Toroa Preview – Say Kia Ora To A Calming Experience

With the hustle, bustle and excitement of a few thousand people walking the PAX Aus show floor, it can be hard to immerse yourself in the demos that are being presented. That’s not to say that I didn’t get a firm feel for the games I played, but with distractions in every direction, it was tricky to lose myself entirely in the hands-on sessions. So, when a ten-minute slice of gameplay sucked me in quicker than a Dyson on max, I knew I was playing something special.

While there were a plethora of indie games to get around in the PAX Rising section of the show floor, the New Zealand Centre of Digital Excellence (CODE) booth is where I kept returning to. Dungeon Crawler Under the Tavern and the isometric action game Blackheart both impressed me, but Toroa, an exploration adventure game by Ōtepoti-based studio Atawhai Interactive, was the standout.

The demo opened with a lone albatross (Toroa in the te ao Māori language) peacefully floating on a vast undisturbed ocean. I was quickly introduced to Tāwhirimātea, the atua (god) of the winds, who had been sent to aid in my journey home across the Pacific. As the translucent and swirling Tāwhirimātea climbed into the air, I followed, leaving the calm waters to explore the sky. The first thing I noticed after taking flight was a subtle gravitational pull back towards the sea that I was obligated to contend with, making it clear that flapping wings and staying aloft is exerting. However, this changed when I entered one of the many air tunnels among the clouds, alleviating the need to flap my wings and allowing the draft to carry me.

Effortlessly gliding between plush clouds, banking and climbing to my heart’s content felt freeing. Most of the demo had me following Tāwhirimātea through a wide open maze of thick clouds that would often part to reveal beautiful vistas of the setting sun, but there were a few moments that called for me to head back to the ocean. Though brief, these dalliances with water detailed the kind of small quests that players will undertake on behalf of friendly dolphins, penguins and aforementioned deities in the full game. This mainly consisted of collecting litter on the ocean surface during the demo, but it was enough to get the point across while touching on the importance of our environment.

As I was playing, the devs explained that they wanted Toroa to look and feel like it was taking place in a dreamscape. Even though the game has only been in development for a short while, I can safely say that team at Atawhai are succeeding in this area. The gorgeous, warm-toned visuals are comforting and relaxing, emphasised by the accompanying melodic music from taonga pūoro (traditional Māori instruments). While bobbing on the ocean’s surface, it’s shown to be moving water, but the view from the sky depicts the huge expanse as indigenous symbols representing the sea. These elements come together to create a serene experience that feels lovingly crafted by a group of creatives that want the Māori culture to be explored and celebrated.

It’s still very early days for Toroa, but when explaining the game to people, I’ve been describing it as similar to Journey but with flight and Māori influences. That might be terribly reductive, but when you’re early in development and can be compared to Journey, you know you’re onto a winner.

You can watch the teaser trailer for Toroa here:

Toroa currently has a Steam page and can be added to your wishlist, but we don’t have a release date yet. So, if you’re keen, add it to your wishlist and keep an eye on WellPlayed for more info as it drops.

Did you head along to PAX Aus this year? What was your highlight from the show? Let us know in the comments or on our social media.