I like a good 3D platformer as much as the next person. I grew up in the age of Spyro the Dragon, Donkey Kong 64, and other platforming classics. I also love games that are a little on the weird side. Sadly, sometimes games like Togges fit all the right boxes, but just don’t scratch the itch like they might seem to.

Togges puts you in the role of a robotic Toomba, a Roomba-esque device that is able to suck up and spread the titular togges creatures. You are called to protect the universe from the threat of the void, in a story that is reminiscent of games such as Katamari Damacy. In order to do this, you’ll have to explore seven massive worlds, solving puzzles with the abilities of the togges.

Each color of togges has a different ability. Some may conduct electricity, while others may be able to float in water. Regardless, as the Toomba you can only spread togges around if you are touching another togges. By allowing the togges to consume fruit in each level, you not only unlock new colors of the togges but also create checkpoint-like “Star Togges” which can spread togges of any color.

Admittedly, the story is fun and the characters are interesting. However, I have one major problem with Togges that really killed a lot of my enjoyment. The levels are large, and there are many things to collect. With that being said, the levels almost feel too open-ended. I’m sure that the sandbox aspect is a selling point for some people who might like to just explore and experiment.

However, if you’re going to have a game like this with a story and a collect-a-thon element to it, sometimes making levels too large and not providing much guidance can cause the game to feel aimless. I look at a lot of the classics as examples. In every 3D Mario title, there might be large numbers of collectibles in each level, but you have a clear set of parameters to know that you’ve collected everything in a section before moving on.

Even the tutorial felt a little aimless since they didn’t tell me that you couldn’t spread togges unless you were touching them, until after that detail became relevant. Granted, I spent a fair bit of time letting trial and error speak for itself, but the more I played Togges the more I felt like it would benefit from tighter, more focused levels.

In fact, getting new togges colors was somewhat strange because each time I got a new one, it might be another 30 minutes before I might need to use it. While the game tells you each color’s unique characteristics, it might benefit from the Pikmin model: give you a color, test you in its use, and send you on your way.

Overall, I like the idea of Togges. The characters are fun, the dialogue is quirky, and the story premise is pretty unique. It definitely has that Katamari vibe, with a fresh coat of paint. However, the aimless nature of the gameplay really put a damper on it for me. You might like it if you’re just looking for a puzzle sandbox to play in though.

A Nintendo Switch review copy of Togges was provided by Thunderful Publishing for this review.

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Togges

$19.99 USD

6

Score

6.0/10

Pros

• Quirky Story
• Colorful Levels
• Lots of Things to Collect
• Smooth Controls

Cons

• Levels Feel Too Big
• Tutorials Come Late
• Can Feel Aimless at Times
• Could Use More Focused Levels