Toki

A fresh coat of paint and a new look for the crazy chimp don’t do enough to escape the aged level design and frustrating trial-and-error gameplay loop.

Almost 30 years later Toki returns with a remake as challenging and fun as ever, but with a renewed audiovisual section that will delight all types of players.

This remake of Toki brings back an arcade platformer classic to the Nintendo Switch catalogue in an effort that combines a gorgeous visual environment with plenty of nostalgic value. It doesn't go as far as it could, however, as the short lifespan and steep difficulty level make this experience to inaccessible for most players except those looking to revisit this classic.

If you enjoy the old-school nature of Toki and are willing to explore every nook and cranny, then this is a remake very much worth your time. It’s not a long playthrough in one go at less than an hour, but it will take you more than that to master. Give this monkey a spitting chance.

On the whole, I found Toki to be much more playable and enjoyable than I had initially expected. The gorgeous new art direction and classic level design suits its resurgent makeover to stay fun even after nearly 30 years. However, pushing this remaster out the door with no original arcade addition as well as reflect on its steep price point does make a purchase harder to recommend. With that said, if Toki does find its way into a Nintendo eShop sale it’s definitely worth diving into. There’s a reason why it has a cult following and after playing through it twice it’s easy to see why.

One of the toughest platform-shooter ever made, graphically renewed with a beautiful cartoon style. Can be frustrating for those who prefers a more relaxing challenge.

Interesting remake of one of the most iconic 2D run and gun classic arcade games from the 90s era.

A beautiful remaster of the original Toki, with the same great elements and flaws of the 1989 arcade. Short, difficult and fun. We love the retro-collector edition, which includes a wooden cabinet replica.

Toki is a visually successful remaster of a game dear to a lot of quite old gamers. It hasn't changed a lot, which can be good for arcade enthusiasts but frustrating for those who are not receptive to the proposition, and offers nothing more but it's fine.

Toki is amusing for a few hours, before the poor level design and the repetitive combat system comes to light.

The new Toki is exactly the same old Toki. A rather hollow experience for 2018 players.

Toki looks better than ever and plays great if you don't get stuck at a bad respawn point. When you die a bunch you need to start the game all over again and you can't save either. It's a shame because saving would make this retro game so much better.

Toki is one of those games from the past that doesn't hold up very well today. That being said, gamers who enjoy retro 2D action games will surely get a kick out of this remake, especially considering just how awesome it looks and sounds.

Toki is an absolutely beautiful remaster, with fantastic hand-drawn backgrounds, brilliant character animation and impressive boss designs. Aesthetics only go so far, though, and while the game itself is fun to play (if a little cheap with its deaths at times) the reality is it’s an arcade game at heart. As such, its six stages won’t last you too long, especially if you’re the target audience – someone who remembers Toki back in the day and has continued to play platformers for the three decades that followed – and once it’s done there’s no real replay value.

A labour of love that few are likely to appreciate – but if for some reason you did want a hand-drawn remake of Toki then this is your lucky year.