Togges is a 3D puzzle platformer from developer Regular Studio and Thunderful Publishing. You play as a little robot vacuum working for King President to help save the galaxy from a threat called the Void.
Your primary ability is leaving cubes behind you called togges. To go through a door, collect an item, or talk to a major character, you must put a togge on it. You can only start a trail of togges at dedicated spawn points, and you have to figure out how to make a trail from that point to your destination. You have a limited number of togges, but the trail of togges doesn’t have to connect to the spawn point-just to other togges of the same color. You can vacuum up the first part of your trail to regain those togges and continue your trail or branch off of it if you see something different and want to collect it on the way.
There are six types of togges, each with a unique ability, such as yellow togges stacking higher and black togges being indestructible. You start each level with one or two colors of togges. When you lead togges to fruit, the fruit will transform into a new spawn point for togges of any color you’ve unlocked in that level. Togges has some fun puzzles, but a lack of polish in things ranging from the camera getting stuck in objects to vague mission objectives that didn’t indicate where I was supposed to go constantly disrupted my enjoyment.
Each level is an open sandbox you have to explore to find fruit, collectibles, NPCs, and new togge colors. The levels are bright and inviting; however, they can be confusing due to how many objects, structures, puzzle pieces, secrets, and characters occupy the limited space.
Unfortunately, many small issues and odd choices eroded my enjoyment of puzzle-solving and exploration. You can’t look straight up, which makes vertical exploration more difficult. Sometimes the game takes away camera control with no warning, moving to a fixed position or limiting camera movement to the X-axis for certain areas. The controller would often vibrate for 20 or more seconds for unknown reasons. The radar power-up is supposed to show where fruit and useful objects are, but I couldn’t find any of the items that show up on it. Sometimes my power-up would vanish, but it was so inconsistent I wasn’t sure if it was a glitch or if they all have a limited capacity. The hint option in the menu that finds fruit never worked, even when standing next to fruit.
The base gameplay is simple and could cater to a casual audience. However, the inconsistencies, frustrating issues, and lack of polish overshadow everything and are counterintuitive to the casual ideals. If you’re patient and love collecting for the sake of collecting, then you might enjoy Togges. But if you’re not willing to put up with its issues, you’re likely better off trying another puzzle platformer.
Togges is available now for $19.99 on PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X | S.
Watch the Review in 3 Minutes for Togges.
