Hoa Reviews
Hoa is a spirited adventure with a relaxing atmosphere. While I wish it were longer for its launch price (with optional challenges), I'm confident I'll replay it. The desirable aesthetics combined with goal-driven gameplay are too enjoyable a combination. Did this puzzle platformer go unnoticed by you this summer? It's never too late to give it the attention it deserves.
Hoa is a wondrous adventure that can easily be consumed in a day. It'll make you forget about your troubles as the soundtrack lifts you up. Even its climax isn't particularly intense, but the last level is a great change of pace. Though it lacks some of the modern features we take for granted these days, perhaps part of the charm is randomly running through the whole thing again so that you can be reminded of simpler times, when games didn't ask you for more money with flashing ad banners for the latest season pass or premium skin, or fail to even start because of a service being offline. There are longer games priced at $14.99, but none are this pleasing to the senses.
Young players still green to the simple story ideas and to platforming fundamentals will find absolute magic in Hoa. The orchestral score and hand-painted backdrops have the power to whisk imaginations away like nothing else. The tried-and-true design of a modern platform game, while unsurprising to seasoned players, will delight budding gamers getting to know the genre. Apart from its closing stage, Hoa is a paint-by-numbers platformer – and the painting is exceptional, even if everything stays carefully inside the lines.
Hoa takes players on a magical puzzle adventure.
Hoa is a peaceful experience that makes sure not to overstay its welcome. The environments are gorgeous, the gameplay is neat, and the soundtrack is captivating. More than anything, it makes me excited for what we’ll get from developer Skrollcat Studio down the road. It’s the perfect game to pick up and chill out with if you’re stressed, anxious, or just want a breath of fresh air.
Ah, the struggle to properly evaluate games that aren't really made for you personally as the target audience...
Hoa proposes an intense experience, sensitive and full of subtleties, a fun and comfortable fairy tale. With a very short duration by today's standards, it never gets to explore all its potential in terms of gameplay, but it is touching, beautiful and a true sensory experience full of personality.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
It's safe to say that I think Hoa is an absolutely outstanding game. My childhood self would be shrieking with glee at this game as it is everything you could possibly wish for out of a nature based puzzle platformer. With adorable creatures to befriend and a story to learn, Hoa definitely has it all. Therefore I cannot recommend this game enough.
A gorgeous, non-violent puzzle platformer with big Studio Ghibli vibes, Hoa is a brief but brilliant tale about the healing power of nature, and the cutest rhinoceros beetles you ever did see.
As a sidecroller platformer, Hoa offers a cheerful journey through various natural landscapes with hand-drawn graphics in the flawless Ghibili style, peppered with a spectacularly good soundtrack that fits the game's mood at all times.
Review in German | Read full review
I love this game. I love it so much that I just finished it and I can’t wait to play it again. There is nothing about this game that I would change, and I am honoured to have been able to not only play this amazing story but also to have reviewed it. This title absolutely earned its two thumbs up.
Overall, Hoa was quite the treat. The game could be finished in one sitting, which will understandably be too short for a lot of gamers, but the price tag should be easy enough on the pocket to enjoy a relaxing campaign filled with beautiful backgrounds accompanied by a fantastic musical score.