The Touryst is a short but sweet gaming experience that provides challenging puzzles, stunning visuals, platforming, and a funny, intriguing story.
About
The Touryst is a single-player, action-adventure game that allows players to explore locations and complete a series of unique puzzles and tasks.
The game was developed by Shin’en Multimedia and first released on the 21st November 2019 for Nintendo Switch consoles.
After release, the game received praise from the gaming community for it’s unique style, receiving a score of 79 on Metacritic. https://www.metacritic.com/game/switch/the-touryst
Later versions were released for Xbox one, PC, and Xbox Series S/X in 2020.
Story
The beginning of The Touryst starts like any other holiday. Your character arrives on a small holiday resort known as Touryst Island.
The Island has a beautiful beach with a Lifeguard station, holiday cabins, and a shop. However, a quick walk around the island will reveal a large block-shaped monument!
All of a sudden, things are not as they seem. Discovering the monument converts this simple beach resort into the catalyst for an adventure into the unknown.
As the game progresses, a variety of islands become available to explore alongside multiple tasks to help out residents and fellow tourists from these Islands.
The story is quite short, only lasting for around 8-10 hours. Because of this, the storyline is pretty simple. However, it still provides a surprising amount of depth and the absence of explanations adds to the mysterious elements of the story.
Gameplay
For a game that is this small in size, it would be easy to assume that the gameplay does not provide anything special. Surprisingly, The Touryst does contain some interesting features.
An impressive 60 frames per second provides a smooth experience that really helps towards the relaxing holiday vibes.
For the majority of the time, this frame rate will not be necessary. Only the later stages of the game will need these precise inputs.
One of the main aspects of the game that impressed me was the level of interaction. Almost anything you touch or in my case jump onto will react.
The control system is very straightforward. The inputs for jumping, walking, and moving around are exactly what you would expect. For those not familiar with typical inputs, it may take a few minutes to get used to the controls as the game does not provide a tutorial.
This lack of guidance continues throughout the game as hints are not provided. If you get stuck, it is up to you to discover the method or action needed to progress.
Puzzles are quite easy to solve but do require some thinking outside of the box.
Hint: Make sure to go back to Touryst Island to unlock more abilities throughout the game!
There are some others cool features such as the ability to monitor your playtime, contacts, and walked distance.
The control Inputs are usually not a problem in this game. However, there were some occasions towards the end of the game in which the game struggled.
Visuals + Audio
As previously mentioned, the visuals of this game are absolutely stunning!
The Touryst adopts a voxel art style, creating a block-centric retro aesthetic.
But don’t let this fool you, the graphics in this game are in no way outdated. The blocks are well defined and accumulate to make some incredibly detailed environments.
The stand-out visual feature in the game is the locations. Each location provides a new environment to be amazed at. Some Islands are inspired by real-life locations whilst others are created for the story.
The distinct colours really make the visuals pop. Whether it be the crystal blue seas, the bright yellow sand, or the gloomy darkness of the mine, this game will have you in awe of your surroundings like any good vacation should.
One issue I had with the visuals was the camera. The isometric view restricted the way in which the world could be explored and caused some difficulties in the platforming or puzzle segments.
The audio merges the retro visuals with the relaxing, holiday-like nature to immerse you into this strange world. Similar to other elements, the audio provides extra depth to this game that titles of similar size may not possess.
The music and sound effects of your character bolster the retro feel with nostalgic 8-bit tracks. Meanwhile, the background noise creates a soothing atmosphere with sounds of crashing waves and birds chirping.
My Experience
Although the experience was short, The Touryst provided a pleasant yet interesting adventure.
It was a rewarding game that allowed me to escape to a variety of stunning locations. Whilst exploring, there were lots of tasks to complete, puzzles to explore, and fun characters to talk to.
I played for about 8 hours total over the space of a week. Although there were some instances of frustration, I found myself pleasantly relaxed for the duration of the game.
I found that the story thrives in its simplicity. It didn’t provide many details but this added to the mystery. These unknowns just made me want to explore more.
I really enjoyed playing and I’m sure you will too!
It was like my own virtual holiday! (Which is something I definitely need right now)
Rating
Overall, my rating for The Touryst is 4.5 Stars.
It is a wonderful experience with great visuals, smooth gameplay, and a surprisingly fun story.
However, the short game time and minor issues stops it from getting top marks.
I would absolutely recommend you give it a go!
Where To Get It
The Touryst can be found on Nintendo Switch, Xbox, and PC.
The game is digital only, meaning you will have to buy it from the digital store.
If you are an Xbox Game Pass customer, you can download the game at no extra cost.
Otherwise, the price is £17.99, $19.99, 0r €19.99
For more details, check out their website: http://thetouryst.shinen.com/
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