Toodee and Topdee (Steam) Review

MECHANIC-BLENDING, MIND-MELDING FUN

Pretty much anyone fascinated with game design has heard of the term “juicy”, which is a term popularized by the various conference talks on the idea. Basically, any sort of flourish that can be added to the visuals or sound to give the game a particular feel is making the game juicier. Think about the way Meat Boy squishes and slides in Super Meat Boy or the little dust trails when X dashes in Mega Man X or the satisfying pop when finishing off a Cacodemon in DOOM Eternal. Juicy is what came to mind when I played the mind-melting puzzle game Toodee and Topdee. Featuring a cute pixel art style mixed with a little low-poly flair, Toodee and Topdee features a unique blending of staple game mechanics in a 2D platformer with a top-down puzzler. What results is this satisfying and challenging adventure that culminates in one of the coolest endings I’ve seen in a game of this type. 

Toodee and Topdee is all about switching between the two titular characters to overcome stages and the occasional boss fight. Mastery of the game’s base mechanics is needed to complete the game and find all of the extras but thankfully there are helpful accessibility options to really dial in the game for just about anyone to see the credits. I made it through the first few worlds and then turned on these assistance options, just so I could see it through to the end and I am so glad that I powered through. 

Tonally, the game’s story is kind of like Katamari Damacy with a splash of Steven Universe for good measure. There are some silly ideas involved but the game doesn’t take itself seriously and it’s all digestible in a cartoony sort of way. The puzzles are fascinating but I did find myself really confused when lasers came into play which is what ultimately led to giving myself more hits and more jumps. The controls, at least when playing with an Xbox controller on Steam, were extremely tight. The game’s visuals are colorful and cheerful with some really fun cutscenes and boss designs. Again, the ending is a treat and I didn’t expect the game to do something so drastic and cool. I don’t think I could ever finish that final stretch without help but it was superbly weird and a fantastic way to close out the game. 

Puzzle games like this remind me of spending hours tinkering with the Adventure of Lolo games on NES, a series that was simple to understand but full of depth and challenge. There’s also a co-op mode for those that would like to bring a friend along that I didn’t mess with. I probably won’t play Toodee and Topdee again anytime soon but it is easy to recommend. 

Clearly, the creators had a particular mechanic in mind and then put in a ton of effort into expanding that core idea as much as they could within the scope of the project. I hope we see more commercial games from dietzribi. There are more games and experiments to be found on their itch.io page. 

There’s not really much more to say about Toodee and Topdee. It’s a fun brain teaser with an extremely fun ending and there are enough options so that just about anyone can finish it. I recommend giving it a go. 

SCORES

GAMEPLAY - 8/10

VISUALS - 8/10

SOUND - 7/10

CONTROLS - 8/10

REPLAY VALUE - 7/10

OVERALL - 7.6/10

More information about Toodee and Topdee on the Steam listing. Additional platforms are a possibility but for now, the game is only on Steam. A digital copy was provided for review. Screenshots were taken using Steam features. 

For a game with a similar vibe but completely different gameplay, check out my thoughts on Sky Racket, a unique bullet hell. For an excellent top-down adventure game, check out my review of Death’s Door.