Toem Review (Qain)
Cute little game, and first one I finish on the Steam Deck too.
Usually, I have a hard time disconnecting from the story and start questioning "Why do I have to do that?". This one though managed to do just that, which I consider to be an achievement in and of itself.
Toem is about a little boy that decides to leave the house with his Grandma, to go out exploring with his little camera and learn about the world and its inhabitants.
In essence, that's pretty much what the game is about. The little guy explores this 3D isometric black and white world, and meets new people who ask for different things for him to fix with his camera.
Some times the quests are as simple as "go take a photo of a cat" and some other times the wording is ambiguous enough that it forces the player to think outside the box. The purpose of these quests is rather is pretty pointless, but as stated previously, it comes a point where the player will just go with it, taking pictures of pretty much anything and everything, which is kind of the point of the game.
What ends up happening is you simply ENJOY exploring for exploring's sake, getting to know the crazy individuals and asking yourself "By 'Become a flower', you mean I need to take a picture with a flower, stand next to one, help someone in need?" It's a fascinating dynamic really.
What ultimately really aids is that the game is short and easy to pick up and let go, something that really lends itself to quick gaming sessions.
Hard yes for me. Go ahead and enjoy it.