The Touryst Xbox One Review

Game:	The Touryst
Publisher:	Shin'en Multimedia
Developer:	Shin'en Multimedia
Genre:	Adventure
Players:	1
Age Rating:	3+
Other console/handheld formats:	Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch
Related sites:	The Touryst, Shin'en Multimedia

The Touryst is a cute and colourful blocky style game, reminiscent of LEGO or Minecraft, in which you play as a Tom Selleck-in-Magnum PI-looking tourist whose goal is to unlock the secrets of various mysterious monuments. A quickly addictive game, you explore several islands in which you can also take the time to talk to and complete challenges from the locals or other tourists. 

Arriving on the first island in a small boat, captained by er… Captain, your first port of call is to visit the local shop and investigate the first of many monuments. The aim of the game is to find and visit all of these monuments and collect four mysterious square orbs. The simplistic but fun nature of the game easily pulls you in, and you could easily finish the game in one session. Early on the game will have you believing it is going to be a quick one, until suddenly more islands become available and the game opens up even more.

While optional missions feel unimportant to the main plot, they are still fun to compete in, and involve such games as scoring a certain number of goals in a football challenge; doing a certain number of pull-ups in an exercise challenge; beating an avid gamers high scores – a particularly memorable challenge as you get to play three in-game mini games – or controlling a drone and landing on markers before the timer runs out. Some have more puzzle-like elements to them, such as finding coconuts to give to an Ice Cream man who will then make you a delicious coconut ice cream; or finding fruit to give to a vendor who will make you a smoothie, which is then used to bribe a worker. 

You can also take pictures of the various monuments you find. These pictures can then be sold for coins at the shop and turned into postcards. You can also take pictures of particular tourists, whose images can then be given to a gallery curator to fill his gallery walls (without the subjects permission, I might add. Naughty). Most puzzles are simple enough to complete, and won’t leave you scratching at your head, though that’s not to say that the game always holds your hand. It certainly does not. 

All of these challenges are done to earn coins, which can be used to buy clothes or travel guides, which you need if you are to find all of the monuments. You can also purchase books that give you additional actions, such as Free Climbing or Double Jumping, skills that will come in useful later on. As well as exploration, there are some fairly difficult platforming sections that require some patience, a bit of skill, and luck, especially one lengthy section that takes place down a mine shaft. 

Animal Crossing: New Horizons was the go-to game many people played to get away from reality while in lockdown, but The Touryst could certainly give it a run for its money. With its varied and vibrant, exotic locations, it certainly would be a great second option should you want another game to escape reality for a few hours.