Toki Tori 2+

Toki Tori 2 is an unusual puzzle-platformer with a metroidvania-like progression.

When you think about “platformer”, the first thing that comes to mind is “jump”… but you can’t jump in Toki Tori 2.
Besides moving, you can whistle and stomp, that’s all. They both emit a signal that affect various things.

The game is all about manipulating animals and your environment to progress. Depending on what receives the signal and how, this can do interesting and varied things. For example, if a frog eats a berry bug, it will stop and inflate. If you stomp near it, it will release a flying bubble which you can get into.
These manipulations render the game rather slow and precise. You’ll also often need to reset if you make a mistake, though this is usually not a big problem as checkpoints are really common.

The beginning of the game is rather linear; you’re asked to go to the village, so you just follow the path while solving easy puzzles. There are also wing medals scattered around the world, so you collect them.
What’s strange though is that you’ll notice impossible paths that seem to lead somewhere, or medals that are completely inaccessible.
It wouldn’t be strange if you’d get upgrades or new moves, but there are none. You have all the tools you need right from the beginning, and the game clearly states it several times.

It turns out that Toki Tori 2 is a metroidvania with areas locked behind knowledge, not upgrades. Nothing is told, you’ll need to deduce and memorize everything on your own. The more you learn about what you can do with your whistle and stomp abilities, the easier it becomes to find secret routes and hard-to-reach places. The puzzles also become harder of course, only the beginning is easy.

The map is great to deduce where you need to return to find secret routes, and you’ll also be able to deduce a way to teleport.
The wing medals are another story unfortunately. It’s very, very annoying to backtrack for them, and that’s a shame because they offer the hardest challenges.

Overall, Toki Tori 2 is a very good game that brings its unique twist to the metroidvania formula. Metroidvania + puzzles is my weak point, so this game might be rated slightly too high but whatever.
Recommended.

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Developer: Two Tribes
Publisher: Two Tribes
Platforms: Steam – Windows/Linux/macOS, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Wii U
Release Date: April 4, 2013