Toren Reviews
If the mechanics were tighter and there was a bit more actual gameplay, then I would give this a more general recommendation, but as it is, only buy if you can tolerate lacking gameplay for story and setting.
Toren is a great idea. As a lover of the arts, its focus on artistic impression and intriguing spirituality is something I'll always support. I'm also not one to condemn the length (Journey was only a few hours long, too).
Toren shoots for the moon but lands nowhere special.
There's nothing majorly wrong with Toren. Although barren, its gameplay systems operate well enough, going hand-in-hand with developer Swordtales' minimalist approach. That said, mechanically, it fails to do anything that truly immerses players any more than the game's pretty visuals.
Toren's weak central mechanics, repetitive action, and overall bugginess are mitigated somewhat by its engaging mood and direction.
The game is beautiful in many aspects, but with multiple glitches, slightly broken mechanics, short play time ,and performance issues, it is hard for me to say pick it up at full price. In fact, I would say give this game a shot once it goes on sale. Until then, hold off on this rather unique title.
Despite some strong world design and a compelling soundtrack, Toren just can't keep up with the other great platformers on the market, even from the previous generation. The miserable visuals, combined with technical problems and loose gameplay, leave this journey coming up way short – and making us wish that The Last Guardian would surface sooner rather than later.
Toren is an imaginative game with an interesting narrative and beautiful game world. For every moment of striking art or good design, however, there's something wrong with the game technically or in terms of its moment to moment gameplay. Ultimately, like Moonchild herself, Toren would have benefitted from a bit more time in the tower, exploring its own design and ideas before rushing to the top. There's very few things that are more ironic than a game that plays with the notion of time feeling incomplete.
Toren felt like it was just trying to check things off of a "how to make a video game" checklist. Monsters? Check. Armor? Check. Jump button? Check. Scrolls? Check. A dragon? Check. Platforming? Check. Varied environments? Check. I could go on, but I'll spare you. Each of these things were only half thought out and glued together haphazardly. No thought was given to creating an enjoyable experience that uses all elements of a video game to form something incredible. There's a good game hiding deep down inside Toren, but it missed the mark in almost all ways and failed to fully realize any of its ideas, leaving it as much less of an experience than it should have been.
Terrible textures aside, there's a beauty to Toren's art and audio direction that's worth beholding. The problem is that outside of these assets, Swordtales' two hour adventure falls short. A plethora of technical problems and uninteresting level design win out over the positive aspects, and this experience is below par as a consequence. Listen and look at it by all means – just try to avoid actually playing it.
'Toren's artistic approach is marred by finicky controls, a troublesome camera, and gameplay that feels more like small proofs of concept than a cohesive product.
I've been contemplating the best way to word this part of my review, and I just have to think being blunt and forward is the best way to go. This game is mediocre. It's a nice first try at a game, and the story of it is pretty great, but everything else falls so short I'm forced to simply say unless you're a big fan of indie games and you don't care about quality, don't bother playing this game.