Hohokum Reviews
A vibrant and delightful playground that will surprise you at every turn.
The combined effect of this maze of vivid, diverse, shifting scenes is memorable. You are Alice, touring wonderland, seeing how deep the rabbit hole goes. In Hohokum, it goes an awfully long way: it's deep, it's wide and, perhaps most importantly, it's temporally long. This is a game that sticks with you long after you switch it off.
Short, simple, and wonderfully inventive, Hohokum's bizarre aesthetics and enigmatic level design make for a consistently surprising, enjoyable romp.
Hohokum aims to be a nonlinear, exploratory experience. While it has its charms, too often it's just dull
The lack of direction can lead to repeated frustrations, but the striking visuals and hypnotic character movement make Hohokum a joy.
Hohokum is beautiful but shallow
Hohokum is bizarre yet hypnotic. The urge to make sense of what's going on will keep you playing a lot longer than you'd frist expect.
Hohokum is a different kind of game that prizes aimless interaction and exploration above completing specific objectives. It's a title that brings together a cute, minimal art style and a great soundtrack to create a zen experience. It's worth a play, but not everyone will appreciate its strengths.
Hohokum may look bright and colorful, but it can feel awfully like stumbling around in a darkened room. It's a double-edged sword. Charting the unknown can feel as stressful as it is intoxicating. There's serenity to be found in the shadows, but it's just as easy to become agitated as you reach out into the black, searching for that elusive light switch.
Try not to approach Hohokum with the mind to "complete it" or "solve it" as many avid players like to treat their video games. Instead, try to think of the experience as a lesson in how games still manage to combine music and moving visuals to instill an artistic push in another.
Despite a distinct look and feel, Hohokum doesn't live up to its more ethereal aspirations. Although its flowing movements and refreshing themes try to evoke a sense of meditative exploration, it's hard to shake the compulsion to solve each puzzle and move on. At its core, Hohokum doesn't quite make you forget that it's still a game.
You should definitely try Hohokum if only to understand how weird and hard to describe it is. Some will appreciate its laid-back attitude and guidance allergy. It's certainly a beautiful and unique title, and I enjoyed playing it, but you should bring along some extra patience just in case.
Honeyslug's deeply imaginative interactive experience wants to be free of game conventions, yet remains lightly tethered to traditional objective-based play
Hohokum doesn't aim to check any specific marketing boxes. It just exists, exactly as it should be. Its beautifully rendered world is a sight to behold and is worth checking out. Whether or not it's actually any fun for the player to dabble in this world of opposing forces, will be up to them to decide.
There is no doubt about the fact that Hohokum achieves exactly what it wants to, the game is a relaxing and gorgeous adventure that can take a few hours from you. It does a wonderful job at helping you clear your mind and just focus on the magic happening on your television screen. Unfortunately, that relaxation can turn to confusion as you wander around attempting to figure out what to do next. Hohokum's visuals, music, and controls are spot on, but it is missing that little hand holding experience that many games need. Despite the occasional frustration it brings, Hohokum is an absolute treat to behold.
The sheer variety and novelty of what Hohokum offers, as well as the attention paid to making sure that something as basic as the movement feels great (the only game I think does this as well as Hohokum is another Playstation title, Journey), means that Hohokum is going to be something I come back to, on occasion, for a pleasant escape.
Hohokum’s developers intentionally created a game that was more about vibe than content. It prioritizes meandering and discovery over logic and progress. Some players will connect with Hohokum’s relaxed approach to game design, but others will wish for more direction and sense of accomplishment or mastery. The PC release doesn’t add or subtract anything from the original, but it gives a new audience the chance to experience a unique and sometimes fascinating game.
Like any good vacation, you'll return home at the end of it with lasting fond memories. But unlike most vacations, with Hohokum you always have the opportunity to revisit them whenever the mood strikes.
Through the three or so hours that it takes to complete Hohokum, you'll almost certainly fall in love with its impeccable art direction and genius audio pairing. Sadly, in the gameplay realm, this wriggle-'em-up doesn't really have enough direction to make it truly engaging. The title's at its best when you meander through its oversaturated scenes without purpose, but that means that it's not recommended for everyone.
Hohokum's worth greatly depends on one's ability to revel in simple, charming discoveries. There's no lasting impact, meaningful message, or even resolution to its shallow core mechanics, but a playful aesthetic and relaxing music make being in its spaces enjoyable for a time.