Xbox One Critic Reviews

Toby is as close to Limbo as you possibly can be without lawyers getting involved. But where Limbo is a piece of art where every element comes together this is merely a collection of mechanics that do a decent job. Or with the words of Oscar Wilde: “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness.”

Toby: The Secret Mine is a gorgeous, fun and oddly challenging puzzle platformer that has some really large difficulty spikes at times. The playtime might also be too short given its price point. If you’re in the market for a game along the lines of Limbo, go for it.

Good game with very interesting phases with puzzles and platforming levels. It's very similar to other indie titles as Limbo or Badland. But Toby is original in some gameplay mechanics. It's also very short.

Toby: The Secret Mine is still fun, even with the slightly frustrating misgivings that are present. The game has some fun platforming and some nice puzzles, and would certainly be worth one or two dips into the mine. Make sure to rescue all of your friends, or else the denizens of the deep might get you.

For $9.99 (Cdn) Toby: The Secret Mine is a short adventure that is worth looking into for the art design alone and I would love to see the story of Toby told in a graphic novel medium. That being said, it's gameplay, although standard, doesn't bring anything distinctly unique to the table and often the puzzles are just too simple. It's also unfortunate that the game is fairly short and doesn’t offer any replay value at all to allow you to squeeze a few more hours out of it.

Toby: The Secret Mine is a somber experience executed using a visually stunning setting. Most of the puzzles are an experience in exploration and intelligence. Unfortunately, the technical issues keep it from being the masterpiece it could be. A truly great game is hidden underneath all the frustrating problems.

Toby: The Secret Mine offers a pleasing visual style, but with a quite uninspired and soulless gameplay and with a game design too based on trial and error.

The two to three hours it takes to complete Toby: The Secret Mine never sees the story build on its initial momentum from the opening scenes. Toby: The Secret Mine is worth seeing but it's only a handful that will find it worthwhile to stay.

If you played Limbo, or more recently, Playdead’s “Inside”, then you already know exactly what kind of game you’re getting with Toby: The Secret Mine. While Toby is no where near as refined as either of those two games, I did enjoy it a touch more than I enjoyed Limbo, but not nearly as much as I enjoyed Inside. Still, with all the glitches and lack of originality, this is a game more for die hard fans of the genre and definitely not someone with a casual interest.

Toby: The Secret Mine can be easily pardoned as a complete larceny of Limbo – but it’s not as simple as that. When Toby does craft its own uniqueness, there is a lot to like.