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Toby: The Secret Mine

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.
Toby: The Secret Mine Game Cover
64%Game Brain Score
gameplay, graphics
story, grinding
64% User Score Based on 294 reviews
Critic Score 65%Based on 2 reviews

Platforms

Nintendo SwitchAndroidPlaystation 5Playstation 4XboxiPhoneWindowsPlayStationLinuxXbox Series X|SPCWii UTabletMac OSPhoneWiiXbox OneiPadMobile Platform
Toby: The Secret Mine Game Cover

About

Toby: The Secret Mine is a single player platformer game. It was developed by LukasNavratil and was released on October 20, 2015. It received mostly positive reviews from both critics and players.

A challenging puzzle platformer inspired by games like Limbo and Badland.

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64%
Audience ScoreBased on 294 reviews
gameplay21 positive mentions
grinding5 negative mentions

  • Beautiful art style and atmospheric visuals that enhance the gameplay experience.
  • Challenging puzzles that require patience and trial-and-error, providing a sense of accomplishment when solved.
  • Smooth controls and responsive gameplay, making it enjoyable to navigate through levels.
  • Frequent cheap deaths due to hidden traps and unclear platforming, leading to frustration.
  • Short playtime of around 2-3 hours, which may not justify the price for some players.
  • Lack of a compelling story or character development, making the experience feel less engaging.
  • gameplay
    93 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of "Toby: The Secret Mine" is characterized by a mix of trial-and-error mechanics and simplistic platforming, often leading to frustration due to unclear mechanics and unexpected traps. While the game features charming visuals and a variety of puzzles, many players find the controls clunky and the overall experience lacking compared to its inspirations like "Limbo." Despite its artistic merits, the gameplay is seen as repetitive and sometimes infuriating, with a reliance on dying to learn level layouts rather than skillful play.

    • “The gameplay is very addictive and yet doesn’t get boring.”
    • “Beautiful art together with the music makes an amazing gameplay experience against logic puzzles.”
    • “Toby: the Secret Mine is a good puzzle-platformer game with great visuals and challenging gameplay, made by just three people.”
    • “The gameplay is mostly trial and error; you constantly die from things you can only avoid if you already know they're there.”
    • “Frustrating gameplay where you die to traps that you did not see coming and platforming where your character feels like a 300lb man running through molasses.”
    • “It's just a sloppier clone with some frustrating gameplay mechanics.”
  • graphics
    89 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game have been widely praised for their stunning aesthetic, featuring a simplistic yet beautiful art style that combines striking silhouettes with vibrant colors, reminiscent of titles like Limbo. Many reviewers noted the immersive atmosphere created by the visuals and sound, although some criticized the graphics for not effectively conveying gameplay elements, leading to frustration. Overall, while the art style is a highlight, it is often overshadowed by gameplay mechanics that detract from the experience.

    • “The art style is simplistic but beautiful, with striking silhouettes and thoughtful use of color.”
    • “Toby’s art style is somewhere between that of Limbo and Feist, taking Limbo’s bleak foreground and adding a splash of color in the background to create the various landscapes you find yourself in.”
    • “The graphics are similar to Limbo, but even more smooth and spectacular, with lens flares, flying leaves, bees, and many other small details that create a unique atmosphere.”
    • “The visuals do a terrible job showing what is and is not physical.”
    • “The addition of color is nice, but it doesn't save the visuals from lacking the polish, weight, depth, and subtleties that Limbo has.”
    • “While the graphical appearance is very similar, the gameplay and puzzles are nothing like as fun.”
  • story
    64 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story aspect of the game is largely criticized for being minimalistic and lacking depth, with many reviewers noting that it fails to engage players or add meaningful context to the gameplay. While some appreciate the atmospheric design and the non-verbal storytelling approach, the overall consensus is that the narrative is either generic or non-existent, leaving players to piece together their own interpretations without much guidance. Ultimately, the game is seen as a standard platformer with a simplistic quest to save friends, overshadowed by more compelling titles in the genre.

    • “A beautiful design, great soundtrack, and silent story make this game very immersive and really enjoyable.”
    • “The story, such as it is, is minimalistic—no need for long screens of dialogue or cutscenes, just simple and to the point.”
    • “Toby the Secret Mine is an untold story of a floppy, fox-eared creature—with eyes too far apart—on a quest to find his friends.”
    • “The story is pretty weak and adds nothing to the game.”
    • “The story is boring and shows a lack of inspiration.”
    • “The game shows no in-game story and doesn't really hint to what you are doing the whole time other than chasing these bad guys.”
  • music
    58 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its atmospheric qualities and variety across different environments, while others find it repetitive and lacking depth. Many highlight the soundtrack's ability to enhance the immersive experience, though some note that it can be overly cheerful for the game's darker themes. Overall, the music contributes positively to the game's ambiance, but it may not stand out as exceptional.

    • “The soundtrack is lovely.”
    • “The visual artwork is very nice and the soundtrack gives you this compelling atmosphere and the game runs smoothly.”
    • “The environments are varied and beautiful, the music is atmospheric and non-intrusive (just perfect for this game), and the sound effects are overall good.”
    • “Music is very lame with only a few notes on loop in some areas.”
    • “The music is always the same and noisy.”
    • “A decent soundtrack enhances the mood, but gets interrupted here and there when going through certain zones within the level.”
  • atmosphere
    35 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere of the game is generally praised for its immersive graphics and soundtrack, creating a compelling experience reminiscent of titles like Limbo. While some reviewers note a lack of depth compared to its inspirations, many appreciate the varied environments and the cute, friendly vibe that enhances gameplay. Overall, the combination of visual and audio elements contributes to a well-crafted atmosphere that resonates with players.

    • “Puzzles are reasonably challenging and I never got stuck for too long, so I just enjoyed the atmosphere of this cute short game.”
    • “The visual artwork is very nice and the soundtrack gives you this compelling atmosphere, and the game runs smoothly.”
    • “The environments are varied and beautiful, the music is atmospheric and non-intrusive (just perfect for this game), and the sound effects are overall good.”
    • “But unlike Limbo, there's no atmosphere or consistent theme.”
    • “As you can probably tell from other reviewers, it is a blatant Limbo rip-off, without any of the ambience, mystery, or atmosphere of Limbo.”
    • “They are somewhere between easy and tedious, with none of the atmosphere but an extra helping of 'do it again, stupid!'.”
  • grinding
    6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Reviews indicate that while the game features enjoyable pacing and convenient checkpoints, the grinding aspect can become tedious due to the need for repeated attempts to overcome traps and puzzles that lack challenge. Some players appreciate the shorter playtime, preferring it over unnecessarily prolonged gameplay, but the trial-and-error nature of certain elements can detract from the overall experience.

    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “They are somewhere between easy and tedious, with none of the atmosphere but an extra helping of 'do it again, stupid!'.”
    • “Most of the 'puzzles' aren't challenging or interesting, but require a lot of tedious trial and error.”
  • humor
    5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is characterized by a blend of cute and whimsical elements, such as the charming design of the main character and Looney Tunes-like enemies, alongside a darker undertone. Players find amusement in the quirky sound effects reminiscent of the "Neighbours from Hell" series, as well as the humorous death counters that track both failures and successes in a lighthearted manner. Overall, the game balances innocence with a playful yet dark sense of humor.

    • “Innocently looking platformer with a pretty dark sense of humor.”
    • “However, Toby uses lots of happy shiny colors in the background; the main character Toby is actually quite cute and funny looking, and the enemies are not scary (they’re more like Looney Tunes).”
    • “Death counters also provide the player with a hilarious reminder of all of your endeavors throughout the game, and also a counter that lets you know how many characters you have saved as well!”
  • replayability
    5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, the game's replayability is mixed; while the diverse level design and collectibles encourage multiple playthroughs, some players feel it lacks significant replay value due to predictable solutions and save system issues. However, for those interested in speedrunning or completing missed objectives, there are still reasons to revisit the game.

    • “The collectibles make it replayable.”
    • “It's definitely worth a playthrough; although it may not have amazing replay value.”
    • “Levels are very different from one another, the solution is never predictable, and the game is not so short even if it has zero replay value. Don't take my playtime into consideration though, because I lost all of my progress at some point and had to start from the beginning; the game has no cloud sync and save games are stored in the registry - at least for Windows - and that's very bad in my opinion.”
    • “It has replay value if you've missed any villagers (I missed 4), and also a potential for speedrunning for those interested.”
  • optimization
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game is praised for its smooth performance and appealing visual artwork, allowing players to enjoy a compelling atmosphere without significant graphical issues. Users report a satisfying framerate, enhancing the overall experience.

    • “The visual artwork is very nice, and the soundtrack gives you this compelling atmosphere, and the game runs smoothly.”
    • “The smoothness of Toby's running will bring joy to your heart!”
    • “Usually when I first start a game, I adjust graphical settings to favor performance over graphical fidelity to increase framerate, but I ended up quitting the game by mistake by pressing the menu button on my controller.”
  • stability
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, user reviews on stability are mixed; while some players report significant bugs and glitches, others have experienced a smooth gameplay experience without issues. The game seems to have a few minor stability concerns, particularly with puzzles, but many find it exceeds their expectations despite these flaws.

    • “Very buggy game!”
    • “Toby is a solid game, there are a few glitches and overly difficult puzzles, but not many.”
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3h Median play time
3h Average play time
2-5h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 5 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

Toby: The Secret Mine is a platformer game.

Toby: The Secret Mine is available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, iPhone and others.

On average players spend around 3 hours playing Toby: The Secret Mine.

Toby: The Secret Mine was released on October 20, 2015.

Toby: The Secret Mine was developed by LukasNavratil.

Toby: The Secret Mine has received mostly positive reviews from both players and critics. Most players liked this game for its gameplay but disliked it for its story.

Toby: The Secret Mine is a single player game.

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