Toem 2: Cozy Camera Sequel Charms but Plays It Safe
Toem 2 is out today, September 29, 2026, and the first verdicts are rolling in. Developer Something We Made, which publishes the game together with popagenda, has brought its monochrome photo adventure back with a brand-new 3D look. Jill Grodt played it on PC for The Indie Informer and came away very happy, with one nagging reservation.
The short version? It's a warm, gentle trip with a camera in hand. It just doesn't climb quite as high as the original.
A Word for the Feeling
Grodt opens her review with hygge, the Norwegian and Danish word for the snug contentment you get from a comfortable, pleasant atmosphere. For her, the term fits Toem in two ways. It describes how the game makes you feel. It also explains why a sequel exists at all.
Something We Made is based in Sweden, and that link made it click for her. "Toem" might work less like a single event and more like a broad label, the way hygge does. Before the sequel was announced, she saw the first game's trip up the mountains as a one-off. She couldn't picture a reason for the hero to make that climb again.
Back in Homelanda
The sequel starts somewhere familiar. You wake up in cozy Homelanda again, and Grodt says it's the ideal place to show off the new art style. Your little bedroom, the relaxed living room and a cheering Nana all come back in 3D. That quickly calmed her worries about whether the new look could still carry the feel of the first game.
Then Nana sends you over to the TV. A news report explains what Toem really means in this black-and-white world. It isn't one specific thing. It's a type of happening, a moment of dramatic and mesmerizing change.
This time the phenomenon is due in a distant park built around an almost mythical tree. That's your new destination. The route is different, but anyone who played the first game will spot a lot of the same structure.
Where It Falls Short
That familiarity is the sticking point. Grodt admits that knowing the original so well may have dulled some of her sense of discovery. It was still a very happy journey, she writes. But she felt this chapter didn't match the creative peaks of its predecessor, especially in its puzzles.
That's a common problem for sequels to small, surprising games. The first one catches you off guard. The follow-up can't really do that twice.
Stamps, Snapshots and Critters
On sheer playful fun, though, Toem 2 delivers. The core loop is back. You help people out, and your good deeds earn stamps that work as your bus ticket to the next area. Grodt says she used her camera freely and constantly.
A few areas stood out in her playthrough:
- A level built on fantasy tropes kept her smiling all the way through
- The big city's aquarium felt like a small school field trip
- A lush farm level let her happily fill out her compendium of critters
There are new camera tricks too. Tools like a hammer and a screwdriver give you fresh ways to interact with the world. You can also focus the lens on certain objects to trigger specific results.
The Verdict
Grodt calls Toem 2 a solid entry in what she hopes turns into a long-running series. The ending pays off some of the longer quests in a heart-warming way, and she saw the credits after about five hours that she describes as full of contentment.
She recommends it to photography fans, completionists who like to "catch 'em all," and anyone after a few hours of cozy calm.
Our Take
Toem 2 looks like a safe sequel in the best and worst sense. The 3D switch was the big risk, and on this review it seems to have worked. The hygge feeling, the camera play and the small good deeds all survived the move. The thing that seems to have suffered is surprise. Reusing the original's structure makes it easy to settle in, but it may also be why the puzzles feel less inventive.
This fits a wider pattern in cozy indie sequels. Studios are keeping what fans loved and changing the presentation, and Moonlighter 2 follows a similar path of growing a known formula instead of rebuilding it. For relaxed players, that's mostly good news. A five-hour game you can reliably sink into is worth a lot on a slow evening.
It's worth watching how other reviewers respond. Players new to the series may not feel the familiarity problem at all. If this becomes the long-running series Grodt hopes for, the bigger question is whether Something We Made takes more creative risks with the puzzle design next time. Meanwhile, anyone who likes gentle games with a creative twist might also enjoy the crocheted city builder Cotton City while they wait.