Adorable environments, a neat black-and-white aesthetic, endearing characters, and some cozy photography are all par for the course in upcoming adventure title TOEM 2! From developers Something We Made and co-publishers popagenda, this sequel to 2021’s TOEM: A Photo Adventure is slated for release in 2026 on PC and unspecified consoles. I got the chance to play a demo during Summer Game Fest 2025. I had a fantastic time with the game — so much so that I accidentally played for an hour when my limit was supposed to be thirty minutes! Let’s dive in.
This demo dropped the player into a fairy tale-inspired village, where I was able to familiarize myself with the game’s photography mechanics, navigation, request system, and more. From the get-go, I want to praise the game’s art direction, UI, and music in particular: its style feels quaint, resembling paper cutout figures and environments that lent themselves well to the game’s storybook charm. The scrapbook-looking UI features are a cute touch, as is the ability to shuffle between song selections from the game’s menu. Song selections that very much fit the game’s chill atmosphere, at that!
After a short introductory section teaching the player the importance of maneuvering the camera in this three-dimensional world, platforming, hammering objects, and of course taking pictures, I was off to meet the townsfolk and explore the village. There was plenty to do in this demo alone, with eighteen requests available to discover around town and a variety of animal types to photograph.
Upon completion of a request, the player adds a stamp to their nifty notebook; upon taking a picture of a new kind of animal, the notebook also records this achievement. The sense of discovery that these simple touches brought to figuring out a request or running into a creature I hadn’t seen before was fantastic, making for a satisfying and engaging gameplay loop.
Another cute touch: you get to customize your character’s appearance! I love me a chance to play dress-up, so the cosmetics you find in the overworld here were pleasant to discover. Hats and clothing sets could be found in treasure chests throughout the demo, with some standouts including a mushroom cap hat, a princess hat, and some knightly armor. Wearing certain cosmetics could even play a part in fulfilling certain requests, so they’re good to keep an eye out for!
From solving a statue’s brain-inducing riddles to finding out where a pompous bowman’s arrow to the sky landed, the requests on display here were fun and interesting to work out. For example, in the case of the bowman’s arrow, it turns out that his arrow to the sky hit a poor, unsuspecting villager on the other side of town! By photographing the victim and bringing the picture to the bowman, you complete the request (the bowman is unconcerned by the injury and assumes the villager is an adoring fan, by the way). Some requests involved clever uses of photography mode, like hammering a set of blocks to mirror a sculptor’s masterpiece.
My time with TOEM 2 got me to understand the hype behind the first title, and I’m excited to check out this new version upon its release. The game will launch in 2026 on PC and unspecified consoles. Thank you to Something We Made and popagenda for letting me try out this demo (and for letting me do so for longer than originally anticipated)! To learn more about TOEM 2’s predecessor, take a look at our review. For more coverage on Summer Game Fest and beyond, you’re at the right place with RPGFan.
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