We sit down and review Re:Touring. Another first-person puzzle game just now hitting the consoles. Here is our review of Re:Touring
It is always a nice time when we can get more puzzle games in our lives and break some of the stressful actions of life, so it is amazing that Re:Touring has finally made its way to the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Switch for us all to play. A title that Sometimes You has been itching to get out there after the PC launch a while back. Now, console gamers can head out into a new and colorful world to experience the deep thought some of us will need to put in to solve these puzzles. Without more gilding the lily, let us dive into our review of Re:Touring as it graces the consoles with its presence.
Story
It is time for us all to head out and explore the Luoni Energy Competence Center in the world. A center that seems to now be abandoned but still houses some interesting little features and puzzles in the mix. Not only that, but a bit of a history to surround it all. This is why we are heading into the mix to play with some colors and open some doors in the building. What else will we be able to learn about the facility as we flex some of our brain muscles and make it through the very well-kept building that no one has entered…
Re:Touring — Review
Hated
While it is nice to have a puzzle game that does not try to hold hands, Re:Touring does it in a way that does feel like it holds the game back a bit. Especially for those who want to play through the game without any direct hints that the game does offer up. Most games will slowly walk you through things as they build or give some form of description of what needs to be done. Re:Touring, on the other hand, does not seem to do that in a clear way. It took me needing to break my no-hint run to find out that infinite loops were an option in the game with the only indication of that outside of the hint being a cryptic infinity symbol. It made sense after getting the hint, but this is how some of the bigger puzzle changes come about in the game. Unlike a showing of them in the game or even text describing it.
Another aspect that started to get annoying in Re:Touring while playing was the fact that you always had to press and hold items to carry them about. In my play on the PS5, that meant needing to hold down the Cross button to hold things like batteries. Something that does make using the right stick to navigate a little hard to do. This is by default and comes up so randomly that changing the keymaps in Re:Touring never felt like it was needed, until those portions came up again. An odd thing for a title that is leaning in on the accessibility side of things. Even without any accessibility issues on my end, some of these controls made the game harder to navigate than if they used one of the other buttons that were not used in the game at all.
Lastly, and it is a hard one to say, Re:Touring is just short. Too short. By the time you start to get used to things and can now start making it through the puzzles, the game is done. This is a game that is made as a hobby and not by some massive team out there, so it gets a pass, but it is something to take note of. I did not want Re:Touring to end and then it just did. This is something that could be fixed down the line if the developer has an interest in doing that and giving more, but it does need to go into this area for those looking to have all manner of puzzles deep into the night out there. There is quality, it is just not great on the quantity.
Re:Touring — Review
Loved
At first glance, many might miss how some of the puzzles in Re:Touring work and think it is closer to a color-matching game. That is in there, but many of the puzzles start to lean into computer programming logic. That is something that is well within my wheelhouse and once that started going, I could not stop. Especially when the game started to have us looking at loops and If-Then statements in a way that even non-programmers could understand. I know that part of Re:Touring is not going to be a seller for many out there, but it was a massive bit of joy I had once the game started flowing. Not to mention, it is a nice little test for those starting to dabble in the field and not realize they are doing just that.
Using all of that knowledge from Re:Touring‘s basic design for the puzzles, we then see it build up into other areas that made the non-programming parts a blast as well. Like needing to program the colors to fire off so that we can then ride up some elevators and make sure that everything ran down so the final door can open. Things like this gave Re:Touring a fun extra dimension to play around with that base gamers will also love along the way. Again, you will learn stuff from the game, not even realize it, and still have a fun time moving from test room to test room. Something that many other titles like it feel like they lack out there. This is another reason this gets added into this section as it is something I certainly loved while playing.
While I did harp on the hints above, it is worth noting that Re:Touring does use them in the way that more games should. As actual hints and not spoilers. By that I mean, the hints we are given are true nudges toward the solutions and not just the first step of the answer. Going back to the looping one mentioned above, the hint was essentially that if the doors could open and close in a loop it would make it easier to get through. Even if that aspect would have been nice to have in a game tutorial, this form of hinting still made it feel like I made the accomplishment instead of just being told what I had to do. A solid balance and how it played out during the rest of the game as well.
Re:Touring — Review
Overview
Even with some of its faults, Re:Touring was a fun little title to enjoy in the mix. It gave us all some fun puzzles and in a way that I truly enjoyed. I certainly wanted more to experience, but given the size of the team making the game, it easily gets a pass on that. I will say that you do need to have a bit more of the “logic brain” to be able to make it through Re:Touring without needing some help along the way, so this is not going to be a game made for everyone. Other titles have been able to be more accessible to those who do not have a coding background, but they also had larger teams to work with it all. I say that it is worth your time and effort if you enjoy a solid puzzle game and need a break from all of the dark grit that keeps coming out.
I give Re:Touring 99 Loops on the Infinite Loop scale.
Re:Touring was developed and published by Sometimes You for the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Switch on March 29th, 2024. A PlayStation copy of the game was provided by the publisher for reviewing purposes.