Item: Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
Rating: 9
Author: NickNackBoom

This game oozes charm with it's 'hakoniwa' level layout and crisp visuals and you'll probably fall in love with it immediately. It is an accessible game for casual players with only a few challenging levels here and there. Having said that, there's more to the game for people seeking more challenge. The puzzles encourage you to replay levels and trying to master it by including gems and challenges for every level. It definitely kicks up the difficulty for certain levels, but it is not unfair by any means. While having great fun replaying the levels a few times to get all the gems and completing all the challenges, I didn't find the 'Pixel Toad' mode enjoyable. The time trial mode is a welcome addition to fulfil your inner speedrunner, but the menu lacks a good way of displaying your set times. The characters lack a jump button, thereby forcing you to always plan your way to the end of the level and manage height differences carefully. Since you can't go in recklessly but neither mash buttons, the game offers a different taste of puzzling challenge. The design of the puzzles was never affected by the walking pace and it actually felt more engaging. The introduction of new mechanics always goes gradually and there's never a steep learning curve. Overall, the game controls really well despite the 'lower pace'. The touch mechanics, luckily, aren't being used as a gimmick as with some motion controls in other games. However, I wish there was an option to turn valves with your analog sticks as well. The parts of the game where I struggled a bit with finicky controls are the vehicle/first person view sections, because of the button layout. Thanks to the ability to remap the buttons on your Switch, this problem can be eliminated. If you haven't played it on other systems before, this unique game is a must-play.

This game oozes charm with it's 'hakoniwa' level layout and crisp visuals and you'll probably fall in love with it immediately. It is an accessible game for casual players with only a few challenging levels here and there. Having said that, there's more to the game for people seeking more challenge. The puzzles encourage you to replay levels and trying to master it by including gems and challenges for every level. It definitely kicks up the difficulty for certain levels, but it is not unfair by any means. While having great fun replaying the levels a few times to get all the gems and completing all the challenges, I didn't find the 'Pixel Toad' mode enjoyable. The time trial mode is a welcome addition to fulfil your inner speedrunner, but the menu lacks a good way of displaying your set times.

The characters lack a jump button, thereby forcing you to always plan your way to the end of the level and manage height differences carefully. Since you can't go in recklessly but neither mash buttons, the game offers a different taste of puzzling challenge. The design of the puzzles was never affected by the walking pace and it actually felt more engaging. The introduction of new mechanics always goes gradually and there's never a steep learning curve. Overall, the game controls really well despite the 'lower pace'. The touch mechanics, luckily, aren't being used as a gimmick as with some motion controls in other games. However, I wish there was an option to turn valves with your analog sticks as well. The parts of the game where I struggled a bit with finicky controls are the vehicle/first person view sections, because of the button layout. Thanks to the ability to remap the buttons on your Switch, this problem can be eliminated.

If you haven't played it on other systems before, this unique game is a must-play.

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker

Review Title

Player Score

NickNackBoom