ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove! is kind of hard to describe. The basic idea is that the player takes on the role of a "funky" alien (or aliens if you bring a friend) trying to escape from an abstract version of Earth by exploring around in search of the pieces from their broken spaceship all the while trying to avoid antagonistic Earthlings, but also sporadically hiring the services of helpful humans with dollar bills they find lying around. The players can also find presents which act like temporary power ups and range from detrimental to extremely useful.
It's a weird, comedic and creative game, and I can see why it has a following even though I hadn't played any ToeJam & Earl game prior to this one. Some aspects are not so original anymore, such as the procedural generation of levels, but the rest is pretty much unique as far as I know. I mean computer games where you try to avoid direct confrontation most of the time are already rare.
That being said, the appeal has worn off for me for me after a couple of runs. The game has a particular style that doesn't resonate with me, possibly because of my age. Nevertheless, I'm still glad I played it at least once.

Reviewed on Jul 26, 2022


Comments