Game Info
GAME NAME: Toren
DEVELOPER(S): Swordtales
PUBLISHER(S): Versus Evil
PLATFORM(S): PS4
GENRE(S): Adventure
RELEASE DATE(S): May 12th, 2015
There are very few games nowadays that remind me of why I enjoy playing them along with creating an immersive experience. Swordtales, a Brazilian indie studio, has released their first adventure game called Toren and this delivers nearly everything I want from a game. The story is abstract at first and takes a little while to understand, but it is in fact a collaboration of stories from Brazilian Folklore.
In Toren, you will experience the growth of a Moonchild from a baby all the way to an adult, all while regaining memories and traversing a tower with a few puzzle elements. Men built this tower to imprison a deity to empower themselves and the Sun grew angry and created an eternal sunlight that never sleeps. This has cursed all living things and caused them to perish leaving no one and nothing left alive. There is a Dragon and a few small monsters that live on the tower and it is up to you in destroying the Dragon to bring the Moon back.
At the beginning, you meet a Wizard that is the last living person who was strong enough to survive the Sun’s curse. Truth be told, he is nearing death himself and is tasked with giving you a seedling that is the last trace of living things on earth. Once you plant this the game starts to pick up with the “Tree of Life” growing up the tower and aiding you in climbing higher. As you progress through each section the Moonchild will grow and learn new abilities that help adapt to new challenges you face while scaling the tower.
It is truly amazing how this developer chose to tell the story and help you learn that you, the Moonchild, are extremely vital to bringing the moon back. The fact that you are alone in this task creates a sense of empowerment yourself to try and save what once was. You will eventually gain a sword that will will aid you in your quest to the top of tower Toren. There are also dreams you will encounter that test your skills to not only help you grow physically, but also mentally with knowledge of why you are there. It was also interesting to experience this little child growing up and you’re there to see her through it all, which creates a sense of attachment to her.
The controls are a bit simple and that works just fine for this title. There were a few occasions where it felt like some movements weren’t registering right when I pressed the assigned buttons, but I didn’t feel this affected my experience. The puzzle elements are not too complex for a seasoned gamer, but a newcomer to adventure games might experience a minor pause here and there to think.
The visuals are absolutely amazing, with a very similar art style to games like ICO and Shadow of the Colossus. In fact, this whole game seemed to remind me of ICO and that is nowhere near a bad thing. There were a few occasional frame-rate issues and some minor glitches, but that nowhere near ruined my overall experience. The sound is nothing too special, but the music is something to applaud. I thoroughly enjoyed the soundtrack for Toren and it helped me stayed immersed the whole time.
The Recommendation
I commend Swordtales and Versus Evil for creating an outstanding adventure game that had me pleasantly surprised with the experience. Toren is definitely for the true gamers in the world that enjoy adventure titles and a unique story. I have stopped mentioning pricing in my reviews mainly because it adds no purpose, but this title is only $9.99 and is more than worth your ten dollars. I am hoping that Swordtales is working on more games as I would be more than interested in playing them.
