Toodee and Topdee Review

Game: Toodee and Topdee
Genre: Logic, Puzzle, Platformer
System: Steam
Developer | Publisher: dietzribi
Controller: Yes (Full)
Price: US $17.99 | EU € 15,11 | UK £13.94
Release Date: August 4th, 2021

Review code used with many thanks to SuperRare Games

Toodee and Topdee is one of the most unique puzzle platformers that I have ever played or seen played. While it is similar to other two-player 3d puzzle platformers, it utilizes both 2D and 3d space to form interesting puzzles and mind-bending difficult bosses.

The Story of Toodee and Topdee

Toodee and Topdee is the story of a God that creates planets. When they find their planets spinning and moving erratically, they create a Semi-Colon that holds the whole universe together. But one day, a jealous minion of God steals the Semi-Colon, forcing all the planets to merge together. Now a 2D world and 3D world overlap, and Toodee, the 2-dimensional hero, and Topdee, the 3D hero, must work together to find the Semi-Colon and put it back in its place.

The Gameplay of Toodee and Topdee

Toodee and Topdee progress through the levels together, battling against bosses and tricky puzzles in order to find the Semi-Colon. The two characters can interfere with each other’s worlds, making it easier for the other to move through them without falling into holes, spikes, or get eaten by pigs.

The play is so unique, that it is nearly impossible to describe, and is better shown through video. This is the official release trailer for the game, and it really shows how the movement alters between the 2D and 3D spaces in the same world.

Topdee can move 3D objects into Toodee’s 2-dimensional space, allowing for Toodee to jump to new heights and creating interesting and puzzles never seen before.

The Pros of Toodee and Topdee

There is so much to love about this game! Between the unique way that puzzles present themselves to the music, the characters, and even the odd humour. The puzzles are most of the gameplay, and each is colorful and progressively more difficult than the last. They make you think deeply about what 3D space will change in the 2D space and vice versa.

Like many well-thought-out puzzle games, the tutorials are mostly built into the levels. While there is a short introductory tutorial at the beginning between some of the beginning cutscenes, most of them are learn-as-you-go. It starts off with pretty basic puzzles, giving the player time to grasp the basics before throwing them into the more difficult and dangerous levels.

The world is engaging, and the characters are fun and amusing, and everything is so bright and colorful. It’s hard to even be upset when you mess up a jump or hit the wrong button, the world is pleasantly presented and lovingly designed.

The Cons of Toodee and Topdee

The original keybinds for the game are a little unintuitive, but that just may have been on me. For some reason, having the interact button, which was Z, right next to the switch between characters button, X, was extremely confusing to my brain. I mixed them up more often than not in the beginning and ended up rebinding the interact key to something my brain could actually handle. I’m not sure if it was because the buttons were too close to one another or what, but it just felt strange to me.

Another strange con was that there was no intro to the R button, which is the quick reset button for the level. I played through the intro twice and didn’t see any reference to it. I only noticed that the button existed when I went into the controls menu to rebind the jump key to something else.

Conclusion

Overall, this is an amazingly unique title with a lot going for it. Toodee and Topdee is one of those games that, although it has little replayability on your own, you’ll want to share with a friend through co-op play. It’s one of the most interesting puzzle platformers I’ve played in a long time, and I can’t recommend it enough to fans of the genre.

Final Verdict: I Like it a Lot.