Despite being available since 2021, Toem: A Photo Adventure somehow completely passed me by.

Yet as soon as it hit Xbox Game Pass, it looked like exactly my kind of game.

In Toem, your adorable little character sets off on an adventure, armed with a camera and, I cannot stress this enough, huge bags of charm.

So in Toem, you wander around with your camera, helping out the locals in each little town you arrive in – looking to complete quests, earning yourself stamps in an album, which in turn allows you to take the bus to the next town.

It’s absolutely adorable; there’s so much character to every inhabitant you meet – and so much charm and whimsy in their little quests and amusing dialogue.

To add to that, there’s a huge array of quests to undertake and your log book will soon stack up with things to do in every town.

There’s never the feeling of being overwhelmed – or of having any pressure at all. You don’t need to complete that many tasks in each town to earn the ticket to the next one, but it is definitely worth doing many of the quests – not only is it extremely satisfying to do so, but it’s just the right thing to do for the lovely inhabitants of these quaint and quirky towns.

The vibe in Toem is supremely chilled, aided by a superb lo-fi, gorgeously downtempo soundtrack.

Though fully black and white (or is it?), you never seem to miss colour in Toem; it’s beautifully stylised and it didn’t even occur to me until I’d completed the game that I’d not seen any colour throughout the duration!

Not only is the game full of quests, but there’s just so much to uncover that’ll surprise and delight you; even after the main game is done, a massive surprise just lands on your lap once the credits have rolled, when you venture back into the game.

Endlessly charming, relaxing and oddly compelling, Toem will keep you coming back for more long after the supposed climax of the game. It’s a wonderful little game that deserves to find itself a massive audience.