Toree 3D is a 3D Platform Game developed by Siactro as part of the Haunted PS1 Demo Disc 2021 game jam, before receiving a standalone release on April 9, 2021 for both Steam and the Nintendo Switch for the low price of one dollar. The game stars the titular Toree, a duck who has had their ice cream cone stolen by a freaky-looking reaper named Glitchy, and must navigate through various stages in order to get it back.
The game is designed to be very fast-paced, with an emphasis on flow. The levels are all almost completely linear, with a variety of obstacles to overcome. The general game design, plus the very short length, make it an ideal game for speedrunning.
A sequel, Toree 2 released later the same year, on September 30th on Steam, and October 4 on Switch. The game is essentially a Mission-Pack Sequel to the first, but with the addition of a few new level gimmicks, including rings that launch Toree through the air, and flags that activate a dash attack when passed between. Much like the original, Toree 2 costs just one dollar to download. A Holiday update was released on December 22nd that added three new Christmas themed levels, two of which experiment with Collect-a-Thon Platformer elements. Shortly after the release of the sequel, another game, titled "Toree: Jumbled Jam" released as a standalone program on PC, and as a free update to the first game on Switch. Jumbled Jam consists of four new "Remix" designed by Kalliros, one of the level designers for Toree 2, combining elements from every stage in the first game.
A third game, called Toree Saturn, has been announced at SAGE 2023 and is scheduled to be released in 2024. It will feature an improved control scheme that lets players run without holding down a button, a late 90s-Y2K inspired art style and two new moves: a grounddash that can be used in mid air to descend faster and get a speedboost when impacting on the ground and an homing dash that allows players to hit special stars to get a height and movement boost. In order to get feedback from the players, a demo
was released August 9 on Sonic Fan Games HQ.
The first game can be found on Steam here, and the sequel can be found here. You can see the trailer for the third game here.
Toree 3D and Toree 2 contain examples of:
- Bee Afraid: Large bees appear as enemies in both games. They fly in a straight line back and forth.
- Big Bad: Glitchy is a reaper who stole Toree's ice cream, which Toree wants to get back.
- Bragging Rights Reward: The secret characters are this, for the most part. Not only can they not be unlocked until after beating all the stages, but the player does not receive a grade for their time unless they play as Toree. The only exception is Macbat in Toree 2, as he is required to collect most of the hidden CDs.
- Digital Abomination: Glitchy, as advertised. He has the power to rip holes in the game world that expose the game's code, one of which he wears on his person, and another of which he briefly Toree inside at the end of Starry Sky seemingly just to scare the player.
- Double Jump: Toree and Tasty are both capable of jumping once in mid-air.
- Excuse Plot: A creepy reaper stole your ice cream! Run through nine different obstacle courses to get it back! This is especially prominent in the first game, which doesn't even have an intro or ending cutscene.
- Floating Platforms: Many platforms hang mid-air.
- Gameplay Grading: Upon completing any stage, the player is given a rank based on how long they took. S is the highest rank; C is the lowest. However, the grading is skipped if they are playing as anyone besides Toree.
- Gotta Catch 'Em All:
- Each level has lots of stars that can be collected. Collecting all the stars in a single run of each stage is required to unlock Macbat.
- The sequel introduces a hidden disk in each stage, each of which are located in far-off places that only Macbat can reach. Collecting every single one unlocks Glitchy as a playable character.
- Giant Squid: One appears as a background element in certain stages. Based on the name of the levels it appears in, it’s name is seemingly “Mama”.
- Guest Fighter: The secret characters include characters from Siactro's other games.
- Macbat from MacBat 64: Journey of a Nice Chap.
- Tasty from Tasty Ramen.
- Inconveniently-Placed Conveyor Belt: Conveyor belts can be found hanging mid-air, pushing the player to its direction.
- Jump Scare:
- Toward the end of Slidey Ice, a giant disembodied mouth full of sharp teeth suddenly appears right in front of you when you approach a corner, and snaps at you if you get too close.
- The snow levels in the first game have what appears to be a normal snowball on the ground but getting close to it will suddenly reveal it to be a monster with razor-sharp teeth that growls at you. While surprising the first time, by the end of the level, it starts appearing all over the place, making it oddly comical.
- At one point in Sparkle Park in the sequel, a giant black creature with large white eyes will abruptly rise out of the water in front of you, making the same growling noise as the snowball enemies.
- One-Hit-Point Wonder: Anything that can hurt you will kill you in one hit.
- Retraux: The game's aesthetic is designed to resemble a low-polygon 3D game from the 1990s.
- Surprisingly Creepy Moment:
- While the games aren't overly creepy, there are a handful of unexpectedly twisted looking character designs, and a couple of jump scares.
- Starry Sky in the first game is adorned with lots of giant stars with cute, smiling faces. Except getting close to them causes their faces to become distorted, the sky to turn red, and they very slowly start to approach you, killing you if they make contact.
- The same level also ends with Glitchy briefly pulling you into a Pocket Dimension.
- All the Worlds Are a Stage:
- Its World combines assets and mechanics from all of the previous stages.
- The Jumbled Jam stages also combine elements from all four main worlds.
- Eldritch Location: "Its World", the final stage. It takes place in an empty black void with elements from all of the previous stages floating around, alongside giant images of Glitchy everywhere.
- Metropolis Level: Glamour City, Starry Sky, and Ducktown Throwdown all take place atop large skyscrapers.
- No Ending: The game cuts to credits after clearing the final stage, though there is the closure of Toree getting back their ice cream.
- Sequel Hook: Toward the end of the final Jumbled Jam stage, "Mama Comes to Town", banners for Toree 2 can be seen in the background.
- Slippy-Slidey Ice World: Slidey Ice, Hungry Mountain Peak, and Fraught Freeze all take place on a snowy mountain. Frictionless Ice is a recurring obstacle in these stages.
- Stock Scream: In Glamour City, if the player turns around as the stage begins, they can see a skeleton hanging from one of the roofs behind them. If they climb up to the roof in question, then walk over to it's hands, the skeleton will fall from the roof and let out a Wilhelm scream.
- Traintop Battle: Neo Osaka, Edge Runner, and Mama Goes To Town all involve jumping across moving vehicles driving down a highway.
- Vent Physics: Many levels have vents that can be used for lift.
- All the Worlds Are a Stage: Downplayed. While Its Home doesn't use elements of all the stage like the first game did, Glitchy's boss fight uses attacks inspired by all four of the previous worlds.
- Bleak Level: The final stage, Its Home, is largely devoid of obstacles leading up to the final encounter with Glitchy.
- Christmas Episode: The Bonus section of the game contains three Christmas-themed stages, including one where Toree must explore a small town in search of ice cream cones, one where they have to collect lightbulbs and put them on a giant tree, and one where they must deliver a present.
- Defeat Means Friendship: Glitchy begins to cry after Toree retrieves the ice cream cone, so Toree decides to share it with them.
- Eternal Engine: Hidden Headquarters and Sky Station, combined with Metropolis Level
- Final Boss: Unlike the first game, this time there's a battle agaisnt Glitchy in the final stage.
- Fishbowl Helmet: Toree wears one in the two outer space levels.
- Lethal Lava Land: Pyro Palace and Torch Tower, combines this aesthetic with Temple of Doom.
- One-Winged Angel: For the Final Boss fight, Glitchy turns into a giant version of himself with a different mask.
- Palmtree Panic: Palmtree Paradise and Sparkle Park take place in a tropical water park decorated with palm trees.
- Promoted to Playable: Glitchy becomes a playable character once all of the CDs are collected.
- Purposely Overpowered: Glitchy. He's every bit as fast as Tasty, while having infinite jumps just like Macbat does.
- Sequence Breaking: With enough skill, Toree can get some of the hidden CDs without the need for Macbat's flight, especially at Sky Station, though Macbat is still required for the majority of them even then.
- Slippy-Slidey Ice World: The bonus Christmas themed levels take place in a snowy environment very similar to the snow levels from the first game. They even have the same Frictionless Ice.
- Space Zone: Lunar Lasers and Dash Dimension take place atop spaceships floating in space.
- Springs, Springs Everywhere: Lawn chairs can be jumped on to gain vertical height.
- Temple of Doom: Pyro Palace and Torch Tower take place in a hazardous temple, which is also covered in lava.
