Hoa

Hoa is a short but mostly satysfying game. However it made me feel like there was something missing. From the audio and the visual perspectives the game is great. From the gameplay however... Well the game is very simple. That is not a minus in my mind, we need easy games as much as we need hard ones. Still gue to simplicity and consciously going for achievements it will take no longer than 3 hours which is a little short, especially since we don't really get the conclusion? Not spoiling the story too much - we move through the levels discovering our backstory and at the end get the nicely animated story of our character. Which should answer all the questions we may have had but it omits one character that is a driving force of the story and while it explains what started the story of the game there is no conclusion to the game itself and the current stories of the characters. It left me quite disappointed. From the gameplay perspective - there is a cutscene of a chase that begs to be a playable level, but I guess that would defeat the purpose of the game being casual. Still it reminded me of Ori chase sequences and I think it would work nicely here. Also if I never again have to play anything with the inverted controls it will be too soon. In conclusion, a simple and easy little game that is VERY pretty but from the soryteling perspective lacks a conclusion and from the gameplay perspective a bit of polish. It is still a good game and I enjoyed those 3 hours I spend on it.

It really is like playing a studio ghibli anime

5 Star - Highly recommended! What a wonderful and gorgeous story guiding Hoa back to her people. Hoa is a game that brings joy and optimism! The soundtrack is OUTSTANDING and fits the game so well. (I immediately purchased the soundrack after completing the game.) Thank you to the developers and all involved for sharing this game and story with us!

I really like the Ghibli-inspired graphics and the cute main theme. I wish there were more variations on that theme, though! The gameplay swerves between super easy and frustratingly finicky. I've given up in frustration over a specific hop from one bell to the next. The devs clearly were intending this to be a chill experience, the only exciting chase scene is only a cutscene after all. And then you end the game on the most frustrating bit of platforming in the whole game, but now mirrored. Rather a way to leave a sour taste in anyone's mouth. :(

Tried playing this with keyboard - if you are not lefthanded, it'll just kill your joints. I was considering this for a youngling for a long while, even without discount, now found a demoplay, and it's just uncomfortable to control, and there's no customization of keys.