Goodness: Ico-Esque Toren Is Breathtaking

Regrettably, I must confess that I had forgotten all about Toren. It's been wandering around the shadowy halls of gaming's collective consciousness for more than a year, but it hasn't made much noise since it was first announced. But wow, it's definitely got the tools to leave an impression. The hauntingly solitary vibe and environments that breathe beautiful mystery make me think of a more colorful Ico, but it's also quite obviously it's own animal. Most interestingly, the puzzle adventure is built around an epic poem, so uh, take that, Child of Light. Toren was doing it before it was cool. Absolutely enchanting trailer below.

The game heralds from Brazil and is apparently one of the first to be supported by the country's Cultural Incentive Law. Here, on admittedly vague terms, is what Toren's about:

"Toren is a puzzle/adventure game with beautiful graphics, innovative and immersive gameplay, which leads the player through an introspective and captivating journey. Built around an epic poem, the game takes the audience in an torrent of discoveries about the greatest myth of all: the meaning of life."

"Toren is a game in development, with transformation in mind, using an environment with a constant threat: a relentless enemy. The experience desired for the player is the human struggle against time and mortality. A game to be experienced, in which the player will grow and change along with the tower and its heroes."

So it certainly has big aspirations, but good ideas will only carry you so far. All the beard-fluffifying philosophy and eye candy in the world can't save a bad game. We shall see.

Soon, even! That's the only thing resembling a release window the developers are offering at this point, but it's still better than "never" or "I don't know, I guess when we get around to it or something, if we feel like it." Until then (whenever then actually is), I suppose we wait. We wait, and we go, "Ooooooooooooooooooo."