Help a little yellow bird with sunglasses compete against his evil mohawk wearing rival Hawkee in Toree Saturn.  It’s a 3D platformer clearly inspired by Sonic games on Dreamcast.  You’ll run through almost a dozen stages using speed boosters and skill to get ahead.  The game is available on Switch and PC, but reviewed on Switch here.

As Toree, you can run and jump.  When you get close to a floating boost circle or star, you can lock onto them and use them to zip ahead fast or get an extra jump.  Use the boost pads on the ground to gain speed, too.  You can also collect little stars and popsicles scattered about the levels, but I don’t know what they do.  At the end of each stage you are given a ranking, which I’m assuming is how fast you were able to finish.  Luckily you get unlimited lives and continues.

The Story Mode lets you play through all the stages in a row, or you can play them separately in the Level Mode.  There’s also a little hub area you can visit where you can do tricks in a Tony Hawk style arena, or use a computer to toggle options or play mini-games.  Although I never figured out how to unlock any mini-games so I don’t know what they are.

At less than 12 levels, this game feels a little too short.  And the graphics look more like PSOne era polygons rather than the Dreamcast, which is what this game is clearly trying to imitate.  Controls feel a little loose and it was hard to tell where the boost rings and stars were since there were no shadows.  I finished the game, but I think I’d rather play a 3D Sonic title instead.

Kid Factor:

Toree Saturn is rated E for Everyone with an ESRB descriptor of Mild Fantasy Violence.  If you hit an enemy or fall into a pit, your little yellow chick just falls over and says, “ugh.”  And you do blow up a bunch of battleships in one of the final levels.  Reading skill is helpful for some of the text, but not necessary just to play.  Younger gamers may need help with some of the tougher jumps, too.

Tags: Game Reviews