More Thoughts From Me #209: A Touryst Visits the Switch

I’m a sucker for simulation games. I’m also a sucker for puzzle games and Adventure games. So what if one game had elements of all three? How would I feel about such a game? The Touryst for Nintendo Switch is the game I’m talking about and here are my impressions of it so far.

The Touryst is a puzzle game at its heart. There are so many puzzles in this game. And yet is also has a bit of the simulation genre and Adventure genre in its blood.

What is The Touryst exactly?

The Touryst is an indie game where you play as…wait for it…a tourist who visits islands, explores them, and solve puzzles. The game is mostly about the puzzle solving but you can interact with the locals and buy stuff. The Touryst feels like an Adventure game but its mechanics also feel a bit like a simulation game.

In the Touryst, you’ll find a island that has a town. That town has an arcade and other shops. You can buy stuff, fill a museum with pictures or play arcade games. Yes the arcade actually has mini-games that you can play! They are pretty neat.

The Touryst has plenty of distractions, but lets get back to the puzzles. Many of the islands have monuments that you have to get into. There are puzzles usually just to get into them. Once you are inside, you’ll have to figure out how to get through them. Its not always easy. In fact, I’m currently stuck on one of the puzzles. I really need to get past it. I want to see more of this game!

Overall, The Touryst is a small downloadable indie game. And yet it has a lot of content to it. If you like the puzzle, adventure, and simulation genres, I highly recommend The Touryst. It can be a tough game but all of the various elements in it make it worth checking out.

Have you played The Touryst? What do you think of it?

Next week: Some thoughts on Smash Bros. I’ve been playing it a lot lately to unlock Spirits, music, and Mii costumes. I’ll talk about that and also what I hope future DLC will be.

More Thoughts From Me is an opinion column. The thoughts expressed here are mine and mine alone. Will there be a Touryst 2?