Remember those animal things in Super Metroid that taught you how to shinespark? Toki Tori 2 is basically that moment but as a game.
Unlike the first game, which was a puzzle game closer in heritage to Lemmings, Toki Tori 2 is an exploration puzzle platformer with zero in-game text and no ability gating. You have two ways of interacting with the world: stomping and, most interestingly, singing. By alternating long and short presses, Toki can sing big or small notes, respectively. Similar to the ocarina in Zelda games, different combinations of notes will have certain effects. Technically, there is nothing stopping you from using any of these "powers" from the start of the game. You could, in theory, brute force all of them on the opening screen, but that would take a while. The way the game teaches you these powers at the "right time" is through little birds that you'll see around the environment that sing little note combos. Copy these notes and BAM you'll learn what that combo does. There's only five or so powers, which was initially disappointing, but I realized that it would be much more challenging for the developers to fully explore the mechanics. And they've done a great job with that as it is. Admittedly, I'm only about halfway done with the game by my reckoning, but the variety I've seen in puzzle design and mechanical interaction has impressed me.

Toki Tori 2 is one of the most surprising games of 2013 for me. I wasn't a huge fan of the first game, but Toki Tori 2 has blown me away with its well-designed environmental puzzles and storytelling. I wholeheartedly recommend this game to anyone who likes a great puzzle game.

Remember those animal things in Super Metroid that taught you how to shinespark? Toki Tori 2 is basically that moment but as a game. Unlike the first game, which was a puzzle game closer in heritage to Lemmings, Toki Tori 2 is an exploration puzzle platformer with zero in-game text and no ability gating. You have two ways of interacting with the world: stomping and, most interestingly, singing. By alternating long and short presses, Toki can sing big or small notes, respectively. Similar to the ocarina in Zelda games, different combinations of notes will have certain effects. Technically, there is nothing stopping you from using any of these "powers" from the start of the game. You could, in theory, brute force all of them on the opening screen, but that would take a while. The way the game teaches you these powers at the "right time" is through little birds that you'll see around the environment that sing little note combos. Copy these notes and BAM you'll learn what that combo does. There's only five or so powers, which was initially disappointing, but I realized that it would be much more challenging for the developers to fully explore the mechanics. And they've done a great job with that as it is. Admittedly, I'm only about halfway done with the game by my reckoning, but the variety I've seen in puzzle design and mechanical interaction has impressed me. Toki Tori 2 is one of the most surprising games of 2013 for me. I wasn't a huge fan of the first game, but Toki Tori 2 has blown me away with its well-designed environmental puzzles and storytelling. I wholeheartedly recommend this game to anyone who likes a great puzzle game.