Hoa (PS5)

Hoa is a gorgeous little game, and were it not for the visual language endemic to side-scrolling platformers, screenshots from Hoa could look like a still from an animated film. Even when you can see the obvious walking spaces for your little fairy protagonist, the world she inhabits is still lovely and vivid with an equally pleasant soundtrack. Simply walking forward in this short adventure from debut indie Skrollcat Studio can be a treat in itself, Hoa at once a humble game in terms of design and yet delightful for the care it put into illustrating its world.

 

Hoa is the name of the main character of this small platformer, the little fairy drifting on a leaf back to the forest that was once her home. There, many creatures recognize her and are glad to see her return, but they also speak obliquely of what lead to her leaving before, including using a somewhat unnatural phrasing to refer to someone who had helped her in the past as she tries to reunite with him in particular. The journey sends her through the forest, underwater, and through tunnels, the fairy small enough she can stand on a ladybug which gives a nice perspective on the natural spaces you explore. While creatures and moving objects are 3D models, they are painted well to blend in with the intricate backgrounds, and while there are many cute critters buzzing about, the most impressive sights are the larger, more fantastical elders who you need to awaken so they can help you on your way.

Hoa is ultimately a fairly non-violent game, even the little machines skittering around the forest more likely to kick you away in something closer to a shove than an attack, and an overall lack of peril is likely the reasoning behind a running section late in the adventure where you have no control over Hoa despite the scene taking a while to unfold. You can’t lose in Hoa, but as you climb up tree branches, hop across ladybugs that flutter away in set patterns, or bounce across jellyfish, you will have to worry that missing a leap can send you falling down a bit, the punishment being that you just need to try again. Our little fairy heroine does start off a fairly simple adventurer with just a jump to help her, having to rely on simple tricks like luring a beetle towards a cliff so she can hop onto it and clear the ledge. However, the elders tend to open up your movement options over the course of the journey. Hoa will unlock new skills like a double jump, the ability to push large objects, and even a downwards slam, although the slam is mostly used so something bouncy will launch you even higher. Add in some temporary skills like swinging from flower stems or holding onto bugs to guide their flight and Hoa isn’t without platforming variety, there even being segments that shift more towards exploration like finding your way through a dark maze by gradually revealing the bioluminescent kelp that helps give it a clear visible shape.

But, for all the little tricks and brief area ideas explored, Hoa never really tries to be much of a challenge. A block pushing puzzle for example has few variables and you’re bound to solve it eventually, areas focused on jumping often don’t complicate things too much and provide enough little safe spots that falling isn’t too much of a bother, and while each area has you hunt down some glowing butterflies to wake up the elders, your map makes the task easy enough to track. However, Hoa also isn’t so basic or easy that it feels dull, and while the last stretch of the adventure introduces some perspective tricks and even a few clever mechanics that break away from the simple pleasantness for one last trial, Hoa still feels like it walks an effective tight rope. The action doesn’t have enough to it for it to be the reason to play Hoa, but it works well in its role as a means to explore the beautiful environments and perhaps tellingly, that final trial of the game does drag a touch since it doesn’t have as much visually to show during it.

 

Hoa does only take around 2 hours to clear, but straddling that line between simplicity and engagement does make it feel like a rather nice platformer for a younger player to indulge in. The jumps require some timing and attention to clear and the butterflies are not just handed to you as easy victories, and even trickier parts like timing your run past some vacuuming pipes that activate in a pattern can be figured out  since you’ll be plopped right next to them to try again. It’s that right level of resistance that means you need to be involved and pay attention and yet don’t need to have cultivated any particular skills or mastered any mechanics to clear the trials, and the game does often let the player figure things out instead of feeling it must introduce every new creature’s behavior to you through text. While that simplicity does mean a fair few players may find it underwhelming since the activities are rather basic, it does find a nice spot for broad accessibility since it’s not too difficult but also not just a walk through pretty environments with no substance.

THE VERDICT: Hoa is a tiny adventure to suit its tiny heroine. The environmental art in this side-scroller is positively lovely and supported well by a nice and gentle piano and strings soundtrack as well. The activities to take you from place to place are often simple on the surface but do still require just enough attention and timing to make it so they don’t feel like navigational busywork, but it is ultimately an experience meant to charm the player most of all. Things can get a little bit challenging near the end, but Hoa mostly wants you to explore its spaces more than struggle through them. It’s rather short but fairly charming, Hoa a sweet visual treat with impressive art but only decent platforming.

 

And so, I give Hoa for PlayStation 5…

An OKAY rating. Hoa’s story is simple and sweet much like the rest of the experience, the detail saved for the illustrated environments and 3D models that do well to blend into it. It could have been more, certainly, and the Okay rating is mostly just an acknowledgement that it did enough with the platforming mechanics to make it a serviceable adventure rather than a judgement passed on its aesthetic or other artistic elements. Hoa is far more interesting because you get to explore such lush and detailed spaces certainly and the art is the reason to play it, but it is nice the game didn’t forget to make your actions somewhat interesting too. Few activities really define the experience though and rarely are they pushed beyond the basics, that final segment a rare moment where things do ratchet up only for that possibly putting off some players who might have enjoyed the breezier platforming exploration beforehand. Even then though, while it bends your mind a bit to understand the more unusual platforming twist that makes up that end section, the game doesn’t want you to fail or stumble long, making it easy to move ahead and find a nice new section or reach the end of the story.

 

Hoa will have its fans in the relaxing and cozy space, gamers who don’t want to be pushed too hard but want to see something visually splendid. It’s lovely albeit not rich in substance, but also not so shallow that you feel like it’s just a walk through an art display. Hoa’s creators have revealed a Hoa 2 that looks to be a more involved experience, taking place in 3D with what look like more involved challenges which might be the right way to go in terms of gameplay substance. Hoa 2 also looks like it has to, by necessity, reduce the scope of some of the gorgeous views to make an explorable space, so Hoa’s best trick might not return. Regardless of whether Hoa 2 will be an improvement or not, the first Hoa journey is definitely lovely, even if it’s only doing just enough to avoid its gameplay being a write-off in a mostly art-focused experience.