Toto Temple Deluxe

Genre: Platformer / Party Game

Players: 1-4 Competitive / Team Competitive / Co-Op (Local)

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Review:

Toto Temple Deluxe is a multi-player-focused arena-based Platformer released in 2015 on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Wii U. This is basically a glorified version of keep-away, but instead of the object being “kept away” being a ball or flag, it’s a goat. Because sure, why not.

The presentation here has a bright, colorful look with a cartoony art style in a setting that seems loosely inspired by native South American cultures, with the background music being similarly energetic music with hints of tribal drums and flutes (and also a Jew’s harp, because “boing” = “silly”). It works well enough to give this game a somewhat unique but goofy motif that works well enough for the game.

For the gameplay itself, players can double-jump, air dash for potentially as much as the entire length of the screen in any direction (which enables you to air-jump again), and upon slamming into the goat, you can bash anyone carrying and claim it for yourself. While holding the goat, you constantly score points, but you’re slower and lose the ability to dash, instead getting a brief defensive shield you have to time well. And while coins do appear on the screen to contribute to your score, the best way to win usually involves carrying the goat for as long as possible.

Players not holding the goat can slam into rainbow-colored blocks to gain power-ups, with these being fun and helpful like being able to dash through walls, sucking up all nearby coins, and weighing down the goat-carrier to make them slower. And while the gameplay is slightly difficult to control well, overall this makes for a fairly fun and frantic Party Game.

I do wish there were more variety in stages and game modes here. In addition to the main game, there’s also a co-op mode where players try to slam into as many targets as they can within a time limit, but this isn’t as fun as the main game, and doesn’t add nearly enough variety to this package.

Still, despite the lack of variety here, this is still a fun Party Game, and one that’s well worth owning. The Wii U version doesn’t do anything noticeably different from other versions, but it’s a solid game nonetheless, especially if you’re looking to throw down with friends.

tl;dr – Toto Temple Deluxe is a multi-player-focused arena-based Platformer where players essentially play keep away with a goat they try to hold on to while others try to knock it off of them. This game is somewhat lacking in variety, but it is still a fun and frantic experience that should make for a solid Party Game.

Grade: B-

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