TOEM Critic Reviews

Overall, TOEM is a remarkable take on the photography game genre, if it is a genre at all. You take pictures both to progress in the game and for your own pleasure, with each shot further strengthening your link to the in-game world and its delightful characters. While it's predominantly a happy-go-lucky experience, there are some poignant moments, and it's a game that could stay in your heart long after you beat it.

TOEM is a short, densely packed, and extremely satisfying little adventure that smartly fills every corner of its world with something beautiful to see or another cute animal to discover.

TOEM is suitable for all audiences. Everything from its friendly nature, to the ease of control, to the cute characters and catchy tunes, TOEM hits the mark in many ways. Though I wish it were longer, a part of me thinks the short length adds to the simplicity and relaxation aspect of the experience. It was just so inviting, especially during days where you want to do something easy and not necessarily feel too challenged, making me wish there was more content and areas to explore. TOEM 2, perhaps?

Toem is the absolute pinnacle of easy-going gaming, and although it's a bit brief you'll never want to leave its gorgeous black and white world.

TOEM isn't a long game, and it's not a difficult one, but it's perfect if you want to enjoy a cute, low-key gaming experience that's built around a photo mode.

There’s no big bad to cross, no huge conflict to overcome – just a small adventure with joy and happiness aplenty. TOEM elicited more than a few genuine chuckles from me as I played, barely able to put it down from start to finish. For anyone looking to vibe out and play something with a genuine sincerity to its giant heart, TOEM is an easy recommendation.

TOEM is an all-around charming photo adventure with heartwarming stories and quirky characters, but pretty short and shallow characters, but pretty short and shallow.

TOEM is a short but satisfying little photography adventure packed with witty writing and picturesque moments to capture.

Toem is an utterly delightful Switch photography game that is filled with personality and doesn’t wear out its welcome. It rewards you for taking your time and paying attention. Which doesn’t mean you can’t rush through and finish it in a single weekend if you’d like. But it is the sort of adventure that goes out of its way to make someone feel comfortable. And with all of its little details, I imagine a player might be able to return a few times to check out little extras they might have missed.

TOEM is one of the many wholesome games available on Switch, but it is one that stands out thanks to its unique hand-drawn art style and enjoyable perspective mechanics. A short but sweet, frame-by-frame adventure.

TOEM is a light and funny story, which makes you put your hand to the camera much more often than necessary. Nothing can be done about it: the temptation to capture in an image the beauty, the light-heartedness and the joy of the creatures that inhabit this world is too much to ignore.

Toem has you take your time, frame things up, put the zoom on proper, and take as many tries as you’d like to get it right with good music to accompany the process. It’s a short-lived expedition and can get choppy on the switch when there’s a lot going on in an area, but it’s still a charming experience I very much enjoyed my time with. I wouldn’t mind seeing more games take this more carefree route to a photographic experience in video games.

TOEM is an exquisite expedition into a minimalist black and white world without being simplistic. With a ton of objects to collect and puzzles to solve with your camera, the small independent game offers a variety of charming activities, all in a relaxing atmosphere. Far too short, we would have liked to spend more time on it.

End of game issues aside TOEM is a delightful, relaxed, monochrome game on Nintendo Switch. The music is peaceful, and favourite tracks can be listened to at any point, making it an ideal break from a busy life. The interesting characters provide a lot of laughs with their bizarre requests, cataloguing all the creatures brings its own amusement like watching a snail win a race against itself, and there is so much humour that the absence of colour is not noticed or missed.

Toem might be short, but with the number of challenges, and you can finish it an afternoon if you’re looking for something fun and relaxing to throw yourself at, or dip in and out to complete every little side mission. With the winter evenings drawing in, Toem is the kind of game I can see myself coming back to with a hot chocolate and a blanket, as I settle in to bring a little joy to the denizens of the world of Toem.

Like a great album you put on at the end of the day to wind down, Toem is an incredibly relaxing experience that you'll wish you could experience all over again once it's finished. It almost makes us want to start capturing photographs of the world around us, but sadly, we don’t have a duck dressed as a lighthouse keeper to show them to. If only.

TOEM is a game that knows how to overcome its flaws, delivering an adventure full of charm to make the player happy.

Toem is a very pleasant and relaxing game. Ideal for playing with the family, this little photography game is smarter than it looks, thanks to a simple, but effective concept, well-made little puzzles and a universe without artifice, but cute as everything. Very short and accessible, the title of Something We Made is undoubtedly what you need if you want to indulge in a peaceful experience, populated by characters as absurd as they are amusing. It doesn't go any further than that, doesn't pretend to, and that is undoubtedly very good.

TOEM is a calm expedition where photography will be an ally in discovery, not the main point. The way in which the art was used both for exploration and for photography is surprising, however the game lacks repetition in certain moments.

Don't get me wrong, my time with TOEM while playing was a lot of fun. The little contradictions I came across during my time with the game didn't really sink in until after I finished the game. I did put in the time and collected as many stamps as possible. But even so, you should expect to stick too long to TOEM. Once you've seen everything, there really isn't that much to return to. Still, in some cases I'd argue that the journey is the destination. When it comes to TOEM the journey can be a little tedious and sometimes even a bit repetitive. But if you're looking for a slow paced game to relax over a weekend there's still a lot of charm and enjoyment to be found here.