If you’re looking for a solid platformer with some interesting new mechanics, Tokobot makes a great rental.
You play as Bolt, a young archaeologist-like character who works for a scientist named Dr. Canewood. You and your small crew are excavating some ruins when, lo and behold, you find some little white and orange robots who begin to follow you around obediently. These, as it turns out, are the Tokobots, who saw you as their first visual and believe that you’re their mother. It’s then up to you to search the rest of the ruins and learn about these ancient robots. It’s a pretty flimsy pretext to go on, and one that develops little throughout the course of the game. Oh well. It’s all about the platforming action here.
You won’t be going at it alone, though. Frankly, Bolt isn’t much of an acrobat himself – you’ll need to utilize the Tokobots’ three different formations to make it anywhere in the game. There’s “V,” “U,” and “Circle” formations, and these will line the Tokobots up in a vertical line, horizontal line, or cause them to circle around you, respectively. (Don’t ask about the nonsensical names).
After you’ve picked a formation, you’ll need to hold the right shoulder button and press the square button to pull off a ‘joint action,’ which will help you reach new areas. For example, performing a joint action in “V” formation will cause Bolt to throw the string of Tokobots over his head. If there’s a magnet attached to a wall, the Tokobot at the end of the line will stick to it, and they’ll form a makeshift ladder for you to climb up. Using a joint action in “U” formation will cause Bolt to spin himself and the Tokobots into a tornado of fury, which will damage enemies quite nicely. The circle formation’s joint action is essentially a butt stomp, which is primarily used to stamp switches.
You’ll be using those three basic abilities to get through the vast majority of the environments and will use them to take down the semi-frequent and forgettable bosses you’ll encounter. You’ll also be using Karakuri Combinations to solve the occasional dilemma. You’ll find stone tablets in the game that essentially serve as blueprints for how to morph your Tokobots into new entities for puzzle solving. One has the Tokobots turn into a tram you can use to ride the rails scattered about the ruins, while another turns the little guys into a crane you can use to pick up and move large objects. Karakuri Combinations make for a neat little addition, but since their usage is so limited (and in fact, most can only be activated while standing on labeled pads in the levels), it really isn’t that consequential to the game.
The game’s presentation is solid but bland. The visuals in the game are clean and sharp, but they lack a diverse palette, and the characters come off very generic. Even the Tokobots aren’t all that interesting to look at. The audio is completely unobtrusive, and although it does its job, you probably will forget it’s even there sometimes. The only real problem here is the camera, which tracks behind Bolt’s back admirably but is always slightly off any right angles, making lining up joint actions infuriating at times.
Tokobot’s simple but fun gameplay is great while it lasts, but sadly, it doesn’t last all that long, clocking in at around five or six hours, and since the game is quite straightforward, that number isn’t too likely to vary. However, if you’re looking for a solid platformer with some interesting new mechanics, Tokobot makes a great rental.