Within the indie community, it’s not uncommon to find a plethora of platformers–all prime for the picking. Although a bit of a cliche, the truth is that some of the most successful indie games have been platformers which incorporate puzzle elements (Braid, The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom, Meat Boy). Perhaps this success is what accounts for the abundance of games in the genre, but none of us are complaining.

Ukrainian developers Boolat Games unleashed the first episode of the topatoi saga–topatoi: The Great Tree Story–to the PlayStation Network in October of 2009. The game automatically piqued my interest when I found out it was a 3D puzzle platformer. 2D puzzle platformers are a given, but 3D doesn’t just add a dimension to the graphical style and composition–it adds an entirely new element. You’ll find that topatoi: The Great Tree Story serves as a formidable introduction to the world of topatoi but therein lies the problem: it feels simply like an introduction. Here’s the full breakdown.

Gameplay

In topatoi, you control GEMMA (Gyroscopic Exploration Multidimensional Multiterrain Apparatus)–a hovercraft which acts essentially as a spinning top. There are two gameplay modes available: Story mode and Arcade mode. As you progress through the seven story levels of this first episode, you’ll learn more about what abilities are endowed upon you by this awesome craft. You’ll use GEMMA to move and drag blocks and balls, jump and double jump from platform to platform, fight enemies, and interact with the environment. During all of this, however, you must be collecting fuel (which is in the form of blue blobs throughout the game world) and stars for bonus points. If you run out of fuel for GEMMA, then you’ll have to restart the level. On the other hand, in the Arcade mode you’ll be treated to a stage which concentrates mainly on one element of gameplay (e.g. pushing/pulling blocks, jumping, maneuvering on a moving platform).

While at first topatoi‘s control scheme may feel overwhelming and poorly mapped out, you’ll grow to find a certain comfort as the game progresses. Boolat Games managed to create an excellent physics engine for the title, but players be warned: as with most other platformers, topatoi has a tendency to piss you off.  In part, this adds to the challenge. Moving blocks and balls along with GEMMA isn’t easy since those objects can fall over the edge; but chances are if you cool it and take things slow, you’ll come out on top. However, most gamers I know are looking to get in and get out, and that sort of mentality isn’t fully rewarded in topatoi–not even in the Arcade mode levels. Likewise, duking it out with enemies isn’t too much fun either. The battles feel too easy and offer little gratification. The enemy AI does, however, do a pretty good job of getting in the way of your objectives.

I have to admit, it took a while for topatoi to grow on me. Initially, the erratic momentum of the story mode coupled with a less-than-stellar control scheme had me turned off. But the more I got into it with topatoi, the smoother the gameplay felt. As I mentioned previously, the third dimension adds a new element to platforming. And while some may say topatoi is too easy, I can assure you that certain areas will have you dumbfounded and/or enraged.

Style

topatoi has a very distinct cartoony feel in its gorgeous (but buggy) 3D environments. The first episode’s levels all flow seamlessly together. The setting is bright and rich with color; it’s nice to put some of the PS3′s powerful capabilities at use. Despite the sound of dialogue being complete gibberish, the text bubbles are more than enough to keep you engaged in what’s going on. I can’t say you’ll care too much about the characters, but they’re certainly animated in both senses of the word.

Story

topatoi‘s own website has the perfect explanation of the plot: “Raph, a brave explorer, and his companions have crash-landed in a mysterious corner of a strange planet. Now Raph must hunt for the spare parts needed to fix their skyship. And save his girlfriend too!” That’s pretty much exactly what you’re doing in topatoi. There will be a few scenes where you interact with the natives of the area, but nothing story-defining. Unfortunately, you don’t save your girlfriend by the end of Episode 1. This is a nice set-up for episode 2, but those wishing to only buy the first will feel cheated–that is–if they care enough.

Everything Else

The presentation of topatoi is generally smooth and not bad to look at. topatoi‘s music isn’t exactly the next Bach masterpiece, but it adds well to the atmosphere of the sunny location. The multiplayer modes (split-screen) should prove useful if you’re really into the game and want to tackle it with a friend. But mostly as a single player experience, topatoi delivers at only $7.99.

[DIYgamer obtained a promotional code for the game for review purposes. This in no way affected the outcome of the review.]