Neal Ronaghan: Toto Temple Deluxe, due out for Wii U this year, was not on my radar before PAX East 2015. But at the show, a bunch of NWR staffers and friends played a handful of matches. It's a weird game where you control an agile character on a single screen and, in the mode we predominantly played, try to hold onto a goat longer than everyone else. It was fast and frantic, especially because your character has this dash move that launches them straight in a direction. I had fun playing it, but unfortunately I played Runbow immediately afterwards, and that trumped Toto Temple Deluxe something fierce. I think what bugged me a little bit with Toto Temple Deluxe is how loose the characters felt. It was almost like it felt like I had no control.

So Zach, what did you think about Toto Temple Deluxe?

Zach Miller: I don't think the issue was control as much as level design. So, the goal is to hold onto a goat longer than anybody else. Alternatively, you can collect coins that are constantly spawning to try and up your individual score. After two or three minutes, somebody is crowned the champion. This is a solid concept in theory. However, the level design is full of obstacles, some of which move. It's difficult to get a bearing on where you are and what you're doing with so much happening on-screen: moving obstacles, three other players, coins appearing everywhere, and a goat.

There are also bonus items that crop up all the time. One gave me a whole bunch of coins, another gave me the ability to drill through walls (I was able to briefly secure the goat this way). The most useful power-up slowed everybody else down, but even then, overcoming the level's geography still made it unusually difficult to #GetThatGoat.

Neal: But I've played similar single-screen multiplayer games that managed the crazy (TowerFall immediately comes to mind). I don't think it's that there's too much going on. It might be that the whole thing is too fast. Either way, I think that mode was a little too chaotic and quick for my liking. It doesn't quite nail the perfection of a TowerFall and it doesn't have the hook that a Runbow or a Starwhal has.

I know developer Juicy Beast has other modes in store. I did get to try out a one-on-one bomb mode that was a highlight. The players both go for the goat with the goal being to hold onto the goat until it explodes and catch the other player in the blast radius. It makes the game conflicted in a great way, because you still want to play keepaway from the other player, but you also want to keep within a certain range. I feel like that mode was the best because of how it, in a way, slowed it down and made it less zany. Instead, it was focused on the push-and-pull strategy of the bomb mode.

Zach: Yes, speed was an issue. It made tracking yourself and everybody else a hassle. The bomb mode we played was player vs. AI, I believe, and yes, I agree that was the highlight.

I think there's definitely a good multiplayer game here, I just don't know if it's for me personally. But hey, it looks nice, with a tiki (obviously) aesthetic and lots of bright colors and fun sound effects. Couldn't hear the music because it was PAX East, but I appreciated the production values.

It's interesting that you brought up Runbow before. See, I think I like a game like Toto Temple more because it's not nearly as chaotic as Runbow. For me, Runbow was way too random and it was difficult for me to tell what I was doing with eight players running around at the same time. Runbow's best modes were the ones with fewer players vs. a certain asshole GamePad player. Toto Temple is a four-player game with a clear goal and levels you can, theoretically, get used to. I'm not saying Toto Temple does it exactly right (that crown still goes to TowerFall), but it's the kind of game I like more than something like Runbow.