This looked like a lovely wee game when I saw it appear on the Switch eShop, so because I’m morally against paying full price for anything these days I put it on my wish list in the hope of a sale. And then, it appeared on PS+, saving me even more money!
It’s a unique looking, black and white 2D characters in a 3D world game with a hand-drawn style, which is why it originally stood out to me. For the most part, it’s an adventure-y puzzle game, wrapped around the premise of taking photos of stuff. The aim is to complete enough photo challenges in one area to unlock travel to the next one, eventually reaching the Toem and taking a photo of it. I won’t explain what a Toem is (or even how to pronounce it), but the reason for the black and white graphics become clear when you get there.
None of the photo requests are particularly challenging, and some require you to return to visited areas with new clothes and/or abilities you unlocked later (like being able to see ghosts or break blocks of ice), but it isn’t really a Metroidvania as most are optional.
Each area has a great collection of characters to meet and interact with, from the old guy who has lost a sock (and somehow you find two for him), to the ghost of a horse’s head who wants a photo of what they looked like when they were still alive, to the group of thugs who won’t let you join their gang until you’ve found all their graffiti. There’s also some shady organisation watching you for Reasons, and a number of shy monsters to look out for and somehow get snaps of.
It’s very silly, and probably counts as one of those “cosy” genre games with no timers, deaths, failures, peril or danger, but is really quite lovely.
