Toren is a puzzle adventure that wears its Ico/Shadow of the Colossus influences on its sleeve. The architecture, the sense of inescapable loneliness, the grimly beautiful color palette—there is, in other words, a lot to like here.
Here's what it's all about:
"Experience the mysterious, timeless world of Toren, the first adventure game from Brazilian indie developer Swordtales. You are Moonchild, destined to climb the tower (known as Toren) on a hauntingly solitary journey to find your purpose. Driven by your will to find your freedom, you must solve puzzles and face monsters as you struggle to climb to the top of this beautiful, yet treacherous environment."
It appears that the main character grows up all throughout, going from helpless child to dragon-bopping warrior in her single-minded pursuit. Games rarely let the progression of time affect gameplay, so I'm definitely interested to see how Toren handles it. If nothing else, the video seems to show the girl in wildly different locations based on her age—with different mechanics (combat vs puzzling) and disparate art styles to match.
Granted, it's also coming from a relatively unknown Brazilian studio called Swordtales, so it may or may not live up to the promise oozing from its lush visuals and premise. I like what I've seen so far, but playing it might be an entirely different story.
It's coming to PC and PS4 in early 2015, just in time for that very special part of the year where I accidentally stumble across an old Last Guardian trailer, feel something faintly resembling regret, and then get on with my life. You know, after being crushingly depressed for a perfectly reasonable amount of time like say a couple hours or a month.