From New Zealand-based husband-and-wife outfit Eat Pant Games comes Teeto, a fun, brightly coloured 3D platformer that at first glance recalls Rare’s Banjo-Kazooie. A shout-out goes to the misquoted Simpsons reference.
The titular Teeto is an amorphous blue lab experiment, technically called T33-T0, while the Kazooie equivalent is Nory – though rather than a smart-talking bird, it’s a toy bunny who chatters constantly during your adventure. Together they explore four different worlds, with split-screen co-op available. Throughout, you’ll be struck by just how New Zealand-esque the voice acting is, and it’s completely charming with it.
No time is wasted introducing the core mechanic of absorbing certain environmental items. This begins with a flower that grants the ability to use grappling points to traverse wide chasms, followed by a rock that lets you become heavy and smash objects. Solid gains, as the gym bros would say.
Sometimes you can absorb items simply for the fun of it, too, adding to the sense of silliness. I’m all about whimsy, and Teeto is happy to provide it.
Progress is gated by collecting a plot device called ‘Vionites’, though quite what these are isn’t explained. They simply exist. If you don’t collect enough in a particular area, the steps to the next area aren’t available, but I never had an issue with this because I habitually hoovered up collectables as I played.
The other collectables are arbitrarily called ‘Michaels’ – no, really. They’re themed with pop culture references, and are integral to the plot, such as it is. It’s nothing revelatory: you seek to find out why the world is overrun with shadow creatures who wish you ill, and how they’re inexorably intertwined with your own genesis.
Each level has a collection of Vionites and Michaels to pick up, as well as shadow flags to shoot. Shoot ’em, get a Vionite. NPCs provide occasional tasks, and you’ll also notice the odd nod to similar games, along with podcasts. I didn’t recognise the references directly, but they may resonate with you. They’re voiced by Kiwi voice actors, with some characters making repeated appearances, though I’ll spare you the reason why.
As you play, you’ll be showered with Trophies, but while you might be tempted to buy new costumes in the hub area, I’d recommend holding fire, as the game’s currency has a Trophy tied to accumulating one million units, and progress towards it isn’t tracked cumulatively. As it goes, I’m replaying the same level repeatedly to boost my total for said Trophy. A minor annoyance.
The enemies are a little one-note, with your main opponents being little shadows who are easily dispatched. Occasionally bigger shadow enemies throw items, but they’re just as easily dealt with. The story explains their origin at least. Bigger enemies only tend to really show up in the set pieces or as a Thwomp-a-like to prevent lingering on platforms. Plenty of environmental hazards appear along the way too.
The twenty campaign levels carry you through the story and don’t fall into the usual tropes particularly. Yes, there are a couple of mountain levels, but they make sense from a story point of view. Level design isn’t massively intricate, but it is well done. The longer levels are more sprawling than anything, and due to the way collectables are shown in the UI, you’ll know when you need to retrace your steps for the most part.
Checkpoint frequency isn’t really a problem, as even if you fall from a high platform you’ll either splat and reconstitute or in the event you drop into a chasm, you’ll respawn nearby – both with no penalty. It gently moves you along, with the bosses only really being an issue in terms of momentum. If I have any real complaints, it’s that these grander fights can be arbitrarily difficult, particularly the first one. It’s all a bit jarring and unexpected, feeling thematically off. I also had the odd occasion when our blue-hued hero simply wouldn’t move, forcing me to quit to the hub.
It helps that Teeto is utterly charming throughout, and while it does have the occasional sloppy moment, the fact that this is an indie game made by a two-person team is pretty remarkable. Some levels might be a bit brief, too, but that’s no bad thing. The collectables aren’t a chore at all, and the fact that Michaels call your name as you approach them adds to the continual smorgasbord of delights that is Teeto.
Eat Pant Games’ Teeto is published by Super Rare Originals. Out now on PS5, Xbox, Switch, and Steam.