Toodee and Topdee sounds like the output of a brain renewing rapidly under the pressure of a game: “What if it’s top-down, but also top-down?” Probably so, since developer dietzribi hinted at the earliest form of the game for Dare Ludum 41 in 2018. It was a throwaway idea that they were absolutely right not to throw away. This complete game continues to amaze and challenge for hours, with engaging presentation and a real sense of humor.
So, what if top-down but also top-down? It works like this: Toodee lives in a sub-2D platformer world, and Topdee lives in a top-down 2D puzzle adventure world. As a result of some handcrafted entertaining but self-deprecating animated video game codswallop, the two worlds are smashed together like two gaming ships in a tweet parodying game design. The singleplayer levels are passed by Toodee with nice tight jumps, until pressing ‘Y’ tilts the view slightly and suddenly Topdee is walking on something. to be wall. Meanwhile, Toodee is faded, fixed in place, and invulnerable until transforming back, allowing Topdee to shuffle blocks to become the foundation, interfering with enemy attack behavior and Get stuck on top-down obstacles where Toodee will need to return benefits, until the two meet up on the level’s exit portal.
The levels are divided into worlds, each introducing new items, enemies and concepts, and then training the player to use them. The difficulty curve is perfectly assessed, not degrading just because a new idea pops up. Well-designed bosses limit each world. The puzzles are an impressive Jenga tower with creatively rearranged ideas. Perhaps we were too skeptical to expect less, but it is true that few puzzle games can go this far without being confusing.
There is a thinking/working balance that needs to be made in a puzzle platformer. Finding the solution is a huge part of the fun of the game, so once it’s solved you don’t want to have to wait in the actual execution just to get to the next puzzle. Toodee and Topdee mostly do well, but it certainly has an action side, meaning that implementing your solution is just as much part of the game as side thinking. Therefore, it is important that the action parts are satisfying and they are only relative. Toodee’s movements are precise, fluid, and legible, with clear and simple physics that doesn’t get stale. Topdee, though, is a drag. Assessing the position due to the inclination of the playing field is unnecessarily difficult, and a single slip in a dynamic solution can mean a complete reset. As for the game’s credits, the levels are short, so there’s a natural limit to how much a problem can occur, but the optional time-based tests rely on the territory being applied. force misplaced one foot where the game is weakest. And while they’re optional, there’s substantial content to unlock, so be prepared to grind the duller parts if you love the rest of it.
Overall, Toodee and Topdee is a wonderfully imaginative puzzle game with exceptional variety that breaks out of its core pretentiousness. It had the hardest time when it required dynamic execution of puzzle solutions, but even then it was pretty good. This top-down/top-down puzzle game is another one to look out for.
