Transcript
[Hi there! Just a friendly reminder that this is a critique. I will be discussing the game for those who have completed it. If you haven’t, perhaps you should stop this video now, unless of course you’re still interested in what I have to say, and don’t mind the risk of spoilers.]
More than any other point in Toren, there was an event early on that encapsulated the game for me. There is a dragon in a dreamscape that you need to pass. At regular intervals he breathes a petrifying mist, that if you are out in the open, will turn you into a statue. The gap is too large to cross during one of these intervals, and repeated attempts will have your character seeing the corpses of those who came before her frozen in horror in various states along the path. The solution like most, seems simple in hindsight. You can use the corpses to hide behind, and thus make it across the gap safely.
Toren is a game of cycles as the above example helps to illustrate. In most games death is not an end, but instead a chance to learn from one’s mistakes and overcome the obstacle put in front of you. Toren ties that concept to its overall theme. What that theme is can be difficult to parse. Once the credits rolled and showed images of humanity’s progress through war and industry throughout our brief recorded history, I was struck with the notion that this game that seemed to be based on Brazilian myth (as it is made by a Brazilian developer) about a young girl born into the role of the Moonchild, fated to slay a dragon (while all those who came before her had failed, including the character you play at the opening moments of the game) was saying a lot more than it seemed to be.
The main goal of Toren is to climb to the top of a tower. The aforementioned dragon thwarts your progress along the way, and aside from your sword and the guiding teachings of mysterious monks, your main ally is the tree that is growing through the center of the tower. As you climb its branches, the camera pulls in to show off the beauty of the world you find yourself in. There is an ethereal quality to the art; trading between vibrancy and darkness, and shifting itself to establish states of mind. Nostalgically, the camera highlighting this is reminiscent of mid nineties FMV games, where the cut-scene art was so much more pronounced than the in-game assets, yet there would be camera transitions showing off the majesty of the pre-rendered backgrounds.
And just like the tree, the game branches itself off as well. There are sections where you meditate and learn from the monks (who may or may not actually be there anymore). These teachings take you to optional dreamscapes, where you gain knowledge. Knowledge which is not exactly necessary to fight the dragon, but it helps round out the experience. When has knowing more ever been a hindrance? Actually, I accidentally skipped a couple of these sections upon my playthrough, and my main desire to replay the game is to see what they add to my overall thoughts of what transpired.
Of course, Toren is a game, and the gameness of it is worn on its sleeve. Most of your time is spent taking in the world and observing the Moonchild’s journey, and because of this the game elements really bring attention to themselves. The dragon fights in particular are set up in a way that revolve around certain mechanics that the player has to come to terms with. Nothing is too difficult (the story at the start of this critique was the area where I spent the most time figuring things out), but their adherence to gimmicks that are separate from the rest of the game (such as the use of salt drawings in the dreamscapes) draw attention to such moments.
Now earlier I talked about replaying the game to not only experience what I missed, but to put some more of the puzzle together about what transpired. Toren’s length makes this easily possible. The game takes about two hours to play. That’s about the average length of a modern movie. Toren is a bit like an art film, in that it might take more than one watch to fully appreciate it, or come to terms with what it is trying to say, but in coming to such an understanding, those curious do not feel their time has been wasted. Most games due to their length do not afford such opportunities, but then again, how many games are ambiguous as to the nature of their purpose?
One of the joys of experiencing art from other parts of the world is the ability to gain an understanding of their culture, and especially their stories. Earlier I made mention that Toren seemed to be based on Brazilian myth based on the reference to the young girl as a Moonchild (although this could be referencing the zodiac or the Crowley novel), and the cycles of death and rebirth. It could be my ignorance speaking, but from its starting moments, the situation gives off a mythical, or at least very old tale vibe. A little Google research came up with no such stories, so it could be an original fable. It’s certainly different to anything I have come across literature wise, but I am not the most well read when it comes to myths and legends, so take that as you will.
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