Toren

Toren is an action adventure game with a poetic fairy tale atmosphere to it. It was developed by Swordtales, an independent Brazilian development studio.

We assume the role of a young princess trapped inside a great tower. Our task is to help her escape that place of imprisonment. During the campaign, another tale of a lone knight travelling through a desert land to the very same tower is being told at the same time. The storyline revolves around a long poem and, by the means of gameplay, takes on such themes as searching for the meaning of life and the inexorable passage of time.

As far as gameplay mechanics are concerned, Toren is a standard action adventure game, similar style-wise to ICO or The Legend of Zelda. During the game, we mostly explore and solve puzzles. There are also lots of arcade elements – getting to some places requires skills typically associated with platformer games. In the course of the campaign, we will be forced to fight every now and then, and since the princess isn’t a trained warrior, each combat encounter will pose a challenge.

The tower has its guardian, a fierce dragon, who constantly tries to stop the princess from escaping her prison. The beast ensures the everlasting feeling of immediate danger, and tries to slow our progress at every step. We can’t actually defeat him, and every time we manage to trick him, we only buy ourselves some additional time.

Last updated on 18 May 2015