Our Verdict
Toem 2 is a cute sequel, but the adventure game magic of original has been streamlined out.
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What is it?: A quest-y adventure game where snapping a pic is always the answer.
Release date: September 29, 2026
Expect to pay: $17 / £13.59
Developer: Something We Made
Publisher: popagenda
Reviewed on: Intel Core Ultra 7 265, RTX 5070 Ti, 32GB RAM
Multiplayer: No
Steam Deck: Verified
Link: Steam
Adventure games are full of people with problems that need solvin' and in Toem 2, just as in the original, the solution is usually a fresh photo with my slick vintage dynamic zoom camera. This time grandma is sending me to catch the bus to see the elusive blooming of the whirling birch tree. I can only get a ticket to the next town by completing quests at each stop along the way.
In each of the four towns I've got the freedom to explore, looking for locals who need whatever assistance I can provide with my surprisingly versatile multi-attachment camera. For my trouble, they'll stamp my journal, and my quest continues when I've got enough stamps to visit the next stop on the bus line.
What kinds of camera-based help do the people of Toem 2 need?
A farmer needs me to photograph the hiding spots of four runaway garden gnomes.
A gardener wants me to source some inspo pics of creative non-pots for plants.
A trio of dandelions want photographic proof that their missing sibling isn't truly lost.
Some quests are more traditional adventure game tasks sans-camera
A scaredy cat scarecrow wants me to carry him to a new perch without any pesky birds.
A knight with a serious boo-boo needs a potion to cure their injuries.
There's an escape room in the city with a prize waiting for whoever can crack it.
Toem 2 has lots of collectible outfits. The big mascot version of my character's own head is my favorite.
Like the original, I've also got a compendium of critters I can snap if I want to be a completionist.
The airborne camera tripod for advanced selfie mode is very fun to mess around with. Sometimes I'd stand on top of a table or obstacle and deploy my heli-camera out into the air to take a bird's eye shot.
It's all a little too automatic
In the original Toem, I just needed to collect enough stamps from any quest in an area to hop onto the bus to the next destination. Toem 2 has a much clearer main quest for each area. Every locale has a combo of a special camera attachment and a hapless local who needs my assistance using it before I continue my journey. Helping these folks isn't required, but is definitely the intended path to a friend-filled ending.
Each attachment has a non-camera function (the first one is a pair of scissors) that I use by aiming my viewfinder and pressing a button.
The streamlined quest structure tells a cute story.
But it loses some of the adventure game magic.
Good adventure games (the original Toem among them) produce that really electrifying puzzle solving sensation. You see a problem. You imagine a few possible solutions. You walk around and eventually… "ohhhhhh, now I see!"
You know that saying? "To a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail." Toem 2 gave me a hammer and then actually did present me only with nails. I mostly don't need to think creatively to understand a problem. I just have to walk around until I see the next obvious use of my camera ability.
In my favorite adventure games, quests are almost riddle-like hints instead of direct instructions. The joy comes from the moment my brain "clicks" with the answer I've been searching for. In Toem 2 I'm doing a whole lot of camera clicking but very little brain clicking. It's a quick and sweet sequel, but the easy-peasy objectives make it feel less innovative than the original.
Toem 2 is a cute sequel, but the adventure game magic of original has been streamlined out.
