Toem 2 (PS5) Review: Charming Adventure Game Sequel

2021’s Toem was a delightful surprise. The black-and-white photography game had you exploring a hand-drawn world, solving puzzles, and having a wholesome time. Five years later, Toem 2 arrives with a few new tricks and the same charming atmosphere that fans desire.

If you’ve played the original game, then the setup is basically identical. You’re off on another adventure with your camera, taking pictures to fulfill people’s requests and to take photos of cute critters. This time around, you can jump as well, adding platforming puzzles to the mix. Additionally, friends you make in each town you visit give you a unique skill, such as using a hammer or a screwdriver to solve puzzles (which often deal with perspective as it shifts from isometric to first-person when you are looking down the camera lens).

The world is simply more interesting in the sequel, with an early fantasy world filled with knights and a dungeon being a real highlight. It also helps that you’ll aid certain characters multiple times and become friends with them, giving it a more meaningful structure. The writing is sharp, making the requests fun to figure out, and it’s another cozy, charming adventure throughout its four-hour playtime.

If there’s one knock against Toem 2, it’s that the sequel has diminishing returns. It’s not necessarily a problem that the game is so similar to the original, and the new mobility options definitely make it a better playing experience, but the uniqueness is gone and it isn’t really replaced by anything. The fact that its grand payoff is basically the same as the first game feels underwhelming as well.

Toem 2 (PS5) Review: Final Verdict

Toem 2 is extremely iterative, but given there aren’t many other games like Toem, that isn’t much of a problem. The puzzles are fun to solve, the world is more charming than ever, and the ability to jump makes exploration much more fun. It’s a short and sweet experience that is just as comforting as the original.