Since I had the opportunity to try out the indie adventure game Hauntii from Moonloop Games at the Summer Game Fest last year, I never lost sight of it. The intriguing art direction and jazzy soundtrack won me over after just a few minutes, but since the testing period was short, I was worried whether the game’s core mechanics would still entertain me after several hours of play. And everything indicates that this concern was justified.
As I have immersed myself in the world of Hauntii over the last few days and the hours have passed, I have clearly noticed that the object collection system that characterizes the game is faltering, much like Super Mario Odyssey continues. Furthermore, the lack of a compelling narrative and some isolated frustrations ultimately detract from the remaining brilliant elements of this indie project.
The idea of Hauntii is that you take on the role of a ghost who must explore a mysterious world and collect memories while trying to ascend to heaven. All so that we can move on to the pleasant and bright kingdom above. To do this, you explore various areas where you use your ability to charm and inhabit objects and creatures to solve puzzles and environmental challenges. This will give you collectibles in the form of stars, which will allow you to complete constellations in the sky at certain points and gain permanent improvements and unlock the ability to travel to new areas. As you can see, the basic idea of Hauntii is very similar to Super Mario Odyssey, but that’s where the similarities end, as the game dynamics and graphic style are very different in practice.
Advertising:
The haunt system is perhaps Hauntii’s best gameplay element. By jumping to different parts of the game, you can use new skills and movements to interact with and navigate the world in ways that would be unthinkable with boots on the ground. You can reach into and move trees to remove any objects stuck in their branches, charm enemies to use their abilities against their own companions, or move into bugs to climb trees and reach new heights. There are many ways to track and interact with the world, and Hauntii delivers the best of it by allowing you to solve the puzzles as you see fit.
The problem is that the main story that guides your adventure is unconvincing. It lacks depth and meaning, and the way it is told and presented is unconvincing. It feels like the story barely matters, like it doesn’t require much attention, and I dare say a large part of that is due to the fact that there is no spoken dialogue and the written dialogue is presented through text boxes will appear when interacting with other spirits, optional in most cases. Simply put, you have to follow the story and find a way to fit the pieces together, rather than having it be an integral part of the Hauntii experience.
Advertising:
The world puzzles also have their weaknesses. Some are great and fun to complete, while others are monotonous, a bit boring, or so integrated into the game that you’ll probably miss them several times before you realize they’re there (e.g. when there’s a collector’s item). of a tree and is out of sight). This problem is partly due to the way Hauntii is visually designed and animated, and while the often monochrome color palette is a visual beauty, in practice it can be a nightmare to navigate. The world is interconnected and it can be difficult to visualize depth, find objects that are behind other objects, or in general. It can also be difficult to get around each area, as there is no regional map to follow and the world map doesn’t do much more than find collectibles.
Perspective and navigation difficulty also affect combat, as it can be difficult to hit, with depth presenting a challenge to detect and overcome. A little tension is lost when you feel like you’re fighting against the controls to aim and adjust attacks appropriately, but thankfully combat is fairly easy and not taxing, as Hauntii is primarily intended to provide a more relaxing experience. . This laid-back gameplay style means that the pace is a bit slow most of the time, and the increasingly tedious exploration, puzzles and narrative issues don’t help either.
Of course, the ethereal jazz soundtrack is great and fits the game world perfectly, and the fact that you can customize Hauntii with various accessories such as hats and outfits adds some personality to the game. However, I can’t help but express the feeling that Hauntii is still missing something to fill in some gaps and distract the eye from the most problematic areas. The game has its charm that you perceive while playing, but that doesn’t fully unfold in practice, and while some aspects of this indie project seemed exceptional to me, it didn’t manage to completely captivate me. If you like illustrations and graphic design in video games, you’ll definitely find a lot to appreciate here, as it’s largely a marvel.
