to a T review: Another Memorable Dose of Silliness From the Katamari Creator

I think – despite the overwhelming love for 2024's Astro Bot – sheer amounts of whimsy is something that gets overlooked a lot in games. If you think of the games that really popped off over the last decade or so, you'll see sad dads, dark fantasy, and all manner of bleak subject matter. And even in the Mario, Kirby, and Astro's of the world, dedication to getting silly isn't often the priority.

But Katamari Damacy creator Keita Takahashi has such dedication to just being a silly guy that everything else in his games feels secondary. After his stint at Bandai Namco, his next big project was Wattam – a game that can best be described as some Cocomelon-ass sensory toy game in which you play as a cube mayor who befriends sentient objects like balloons, noses, and turds. Five years later, I couldn't tell you what the gameplay loop in that game was, but I remember it being a joyous experience about making friends.

This time around, Takahashi has returned with to a T, a game in which you play as a teenager named Teen who is stuck in a T-pose for some unknown reason. As a result, the little things are hard for Teen, making getting changed, brushing your teeth or using the toilet (all three being minigames) nigh impossible without the help of Teen's dog, Dog.

Unlike Katamari's arcade game stylings or Wattam's toybox-esque design, to a T is a narrative adventure game in the vein of Night in the Woods. There's not much in the way of puzzle solving, or even a gameplay loop to speak of; you're simply along for the ride in the day-to-day life of the T-posing teen.

The game is split into episodes, with each showing off a new day in the life of Teen, and what they're dealing with that day. During the adventure, they somehow learn that they have the ability to fly and attempts to get through day-to-day life with a lack of elbows. It's a silly premise, which is perfectly complemented by a silly cast of characters, with Dog and Teen's mum being definite highlights. Even Teen's bullies become likeable characters along the way.

I adored the chorus of narrator characters who show up every so often, just to make little comments about what's happening in the story, even if no one realises they exist. And the story takes some unpredictable turns that border on ridiculous but make perfect sense in this silly little world. However, even if it was predictable, I'll admit the "our differences are what make us special" moral was very well executed within the silliness of the game.

Each episode is also presented with an opening and closing musical sequence, both of which are always a joy. Even though I heard them around eight times each over the course of six hours, I never took the option to skip them because they're not only earworms but also get you ready to experience the next episode of this TV show-style game. Plus, as specific events happen in the story, these sequences react to them, which was a great touch.

Somewhat expectedly, Takahashi's signatures are all over this. The art style is a gorgeous rendition of what we've seen before, with cutesy 3D models and lovely-looking environments. The soundtrack is full of pleasant and whimsical tunes. And there's a tonne of silly-bordering-on-juvenile humour, including multiple close-up shots of the dog's butthole – my guy loves his potty humour (and I'd have it no other way).

Outside of some minigames, there isn't a whole lot to talk about when it comes to gameplay. You'll spend most of the adventure just exploring the city and talking to characters. That being said, it does change things up at points to keep things from getting too drawn out. However, there's also a weird amount of glitches at times. Chapter 5 specifically – which was by far my favourite chapter as far as the actual contents are concerned – had me clip out of bounds on four separate occasions, requiring a restart from a previous chapter point and mashing through the dialogue (which can take a while sometimes).

Issues aside, to a T is another dose of joy and whimsy that we've come to expect from Keita Takahashi and the team at uvula. It's not a game that's going to have you on the edge of your seat, but it's six hours of sustained joy and a reminder to never forget you're the perfect shape – and maybe that's just what we need.

8/10

to a T was reviewed on PC, and a review code was provided by the publisher. It's also available on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S (also on Xbox Game Pass).

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