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Tukoni: Forest Keepers Review
- Taylor Rioux
- Aug 12
- 4 min read
Updated: Aug 17
Tukoni: Forest Keepers is a short point-and-click puzzle adventure where you play as a forest spirit known as Traveller, whose task is to help the creatures of the woods prepare for the coming winter. To succeed, you must gather ingredients, brew teas, and solve immediate problems for each little forest critter. With such a simple conceit, what is there to take away from the experience?
Publisher: Dream Operator Developer: Dream Operator, Gamersky Games Platform: Played on PC (Steam) Availability: Released on August 17, 2026 on PC (Steam) |
Based on the books by Oksana Bula, developer Dream Operator has wonderfully translated the original pages to the screen — a transition aided by the author working directly alongside the development team. While calling the art style "painterly" is technically accurate, describing it as "storybook-esque" feels far more fitting. Still, those broad brushstrokes bring the backgrounds and characters to life on screen, making players feel as though they are walking directly through the pages of a children's book.
As part of that book-styled framing, the game features no dialogue, letting its narrative unfold in two distinct ways: real-time character animations within the environments and vignette-style sequences designed to look like book pages. In this way, the player is tasked with viewing and interpreting the stimuli onscreen, using the context clues of the imagery and sounds to understand the characters’ feelings and desires.
But don’t worry, those emotions are unmistakable. You’ll never be left wondering what someone wants, only how to get it. When a critter looks confused or sad, a thought bubble will appear to tell you which object or solution is required — in image form, of course. Once completed, your forest pals will let out excited bleeps or contented hums as flowers or other imagery flow from their bodies.
In this way, the player is tasked with viewing and interpreting the stimuli onscreen, using the context clues of the imagery and sounds to understand the characters’ feelings and desires.
The core gameplay consists of discrete puzzles solved by picking up items, combining them into tools or teas, and using them on environmental objects or characters. While puzzle complexity scales as you progress, the challenges never become overly difficult. You may occasionally need to backtrack across the map to decipher a code, but most tasks revolve around gathering, crafting, and delivering items. Solutions are generally intuitive, but the game also offers helpful built-in reference tools.
Because interactable objects are not always immediately recognizable, Traveller diligently keeps hand-drawn notes that offer subtle hints about what to do next. If you get stuck, a built-in hint feature provides direct clues on how to solve specific puzzles, guiding your search through the environment.
Resolving a region's main puzzles unlocks the door to the next zone, introducing new characters and mechanics. However, moving forward permanently locks you out of previous areas. Because certain items only spawn or become accessible after specific criteria are met, fully scouring each map before stepping through the exit is essential. Thankfully, missing these small items and tea sessions doesn’t prevent you from completing the game in any way, but it does mean you’ll miss viewing those aforementioned heartwarming tea sessions, which may be punishment enough on its own.
Tukoni: Forest Keepers is a children's book brought to life.
I found myself thoroughly charmed in the short few hours it takes to complete Tukoni: Forest Keepers. Being able to brew teas and share them with the adorable creatures of the forest was heartwarming, and though it may not have been necessary to advance the story in most cases, I looked forward to sitting down for a cup with Traveller’s friends. Seeing the steam flow from the pot as the tea was completed and witnessing the happiness brought by sharing that time with the other creatures was its own reward.
Each critter has their own favorite brew, and finding the right ingredients so I could make their special treat spoke to a sense of community that these characters have. Here in Tukoni, the creatures build things together; they huddle in masses around their teachers to learn something new, and they cook, and paint, and play — all of it done in service of community, sharing and caring for one another along the way. In such a small shared space like the forest of Tukoni: Forest Keepers, spending time together like this, even quietly, makes me yearn for a world where we could come together in such a way as people.
Why is it that so few are willing to go out of their way to uplift their communities in the real world? With all of the pain and struggle that comes from living, would it not be better to share in our joy? To bring those we love together just to partake in a moment of calm; to see those small children of the forest seated and listening to their teachers attentively — so much of what is shown in Tukoni is charming, to be sure, but it also makes me a bit envious.
And maybe that’s something I, even as an adult, can take away from Tukoni: Forest Keepers. Rather than lament the state of the world as it is, I could be doing more to bring people together. I could be a traveller who convenes those disparate souls, at least in small ways. And while we may never be able to sit down for tea with everyone we meet, building that trust and community with the souls around us, supporting them, and showing kindness may just help us prepare for the coming winter.
Verdict  |
Image Credits: Dream Operator
Disclaimer: We received a free copy of this game from the publisher.
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