NOCLIP Pocket E53 - Medicinal Straw - Toem

A new podcast has been added to your HikeLady, Welcome back to the
podcast! Today, we’re going to be talking about Toem, a
photo-taking adventure game from developer Something We Made, and a
game that is, well, frankly, sort of squarely in our wheelhouse. In
Toem, you are tasked with going from place to place and fulfilling
requests, which you do by using your camera and some limited
environmental interaction to solve puzzles and obtain items. The
camera is definitely the most noteworthy mechanical part of this
game, switching from the game’s isometric perspective into a first
person one and allowing you to freely move around and take pictures
at whatever angle you choose. This is used to good effect, putting
things in locations you can barely see without the on-the-ground
viewpoint given to you by the camera. It makes the puzzles feel
engaging and occasionally challenging, yet the lenient completion
requirements allow you to moderate exactly how chill of an
experience you want from it. Combine that with the game’s grayscale
art style and varied characters, and you have a short, laid back
game that scratches that itch for a do nothing night at home that
you can play in a single sitting. We’re going to be talking about
the unique way this game approaches puzzles, what it does to
encourage completing the game at your own pace, and we try to turn
the podcast into a news show for some dumb reason. Thank you for
joining us again this week! Toem was, to us, a pretty decent follow
up to Ocarina of Time, just because it is so short and laid back.
There is functionally no pressure in this game and it makes for a
really calm experience to sit down and play. Did you find the slow
but dense style of this game to work for you, or were you searching
for something a little deeper? How did you feel about the
presentation, whether it be the simplistic visuals or the acoustic
indie soundtrack? Let us know in the comments, or over on our
Discord, and maybe drop a suggestion for what we should play next.
Next time, we’re playing a game that no one requested, in the form
of Wandersong, which, debatably, is a pretty similar game to to all
the indie adventure games we play, but with a more musical bent.
It’s certainly a lot more colorful than Toem, so at least that sets
it apart. We hope you’ll come back for it next time.