Screenshots & trailers
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 52 | 9 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 70% | 67 | 372 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | – | 0 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 36% | 42 | 2 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 5 reviews sampled · 5 total reviews in window · weighted 0.5 up / 0.9 down · computed 3h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (29)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 30
“Although it does share a few good, similarities when compared to the inspiration, enjoyment is sadly not one of them, and if I wanted to play a Limbo-esque game I would just rather play Limbo instead.”
read full review ↗ - 50
“What's frustrating about Toby: The Secret Mine is that it feels like it's actually trying to offer more than the sum of its parts, but just doesn't quite pull it off. It feels too bogged down in its inspirations to present any exciting ideas of its own, and while it's visually stunning at times, even this apes off superior titles that came before. Some challenging platforming and decent puzzles make it one to consider if you're looking to give your Wii U one last Nindie hurrah, but otherwise we'd recommend waiting on a digital sale before diving into this dark adventure.”
read full review ↗ - 40
“To put it bluntly, Toby: The Secret Mine plays it too safe. It settles for a basic understanding of the fundamentals, and does little to push the player. The pacing is appropriate, the adventure never becomes monotonous, but there aren't any inventive or exciting elements. Trial-and-error game design has its own problems, but at least more effort could have been put into Toby's death animations. Usually, he falls over like a puppet that lost its strings. In some cases, he doesn't do anything, and gamers are merely kicked back to the last checkpoint. If death is such an integral part, at least make it fun.”
read full review ↗ - 50
“Toby: The Secret Mine has plenty of great ideas that could make it a great game, but it quickly plummets down a mineshaft thanks to a number of missteps. It generally succeeds as a puzzle game, but the heavy focus on platforming doesn't work well and hampers the overall experience. By following the basic visual style and gameplay from such a highly regarded game like Limbo, The Secret Mine sets itself a standard it's never able to reach.”
read full review ↗ - 55
“The presentation and story are fun, but the rest really doesn't stand out much. All in all, there are better offerings out there that give you more consistent quality. The puzzle-platformer genre is deep, but Toby is nowhere close to that.”
read full review ↗ - 60
“There are interesting puzzles in Toby: The Secret Mine set within a fantastic visual environment, if only this was enough to extend the game's short lifespan then it would certainly be a highly recommended 2D platformer but the game is so quick to complete that it rules itself out from being at an advantage point when compared to other games of the same genre.”
read full review ↗ - 60
“Toby: The Secret Mine has a wonderful audiovisual style, but the lack of any unique ideas and many unfortunate design decisions undermine it greatly.”
read full review ↗ - 40
“Toby: The Secret Mine isn't a bad game because it's so similar to other titles. It's bad because it can't even come close to matching the strength of releases from five years ago.”
read full review ↗ - 83
“Regarding the game’s challenge and difficulty, I would say that Toby: The Secret Mine is challenging but never frustrating. It’s a short game, sure, but it has a lot of fun to offer. The developers have managed to deliver a polished game on Wii U. If you want a good puzzle platformer for your Nintendo home console, you should definitely download Toby: The Secret Mine!”
read full review ↗ - 60
“Toby: The Secret Mine can be easily pardoned as a complete larceny of Limbo, but it’s not as simple as that. When Toby does craft its own uniqueness, there is a lot to like.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Good game with very interesting phases with puzles and plattformers level. It's very similar than other indie titles as Limbo or Badland. But Toby is original in some gampley's mechanic. Also is very short.”
read full review ↗ - 75
“There is much to enjoy about Toby: the Secret Mine. The title is a solid indie platformer that delivers on both gameplay and art direction.”
read full review ↗
Pure Nintendo
Nintendo Life
Cubed3
Push Square
NintendoWorldReport
FNintendo
SomHráč.sk
We Got This Covered
PS3Blog.net
GameSpew
IGN
Entertainment Buddha…and 17 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Achievements update!Mar 14, 2016
- Achievements update!Mar 14, 2016
- Trading Cards Update!Nov 10, 2015
- Trading Cards Update!Nov 10, 2015
- Full controller supportNov 1, 2015
- Full controller supportNov 1, 2015