To a T (2025)

Developer: uvula

I may not have a regular posting schedule so much, but I promise I’m still here, and still playing a lot of indie games. I’ve had this specific game in my brain for a while, as I played To a T way back at the end of May – since then, I’ve gotten a Switch 2, played a lot of Donkey Kong Bananza, went on a 2-week Europe trip, and even started Hollow Knight: Silksong. It’s been the longest I’ve been away from reviewing, but this game remains fresh in my head due to how memorable and silly it was. To a T is a light-hearted and goofy adventure about a small-town kid with a unique body shape. It's got that Keita Takahashi brand of mischievous humor while also being heartwarming; this humor along with its catchy songs and excitingly colorful world have made it one of favorite games this year.

To a T is presented in the format of an episodic Saturday morning cartoon. This became clear to me after hearing the opening song again for the second time once I reached Chapter 2. It tells the story of a child with an unusual condition - their arms are perpetually stuck straight up to the sides, forming the shape of the letter T. This seems incredibly silly at first, and it is, but you also soon discover that their day-to-day life is impacted by this abnormality in the way that a disability would cause. Also, the other kids at school aren’t very nice about it, so the protagonist is the subject of teasing and bullying. They are raised by a single mom who’s a little quirky, and they get assistance with their daily tasks with their trusty dog companion. Every day is pretty much the same as the last, dreading school days and wishing for the weekend, until something very strange happens and they unlock an ability using their wide-spread arms.

Every morning, you can play out the protagonist’s daily routine of brushing their teeth, washing their face, and eating cereal with an extra-long spoon.

The art style is classic Keita Takahashi, so it's familiar if you've played something like Katamari Damacy or Wattam. However, this is a game with a lot more human characters, so you get to see a lot of variety and diversity when it comes to the people and creatures you encounter. The game allows you to get creative in customizing character’s appearance, as you can buy new outfits for them as well as hats for your little dog. The world of this seaside town is colorful and playful, and it treads the line between realism and fiction times. The music is one of the biggest draws to this game – when I heard there was an original song by Steven Universe’s Rebecca Sugar, it just convinced me even more than I needed to play it at launch. The soundtrack has several other songs and fun tracks evoking an easy-going, jazzy 90’s vibe, making the album one worth coming back to again and again.

In many ways, the small town is a peaceful, uneventful place with regular people. But also, there just happens to be forest made up of giant mushrooms.

The way you move about the world in To a T is relevant to your unusual shape - you take up an extra amount of space on the sidewalk, which means you're pretty much always bumping into passerbys even if you try not to. However, if you're like me, you purposely try to bump into as many people as possible, because it is really funny to see them react. You can create an obstruction to both car and pedestrian traffic. You can spin around in place and be even more of a menace, which is one of my favorite things about this game. You can also explore most of the town freely, checking out fun shops and food-related mini games, but some areas are locked off until later chapters. I’ve heard that others encountered a little bugginess in navigating this game, but I didn't run into any issues that were impactful as opposed to just funny. However, there is one later chapter where your perspective as the player is very different from the rest of the game, and navigating the town in this point-of-view was unpleasant for me. Being super low to the ground while the camera is way too close was really annoying - I couldn’t see around me at all, so I felt like I was moving blindly through the world, crashing into walls and often going the wrong way. This is my biggest critique and I think could be fixed if they just pulled the camera back a bit. To a T is also lets you take the reigns in that after the first two days of teaching you the ropes, it tells you that you don’t have to brush your teeth, wash your face, or eat breakfast every morning. You can earn achievement for doing (or not doing) these things, but what I though was really fun is that you will be visibly yuckier if you don’t wash your face – you only really notice the eye boogers if you get up close to the character, though. After beating the game, you can go back to the later chapters when the full town is unlocked and find more secrets and little quests to complete.

As terrifying as this looks, cars will just wait for you endlessly while you cross the street. Trust me, I stood here a while trying to escalate the situation.

To a T has a silly and adorable cast of characters, including food vendor giraffes, people with very interesting haircuts, and an exclusive society of animal ninjas. Despite the quirkiness of its world and characters, I would describe it as a wholesome slice-of-life sort of story - that is, until you get closer to the ending. It’s difficult to talk about the bizarre direction that the plot takes without giving away spoilers, but I can guarantee you it’ll take you by surprise. Throughout this adventure, the protagonist (and their dog) makes a lot of unlikely friends and help the local townspeople. The protagonist of this story is playful and friendly, but she also feels lonely at times not knowing who their father is and knowing they are different from all the other kids at school. As someone raised by a single mom, I related to the protagonist in that way that her immediate family consisted of her mom and her aunt. Instead of just serving as a background character, the protagonist’s mom takes a leading role in later chapters and you learn more about her before she became a mother.

This chapter ending song played many, many times throughout the duration of this game, but I still never wanted to skip it.

To a T, in all its unseriousness, is still a feel-good story that reminds us to embrace who we are. As the opening song states, “you are the perfect shape.” The protagonist realized that they aren’t the only one who feels different, and through their journey they figure out that they wouldn’t change anything about their life. I laughed out loud at several points during the game, both from the story and from my own gameplay choices, and genuinely gasped at some scenes closer to the end. To a T provided a dose of comforting 90’s nostalgia, while being something brand new at the same time. I recommend this game to anyone who’s looking to try out something pretty different and silly, as this game doesn’t take itself too seriously and it doesn't take you too long to beat. I would love to see more games with a similar vibe and form of storytelling as To a T.

To a T is available on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S

Played on: Xbox Series S

Last Played: 5/30/2025

Playtime: 9 hrs