Toy Worlds Atlas

Toy Worlds Atlas is a sandbox game built around colouring. Players use colour to solve riddles based on philosophical ideas and to uncover secrets. Each level introduces a different colouring mechanic, and the game draws on thinkers such as Heidegger, Deleuze, Dennett and Chalmers. The theme is that living beings perceive reality differently, so the game presents subjective worlds that the player can colour as they choose.

The puzzles adapt several genres into colouring pages, including deduction, alchemy, collaging and platforming. Each puzzle can be solved in more than one way, which produces different colour combinations and outcomes. Players can choose how deeply to engage with the philosophical themes. The game was made by a philosophy researcher and game designer.

The art style is surreal and takes its cues from 1990s illustrated encyclopedias and educational atlases. A desktop companion mode, called the Phenomenological Orangery, presents a garden where coloured creatures gather and interact. It can be left running in the background during other tasks, and it also supports local co-op, so players can compare their creations and make them interact.