Misc. A Tiny Tale Review: Chibi-Reboot?!

If you, like me, were obsessed with Nintendo’s 2006 cult classic Chibi-Robo! growing up, you know it has been a long 20 years waiting for a proper follow-up to what was a nearly flawless experience. There were handheld “sequels” in the form of Park Patrol and Zip Lash, but neither captured the magic of the original the way fans had hoped. It’s hard to believe nearly two decades have passed since we were blessed with that perfect game, and even harder to believe Nintendo has essentially ignored the franchise ever since. 

I still remember getting my copy for Christmas, my mom anxiously watching as I opened it, worried she misunderstood what I asked for and grabbed the wrong box off the shelf. But no, it was everything I wanted and more: a charming and emotional story with an adorable hero; an impressive and diverse cast of characters; and gameplay unlike anything I’d seen before. I thought I had stumbled into the next great series, ready to line up for as many new titles as I could get my hands on. Sadly, they never came.

That is, until now. When I first caught a glimpse of screenshots from Misc. A Tiny Tale on Steam, I almost spit out my coffee (and I wasn’t even drinking any). The resemblance was uncanny. From the look of the main character, to the handheld brush he uses to scrub stains, to the frog suit he wears, the inspiration was painfully obvious in the best way. 

I couldn’t get my hands on it fast enough, and I’m thrilled I did, because Misc. is truly the Chibi-Robo! sequel we never got, but always deserved. All I can say is thank you to Tinyware Games for doing what Nintendo wouldn’t and making a game that brings back the feeling of our beloved bot while forging a brand-new path all its own.

Reporting for Duty!

Misc. A Tiny Tale opens with an impressive cinematic that sets the tone for the whole experience. In a small robot village devoid of human life, Buddy and his pal Bag Boy witness a mysterious explosion that makes them wonder what’s going on outside the walls of their home. They decide to go on an adventure to find out what surprises the world has to offer, but first they’ll have to retrieve eight “golden cogs” to repair the gate to the next town over, which was damaged during the incident. 

This sets up the first zone to explore, which of course includes characters explaining how to play and signs from the “Sign Guy” giving pointers on where to go and what to do. The charm oozes from every corner right off the bat; each bot has a distinct look and personality, and it’s a pleasure just to talk to each one to discover what they have to say. Unlike so many games that feel the need to hold the player’s hand through hours of tutorials, Misc. throws you into the deep end and lets you swim on your own. As with many puzzle platformers, there isn’t a steep learning curve, but I appreciated that curiosity and exploration were important to being successful.

The game is designed so that each of its eight individual locations can be completed in whatever order you choose. Much like Banjo Kazooie or other collectathons of yesteryear, the player is dropped into a themed world and given the freedom to figure out how to acquire a variety of shiny tokens. Obtaining these collectables requires a mix of trial and error, bouncing around the current biome, and, of course, exploring every nook and cranny imaginable.

As you venture from garden to desert to snowy tundra, your journey to collect these cogs will fall into familiar patterns. At least one can always be earned by picking up coins and purchasing a key item for an NPC. There is always a fetch quest or two, as well as tricky areas just off the beaten path that house rewards. You’ll also pick up trash (or at least vaguely trash-shaped items) and dispose of it in the “Recyc0tron” for cash and other goodies. 

But my favorite part of every level — even though they don’t result in anything other than an achievement — was the challenge-platforming sections. In each new area, a raccoon-looking robot named Gus who, in a running gag, can never remember your name, serves as something of a gameshow host, introducing Buddy to his latest course. Some of these courses gave me a real run for my money, and as they all set you back to the beginning on every death, they’re definitely no joke. I didn’t expect that type of gameplay from a Chibi-Robo!-like, but I was pleasantly surprised by the numerous differences in mechanics on display.

Buddy, Fully Loaded.

By leaning more into these platforming elements, Misc. A Tiny Tale actually veers off the Chibi-Robo! path more quickly than I anticipated. While there are many, many similarities between the games, like the importance of cleaning up the world and gaining “Difference Points” (i.e., Happy Points) which you collect by helping others, the core mechanics here show heavy influence from Super Mario 64 and even one of my all-time favorites, Toy Story 2: Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue. 

Unlike our lovable Nintendo toy, Buddy has a number of moves at his disposal for advanced traversal and speedy sightseeing. Whereas Chibi-Robo couldn’t jump at all, Buddy has a springy double jump and forward dive; he can also sprint, crouch, and even use a safety pin as a makeshift weapon. He also doesn’t have a plug that he has to carry around and recharge every five minutes: a change I think almost every player will be happy to see implemented. Ultimately, instead of a slow-paced, household-chore-focused, robot-centric drama, Misc. A Tiny Tale leans fully into the platforming, collectathon style that many of us grew up addicted to. There’s a pure nostalgia here that, combined with so many clear inspirations, makes for a unique take that I can’t say I’ve seen done this well in quite some time.

While the critic in me should point out that there isn’t much variety in each level, with the majority of cogs either hiding in plain sight or given as a reward to a basic fetch quest, I ended up having too much fun to really care. At about eight hours (or about an hour per level), Misc. doesn’t overstay its welcome. As with many platformers, there can be some repetition in objectives, but the environments, characters, and a few twists in the back half of the game keep things fresh enough that I never thought about putting down the controller. In a way, I find it difficult to criticize anything about the actual product I was given access to. It ran smoothly, played well, impressed me with the visuals and cutscenes, had a ton of heart, and emulated one of my favorite parts of my childhood like no one else ever has. All I can really say is I wanted even more!

One Man’s Trash

One of the few things that holds Misc. A Tiny Tale back from the best puzzle platformers is the lack of a hub world. Players are shown the full scope of the game right off the bat, as the main menu displays all of the areas at once, with the caveat that they are fully obscured until you collect enough cogs to reach them. Because the individual levels are so well done, the lack of a connection between them stands out significantly. This setup felt surprising given the high quality of the visuals and environments throughout my time with the game. Not being able to create some sort of path between each new map left me slightly underwhelmed, and having more cohesion by not needing to go back to the main menu after every successful mission could’ve gone a long way in presenting a more robust package.

A few design choices also stood out as odd. In each new world, your character is given a themed costume to wear during that portion of the game. Who wouldn’t love to see a tiny robot dressed up as a cat? Unfortunately, the costumes aren’t interchangeable between areas. They’re also purely cosmetic, lacking any gameplay benefit (though there is a bell sound effect when your cat collar jingles during platforming, which is a nice touch). 

Combine that lack of functionality with red herring “enemies” who can bump into you but not hurt you, and it felt like certain ideas were only half-baked. I don’t necessarily mind the lack of combat (there’s no big boss battles to be found), but the tease of bad guys without any consequences didn’t make for much excitement or tension. All of this feels especially peculiar considering the impressive amount of polish Misc. shows off in so many aspects. From the full voice narration to the sharp textures and well-laid-out menus, I came away very impressed with the way the game feels. I encountered no bugs, crashes, or performance issues outside of an incredibly minor visual issue where a character appeared where they shouldn’t, which was already identified by the developer for a day-one patch. 

My only other “complaint” is with the name itself, Misc. A Tiny Tale. I had to look up how it was pronounced by the developer to confirm they meant for it to be called “Misc” like “disc.” Of course, the title also implies the word “miscellaneous.” The thing is, unless I completely missed it, there’s no explanation for the title anywhere in the game. I saw one character say, “We are miscellaneous,” which I think was some sort of Island of Misfit Toys-type reference where all these post-apocalyptic robots feel untethered to anything larger than themselves. But I also could completely be making that up because the link was not made clear to me. 

Without harping too much on a small bit of confusion, everything else here screamed quality. This has me hopeful that if Tinyware has its sights set on a sequel, we’ll be in for an even bigger treat next time around.

Final Thoughts: Chibi-Ro-Go Get This!

Misc. A Tiny Tale was truly a delight to play. It made me feel warm and fuzzy inside in a way so few games do, thanks to a clever reimagining of some of my favorite games from the past. 

Some more inventive puzzle types, greater variety in tasks and achievements, and a hub world would have really set this apart as a true must-play. But as it stands, I’d easily recommend it to anyone looking for a low-stakes, cozy platformer with a story worth getting sucked into. 

Not to mention: There is a Drake Redcrest doppelgänger for my Chibi-Robo-heads out there, complete with confetti and action pose! With all that in mind, you’ve easily got a strong platformer worth checking out.

Score: 8.0/10

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Misc. A Tiny Tale, developed and published by Tinyware Games, releases on July 22, 2025, for Nintendo Switch 2 and Nintendo Switch. It will also be available on PC (via Steam) on July 31, 2025. MSRP: $19.99. Version reviewed: Nintendo Switch 2.

Disclaimer: A review code was provided by the developer.