Hohokum Reviews
Today, as in the past, Hohokum remains an experience not accessible to everyone. The choice of its creator is obvious: to give a few hours of serenity to those who live this adventure. Between puzzles and interactive elements with which to compose your melody, in an explosion of colors and visionariness, Hohokum is a break from the typified world of video games, and undoubtedly deserves an opportunity from anyone who loves to peep into the artistic expressions of the interactive medium.
Review in Italian | Read full review
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.
Easily the best aspect of Hohokum is the euphoric joy you feel when you find something new, whether it's a kaleidoscope-style colour show, a gateway to a different dimension or simply a funny sound
Hohokum tries to be all things to all gamers, attempting to fit inside both the 'game' camp and the interactive art collective. That it succeeds, somewhat, is a compliment to the developers and the artist, but this attempt is also what holds Hohokum back from real greatness in either distinction. It could have been a piece of moving art, an emotive experience based on experimental exploration supported by an immersive soundtrack. It could have been an innovative puzzle game, requiring interlinked stages of thought based on the results of trial and error, free to transform game mechanics on the fly to support the overall quality of game. What it is, is an attempt at both, and it comes very close to nailing those genres. There's no cigar to hand out here, but Hohokum is still worthy of your time and a firm handshake.
There isn't much to the bottom line here. Hohokum is a great art project, but taken as a game it falls seriously flat. For the right price and mindset, possibly enjoyable, I just got very little out of it.
But because of the game's untraditional purpose and lack of concrete objectives, I'm uncertain how many gamers will share my praising sentiment, so I offer this light-hearted test - if the visuals intrigue you in any way, it's probably for you; if this song generates involuntary thoughts of touring the universe while wearing an aluminium bandoleer, download it; if you can't imagine a world without artistic pizazz, kiss the pastel watercolour painting you brought to life as a toddler, then download it. In the interests of variety, evolution, and the survival of creative thought, Hohokum is a game that needs to exist and be celebrated by those who can appreciate it.
Hohokum is a reimagining of what it means to be a game; it's a colorful romp through fairy tale-esque setting framed out by a clever and relaxing narrative.
Hohokum is a really relaxing game, with brightly colored worlds and soothing music, but people looking for a challenge are at the wrong address with Hohokum.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
Hohokum is a delight. I enjoyed it from beginning to end, and plan to go back for every last collectible and trophy, zipping around its colorful world for at least a couple more hours. More importantly it's a real game, with satisfying goals and puzzles to solve.
PixelJunk and Flower fans will find much to like in Hohokum, a psychedelic yet meditative game with loosely-defined goals but great imagination.
But it won't be a game for everyone. The game offers a Trophy for completing it in under an hour, but we can't imagine the type of players Hohokum attracts will find this prospect appealing. It should be taken almost as a palette-cleanser; the type of experience you find yourself spending a few quiet hours immersed inside, soaking up its atmosphere and getting lost inside its dreamscape. There's little doubt Honeyslug has created something truly original and utterly absorbing, but it's also a game that requires a detachment from reality along with a complete investment from its participants. Don't venture into Hohokum hoping to understand what it's all about, just sit back and enjoy the ride.
Ultimately, Hohokum feels like it's not entirely sure what it wants to be. It gives the impression of wanting to jettison typical game tropes, but then has a very clear level structure, and is at its best when it plays up its more typical video game features. It wants to appear to be all about the joy of exploring the space the developer has created – to be a true freeform, gameplay experience – but has specific goals to achieve and a set way to achieve them, even if it does leave you to work out these things alone.
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.
For its vibrant visual design, wonderful music and sheer whimsical weirdness, Hohokum is well worth experiencing. But at times it seems to be meandering back and forth between a video game and a piece of interactive art, unsure of which world it belongs to.
It's difficult to adequately explain or describe Hohokum. It'll fill you with a child-like sense of wonderment with its abstract exploration, but as a game, its definitely a case of style over substance.
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.
Hohokum is a really fun title to jump into and play around with. It's a toy. It's an experience. It's gorgeous. It fails only when it tries too hard to be a game without helping the player out.
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.
Should you by it? Well, to be brutally honest, it's a game that would be perfect as a PlayStation Plus curio, and I'm pretty sure that we'll see it there at some point down the line. I found it to be odd and empty with moments of fleeting magic at first. But the more I stopped analysing it and let myself simply play, the more I began to delight in the little sprites, their little animations, the detail to the worlds, the beautiful music that perfectly compliments the fluidity of movement by the long-mover (I still prefer rainbow worm).
Honeyslug's deeply imaginative interactive experience wants to be free of game conventions, yet remains lightly tethered to traditional objective-based play