels in a few days worth of time but the “Hard” and “Bonus” levels will present a challenge that will leave you scratching your head and reaching for the latest guide on GameFAQs. There are times where the frustration level reaches a point where you just want to stand up and walk away but you’ll keep coming back because you know the solution is somewhere right in front of your face.

Toki Tori isn’t completely helpless in his adventures, either. Your granted a number of different items to use to help you solve puzzles, often in a greater amount than needed in order to ease the pain of having to restart the level because you hit the Bridge button instead of Teleport. The additional items usually are only an extra shot of your Ice Gun or an extra bridge, leaving you to restart the level anyway because your stuck in a crevice somewhere with no way to get out.

Overall, Toki Tori is a solid game, especially for the price. The budget titled game ($4.99 at time of writing) is a case in which low price does not equate to low quality. The smooth, attractive graphics mixed with addictive and mind-bending puzzle gameplay, likening itself to a strange mixture of Super Mario and Lemmings, makes this a title that any puzzle fan should consider picking up.

Gameplay Video: