Toby: The Secret Mine Reviews
To be honest, the only redeeming factor of Toby: The Secret Mine is that it's not one of the many, so many, "roguelikes" or pseudo 8-bit platformers that are the norm these days from indie developers. It felt kind of refreshing to go back to 2014, even for a fleeting moment. The ideas in Toby are sound, the execution however is a lot to be desired.
Toby: The Secret Mine is a good platform that can be enjoyable by everyone, although its design could be improved with less "trial & error". As a result, the whole experience is a bit frustrating.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Toby: The Secret Mine is a short and frequently frustrating adventure.
Toby: The Secret Mine is a fun platforming adventure whose art design alone is worth a look. The visuals are consistently amazing all the way through it's short playtime. The fact that it takes so little time to finish is it's biggest flaw. The odd technical hitch and a general lack of depth don't help matters. Fans of Limbo will be in circular saw heaven here and are probably the ones who will benefit most from Toby's stylings. For the rest, this is a game where the sights are breathtaking to behold but when examined deeper, it's a journey found curiously wanting.
Toby: The Secret Mine has a wonderful audiovisual style, but the lack of any unique ideas and many unfortunate design decisions undermine it greatly.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
Overall, Toby: The Secret Mine is a good game, even if it does feel like a shorter version of Limbo. It’s a charming puzzle platformer that I enjoyed putting a few hours into and what little story there was does give you the opportunity to let your imagination go and make up your own backstory for the characters and situations. If that’s the kind of thing you don’t mind doing. The thing that stops Toby: The Secret Mine from being a great game is the numerous similarities to Limbo as well as the lack of guidance around puzzles.
There is much to enjoy about Toby: the Secret Mine. The title is a solid indie platformer that delivers on both gameplay and art direction.
Toby: The Secret Mine may look like another famous platformer, but it deserves to be recognised by its own merits. There's plenty of brain teasing going on as well as some tight platforming to keep you pushing towards the end. Don't bother getting invested in the non-verbal narrative, just enjoy the journey.
If you’re looking for a more casual LIMBO-stye game, this is certainly one I can recommend, because, after further evaluation, this is pretty much what Toby is going for in my estimation. A simpler, more accessible, friendlier LIMBO. It’s not a bad game. If, however, you’re like me and looking for a more core game like the former, this won’t hit those marks, though it could be a worthy play down the line with a sale, or if you just need more of these kinds of games in your library right now.