If you’ve spent some time here, you would know that I absolutely love the Pokemon series — as evidenced by my articles on Pokémon Sword and the Pokémon Centre launch in Singapore’s Jewel Changi. When the opportunity to play nocras’ Tasomachi: Behind The Twilight appeared, I jumped right at it. The simplicity of the game as a collect-a-thon platformer brought back waves of nostalgia of my days playing such games as a child.
It was only much later that I found out nocras had worked on Pokémon Sword’s field map design, and had done work on the Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Final Fantasy series. The latter is evidenced by the lush 3D landscapes that the main character Yukumo has to traverse. My main task was to restore the various towns to their original state with collectibles known as Sources of the Earth.
Tasomachi has no combat or enemies, which is a refreshing break from the constant onslaught of enemies that the above titles are known for. Even during the more challenging athletic areas, it is relatively simple to solve and traverse. Benches scattered throughout the realm also provided photo-ops reminiscent of Breath of the Wild.
The UI was pretty simple, and didn’t feel a hundred percent polished — though I believe this is entirely intentional on nocras’ part. He aimed to evoke a sense of games from the past, and the simplistic UI helped to drive the point home. It did clash a little on the title screen, but that is easily overlooked.
The soundtrack of Tasomachi was lush and gorgeous, as Ujico*’s beats felt right at home in the seaside and forested landscapes of Tasomachi’s far-Eastern kingdom. I was very happy just being able to explore and collect at my own pace, as besides the lack of enemies — I never felt like I had to rush to complete anything.
Tasomachi may lack the bells and whistles of a modern game, but its evocation of simplicity is a nod to simpler, and perhaps happier times.
You can grab Tasomachi: Behind The Twilight on Steam and GOG!