The 'new' studio is working on a new side-scrolling shooter

Two Tribes, developers of the well known Toki Tori series, has shut down developmental operations. It appears as if founders Martijn Reuvers and Collin van Ginkel are creating a smaller company, with all of the new knowledge they've acquired from their mistakes at Two Tribes. The main reason they went under it seems, is that Toki Tori 2 took longer? to develop than they had hoped, and when it didn't sell well, it "took the company down with it."

Their games won't dis?appear from the Wii U eShop or any other marketplaces anytime soon since they have maintained the publishing rights for them. They're also hard at work on their next game, which is a 2D side-scrolling shooter. It's a pretty sad situation, but I'm glad that at least some people were able to avoid a complete dissolution of the?? company.

We’re Rebooting! [Two Tribes]

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'Improved the gameplay and presentation,' puzzle editor, & launch discounts

Our own Chris Carter reviewed the unexpected puzzler Toki Tori 2 earlier this year when it came to the Wii U, enjoying its charm and base gameplay, but deeming it too sparse overall. Developer Two Tribes seems to have heard these complaints, because the Steam release of Toki Tori 2 is now called Toki Tori 2+ in order to emphasize the additions that have been made, as chronicled here. The inclusion of a level editor is particularly neat, while care seems to have bee??n lent to making the game a bit more holistic.

Toki Tori 2+ will launch on Steam on July 11 at $14.99 EU/US, £12,99 UK, though there will be a yet to be detailed, deep launch day discount, as well as "loyalty coupons" for those who own other Two Tribes games on Steam. Guess if ??you bought the game on Wii U you're a bit more out of luck, though.

The post Toki Tori 2+ to Steam next month, no?t just a Wii U port appeared first on Destructoid.

Draw cute birds and win a spot in-game

Two Tribes is holding a rather unique contest for Toki Tori 2, challenging gamers to draw Miiverse illustrations for a chance to have your drawing appear in-game. All you have to do is go to the Toki Tori 2 community, adhere to the weekly topic, ??and reply to your own drawing with the phrase "#contest." If you're selected as one of the four winners, your entry will appear as a "hidden cave drawing" by way of an update.

The developer will be updating their site constantly with weekly top 10 entries, if yo??u're so inclined to ?check them out.

Miiverse Drawing Contest [Two Tribes]

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My own included!

I enjoyed my time with Toki Tori 2, but it had its share of issues. Thankfully, Two Tribes seems to be listening to both reviewers and the ??Miiverse community, and has provided an?? update that fixes a number of problems both technical and design related.

Specifically, a new secret area was added to the game, as well as more cues that will give players a little more direction on where ?to go next. Other little? additions have been added, like a notification for when you collect everything in an area (so you're not blindly searching for more), and some enhanced visuals for a few foreground elements.

Toki Tori 2 [Two Tribes]

• Improved the flow of the game after reaching the room with the ‘thing’
• Added another super-secret area
• Fixed a bug where Toki Tori was invisible after returning to the game
• Fades between levels now fade the audio too
• Simplified the puzzle in the underwater passage
• Fixed an issue when the TokiDex was completed in the photo room
• Some back- and foreground elements got a fresh coat of paint
• When all the collectibles in a level (or the entire game) are collected a melody will play to notify the player
• Fixed a rare bug where the player completed the game, but the end scene wouldn’t trigger
• Various level tweaks, based on Miiverse feedback

The post Toki Tori 2 update addresses some issues appeared first on Destructoid.

Fly free, little bird

The original Toki Tori was a very unassuming little Game Boy Color game that took the indie world by storm. Featuring an adorable little bird named Toki Tori on his quest to save his siblings, the puzzle-platforming g??ameplay was the perfect example of a solid portable adventure.

Fast forward to today, and Two Tribes is poised to replicate the formula on the Wii U and PC with Toki Tori 2. A few things have changed, some has stayed the same, ??yet one major indisputable fact remains: it's still too damn cute.

Toki Tori 2 (PC, Wii U [reviewed])
Developer: Two Tribes
Publisher: Two Tribes
Released: April 4, 2013 (Wii U), PC (TBA)
MSRP: $14.99

Toki Tori 2 takes an open-world stance, for the most part giving you free roam of its universe and its intricacies within. Gameplay is facilitated through an incredibly simple two-button appro??ach -- whistling (tweeti?ng?) and stomping are your only options. There's no jump, duck, peck -- anything like that.

You'll use these two moves to combat hazards, traverse gaps, and solve puzzles -- the latter of which have more variety than it seems at first glance. Like a well-oiled Rube Goldberg machine, puzzles will have numerous moving parts to them, all of which have to sequentially align before you reach your next task. Often times, these tasks involve an incredibly cute creature or two, which really pop with Toki Tori 2's gorgeous 720p visuals.

Almost immediately you'll start earning songs (magic, essentially), which can be used for various functions like restarting from a checkpoint if you're stuck, and so on. These tunes are all picked up seamlessly in-game from ?a songbird NPC, which is a really neat touch. All of your songs appear on your GamePad for quick ?reference without having to pause the game.

Eventually you'l??l unlock a camera that can be used to document and keep track of the game's creatures and objects via your GamePad, which is great for drawing you into the ??world a bit more. But truly, the songs and the camera are superfluous compared to your two main moves.

I'm in love with the theme of the world, as the whimsical music -- which often times reminds me of Rayman Legends -- compliments the Toki Tori ??universe perfectly, and gives a sense of relaxation i??n between some of the more formidable puzzles.

I'm thankful in many ways that everything is so minimal, in terms of teaching the player how to actually play the game. In other words, you'll get almost zero explicit instructions like "PRESS A TO  JUMP" popping up on screen constantly annoying the hell out of you. In fact, I was actually taken aback when the game started and some goofy sidekick wasn't squawking for five minutes on how to play the game. It's very much like Fez in tha??t regard, but without some of the more cryptic puzzles that you'll ha??ve to seek a guide for.

O??f course, that minimalism can get i??n the way at times, as the game doesn't really do a good job of conveying where you are in the world without exiting a waypoint to double check, and sometimes, it's hard to really care about pressing on.

This is mostly due to the fact that having to repeat lengthy puzzles just to backtrack to an area that may have a new gate is incredibly frustrating. It's why games like Symphony of the Night give you such extreme powers as flight or double-jum?ps -- so you can skip over the areas you've already done a million times over.

For that matter, games of the Metroid and Castlevania pedigree often will give you cues to at least clue you in on the next area or concept -- which Toki Tori 2 doesn't really do a good job ?of d??oing, leading to more aimless wandering.

If you're looking for extras, there isn't a whole lot here, but Toki Tori 2 does have the ability to play out entirely on the GamePad. Remote play is incredibly intuitive an??d simple -- just press the "-" button on the GamePad or the on-screen prompt, and you're good to go. The GamePad's graphical output feel a little washed out compared to the vibrant visuals on-screen, but it's not unplayable or anything.

Sadly, there's no option to select from a batch of save files outside of the one tied to your profile. So if you get stuck, you can't quit to a prior save and keep your old adventure -- you're literally just s??tuck there until you fig?ure it out.

No level editor at launch is also a massive bummer for anyone who heard rumblings of its inclusion and was excited to try it out on the touchscreen. According to the developer, it is coming in a future update -- but right now, it's missing in action. When I said the game was minimalistic, I also mean that in the broadest sense, in that some of it feels? unfinished at tim?es.

Although charming and admirable, Toki Tori 2 at times? is almost too minimal. Puzzles never really reach maddeningly difficult levels until more than halfway in, but often times it's hard to feel inspired to move to the next area -- or bother? discovering it -- if there's no real incentive for doing so outside of general completion.

With a bit more pizazz Toki Tori 2 would have been one of the best games on the Wii U eShop, but as it stands, just know you should go in with an open mind.

The post Review: Toki Tori 2 appeared first on Destructoid.

The little yellow chicken that could!

I love puzzle adventure games, so I couldn't pass up the chance to play Toki Tori 2 on the PAX show floor. What's not to love about an adorable yellow bird tromping around a brightly animat??ed forest? I got a hands-on with Two Tribe's second installment, yet first attempt at publishing a completely independent game, and was delig??htfully surprised!

As I traipsed around the game I found myself falling in love with the adorable little creatures on this lush planet. Each creature has it?s own ability which is activated upon Toki either singing or jumping on the ground to get their attention.

For example, tiny pink animated vegetables will follow Toki's singing voice and will bounce away the moment the music stops. Toki can feed these veggie?? creatures to a fat frog, who will eat one and then burp up a bubble to carry Toki to a new platform in the level. Each area in the game builds upon the lessons learned in th??e previous level, eliminating the need for any text instructions. I found it quite simple to figure these concepts out on my own and enjoyed the fact that the game didn't have to nag me.

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Wii U in April, Steam in summer

After a pretty long delay, Two Tribes has officially announced a final release date for Toki Tori 2, their upcoming adorable platformer. The Wii U version is hitting first on April 4th worldwide, and t??he Steam version will be coming later this summer.

To celebrate, there's a new Wii U trailer that shows off t??he general tone of the game, as well as some of the puzzle-platformer action you'll be privy to in the final release.

Let's hope it was worth the wait!

The post Toki Tori 2, after numerous d??e??lays, has a release date appeared first on Destructoid.

A new blog explains the wait

Toki Tori 2 was all set for a Steam and Wii U release. That is, until it was delayed.

Developer Two Tribes isn't letting this delay get swept under the rug however, as it chose to admirably take on the exact reasons for the missed deadline in a full, honest blog post.

Apparently, the level design just was?n't where it needed to be, so they ditched the structure and decided to go with a more open approach. A number of other facets of the game were also perfected, like performance and graphical output.

The entire endeavor is summed up perfectly by this quote from Two Tribes co-founder Collin van Ginkel: "my ego isn’t big enough to think I’??d do a perfect job wit??hout the need for some serious testing." Kudos, Two Tribes.

I've always said tha?t it's a great idea to keep people updated with the?? progress of your game, regardless of the situation. This is especially true with some Kickstarters, where developers will often will refuse to update their progress even months after obtaining their goal.

Just give it to us s??traight guys -- we're all human.

Why we delayed Toki Tori 2 [Two Tribes]

The post Developer apologizes for Toki Tori 2 delay appeared first on Destructoid.