Togges begins with an incredibly dramatic backstory. Star Wars-style scrolling text accompanied by a booming narrator sets the scene. Throughout, Togges masterfully writes dialogue that ranges from dry workplace satire to space dragon absurdity to meta-his humor that admits it’s a game. The juxtaposition of an adorable design style and a dark, space-destroying story leans towards silliness.
You play as a circular vacuum robot named Toomba. You dive into a bright, blocky world and march in front of the King in a job interview as an intern. After completing a few simple tests, join him to take control of the universe in order to prevent it from being consumed by the void.
The tutorials are fun and the controls are easy to learn. Creates trails of blocks, his famous Togges, all over the world to collect seeds and fruits. Togges help you navigate to new areas of the map by stacking to form platforms and climbing over obstacles such as water and spikes. There are many of his Togges in different colors, each with a different function. As you explore the universe, vacuum the dark clouds of emptiness and collect the fruits, seeds, and Togges letters scattered around you.
The universe is made up of asteroids with unique and exciting features. Each one has a handy counter to keep track of how many collections you have to find. Each one also has a goal – find the ruler of that world and form an alliance in the fight against the void. You can always come back to find more goodies.
Togges encourages creativity in exploration. There is more than one way to pass a level. How you want to claim each prize is up to your device. Nor can Togges do it all. You have to figure out how to use them to manipulate the world around you in order to get what you want. If you want to hit 100% in a game, you’ll need quick reflexes and sharp thinking to reach the elusive.
There are some elements that are a little more sophisticated. Some instructions are vague and the hint feature is not very helpful. Sometimes the camera will resist control, and other times it will land in a useless spot. But these are ultimately minor problems that many indie games have. They are easy to bypass and are not game breaking. If anything, it adds some extra challenges to a game designed to encourage creativity.
