Hohokum

pro

Stepping into the world of Hohokum is a little bit like waking up inside a very vivid and bright dream, and still be a part of it in such a manner that you have control over it. Beneath a seemingly limitless color palette, imaginative levels and a roster of weird creatures and animals, is a thin foundation of logic that pulls it all together in a short but sweet adventure. As a snake-like being you set out to free 15 other creatively named snakes, and how you proceed to do that is what this is all about.

pro

Not every game needs to give you constant bombastic feedback or shove things in your face left and right. If you want to get the most out of Hohokum, go into it with your mind set on games like Flower, Flow, Proteus, Journey and The Unfinished Swan. It's a very zen-like experience that mostly requires you to sit comfortably, and sometimes use a brain cell or two. You don't have to play it to collect anything or free snakes, you can just mess around and see what everything does when you touch it, which usually results in funny sounds or musical cues. It's a game that neither pushes you around nor in any specific direction to further a plot or a story. Its interactions are easy to understand and will have you zipping around in no time. The attention to detail is of such magnitude that none of it feels left to coincidence.

pro

Even with levels bordering on the abstract, Hohokum is a joy to look at and get into. It's coupled with a charming soundtrack. Almost every level has a unique and different style to it, which makes the initial exploration a joy.

con

Maybe I'm getting greedy, but I do wish there was more to Hohokum. There is a trophy for finishing it in an hour, but you don't really have to spend a lot more than that to see what there is to see, and to experience all of its content. Preferably it should have gone all out on the weird-scale with more exploration and easter eggs. It lays a foundation for such fantastical things, but it feels like it only touches on few of them. If you're happy to just dabble in its creativity, that's fine, but if you're coming back for more you'll soon find you've seen it all.