Togges Review (PC)

There’s a secret I want to reach but the lock is on top of a column and surrounded by spikes. And to actually get it, I need to drop a cube, called a Togge, on top of it. They disappear when they touch the spikes. So I need to look around and find a way to lay a path of these sentient cubes through various terrain features and, somehow, make them touch the lock.

To make things even more complicated, the landscape is covered in weird blobs of darkness, which my Roomba-like character can hover up top open new paths. And there’s only a limited number of Togges I can use unless I find special boost cubes that will push the cap up. I plan to find how dropping my entire reserve on the smallest area possible will look, even if that’s not something the game asks of me.

It seems like a lot to juggle but while I think about how I can make progress, I am also roaming the delightful landscape, dropping cubes behind and around me. They all land with satisfying sounds and I love that I can go back at any point, pick them all up, and head in another direction, probably hiding a secret or a shortcut.

Togges is developed by Regular Studio, with publishing in the hands of Thunderful Publishing. I played on Steam on the PC, with the game also offered on the Xbox Series X and S, the PlayStation 5, older consoles from Sony and Microsoft, and the Nintendo Switch. The title delivers a combination of platforming and puzzle mechanics, set within a bright and colorful world.

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The player starts off as an intern for the President-King of the Togges, who is weirdly interested in dominating the known universe, despite his cheerful nature. It soon becomes clear that the Void, capable of destroying everything, is seeping in and that the powers that be are not handling the problem.

Gamers quickly graduate from interns to valiant leaders and cube controllers, working to save the fantasy world of this universe. The game is not afraid to break the fourth wall and has a jokey tone that mostly works. The narrative takes players from one interesting location to another but there is little depth to it.

Mechanically, Togges mixes third-person movement with environmental manipulation and puzzle-solving. The game wants players to be constantly on the move, covering space with their cubes as they search for ways to progress. Gamers control a TOOMBA, which can lay out living cubes as it moves and can also easily hover them up. The challenge is to navigate the landscape, put out a trail of blocks, and look for objectives and the paths that lead to them.

The cubes can be stacked to reach higher areas and the player can knock them about or lay them in certain patterns to deal with particular terrain types or bigger barriers. They will also be affected by environmental effects, which are important for puzzle-solving.

The number of Togges that can be used has a generous limit, which can be increased via gameplay. As players make progress new colors are introduced, each with its own special ability. And the design of the puzzles gets increasingly complex.

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A lot of thought and care went into the design of the various worlds players will visit. They tickle the desire to explore and create an urge to drop cubes over as much space as possible. The limit is a good thing because it actually nudges players back to the idea of solving puzzles and finding ways to expand their reserves and access new areas.

I like the constant excitement of exploration and the fact that players can test the system's limits as they seek to make progress. It’s always incredibly easy to put down and hover up the cubes, although some of the puzzles are deep and take time to solve. The world design and cube carpeting make the experience very attractive for newcomers to the world of video games.

Switch between colors as much as possible to see which fits the situation best. If any problem becomes frustrating, simply ignore it for a while and focus on the main objective. I often had solution epiphanies while joyfully moving around the worlds to see what else was there to cover in cubes. The game also offers a hint system.

Some players might be annoyed by the way worlds strongly resemble other titles, especially Nintendo classics. There are certainly similarities but Togges uses those reference points in new and puzzle-driven ways, which I appreciate.

I would have appreciated a cooperative mechanic, to get a second pair of eyes on the puzzles and introduce younger gamers to platforming without asking them to engage with all the gameplay mechanics.

Togges is a colorful, bright experience that wants players to always have fun. There’s a lot of inspiration drawn from Super Mario or Katamari in the world design, but plenty of unique ideas are added to the mix. Color is important, both when it comes to the cubes and the landscape. The camera sometimes behaves in odd ways but getting up to a higher point always helps. The soundtrack is almost too cheery, especially when the players get to a checkpoint or discover a secret. All the characters speak in musical chirps that add to the atmosphere.

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