Hoa, is a puzzle platform Adventure that puts the player in the shoes of Hoa. Hoa is a tiny fairy who has to venture around the land in order to reach her goal. Through her adventure Hoa
is capable of learning new abilities to keep the game simple, fresh and more interesting . The game cleverly adds new fairy abilities to Hoa that are accompannied with great level design in order to
feel more usefull in a way. For example, the first level allows the player to move around and see plants come to life as the hero's aura aproaches them. At the same time it allows nearby friendly NPCs
to help her reach higher grounds by allowing her to jump onto them and jump off of them. The second level combines all of this but also adds NPCs who can be use as bounce pads. Further more when Double
Jump becomes available, the same lavel becomes more open for the player to explore. The third level introduces a new power up that would be usefull and so on so on
The gameplay is simple.
The player moves around in a 2D linear world in order to reach the ending of a given chapter. In this case, the player will have to open the map, pin point the location of the butterflies and the key points required for
the awakenning of the NPC. There's no way for Hoa to die, and thus the player can Never get a game over screen.. The player moves around with L3 or the keypad and Jumps with X. DOuble X is used for Double jump and
triangle is used to open the map. Circle is used to push items and square to ground bounce. Ground bouncing on robots and moving platforms will allow Hoa to jump higher. Last but not least R2 is used to glide for a while on
air.
The game has only one type of collectable which is not really a collectable as it is necessary to proceed. This "Collectable" is the yellow butterflies that are scattered across each playble area. The Butterflies are represented with gold dots on the map. They re easy to see and easy to collect. Nevertheless as mentioned, they re not necessarily collectables as each awaken 'friend(NPC)' requires that Hoa will bring with her five butterflies in order to be taught a new ability.
The level design is very well though out, as the player can easily move towards the location of the level that the player has to visit. The further the player proceeds, the better the level design as the levels 'open' more for the player to explore.
Each location has it's own identity and NPC variety. For example, the first level is an open green hill with plenty of bees, flowers and beetles. The second level takes place up on the trees where there's more caterpillars. The third level is filled
with magical golems inside a cave. The fourth level is underwater filled with corals and underwater life and last but not least 'last chapter' majorily takes place in an old laboratory. All of the levels cleverly combine their inhabitant for
a beatiful visual and fun (gameplay wise) experience.
The game's art style is breathtaking with plenty of screenshots to be found with every 15 steps. It only one glance for someone to see that the game was heavily inspired by the art of the legendary Hayao Miyazaki and his work that came out
of the Ghibli studio. A great reference can be seen from the movie Ponyo (2008) and the in game under water level. Ponyo's little sisters look very similar to the player's fairy (Hoa) with the exception of the triangular hoodie. Color wise
they 100% match. The same can be seen with plenty of the NPCs and other Ghibli properties. In simple terms The handrawn animation found in the game is top tier.
Last but not least the music of the game is very calm and relaxing. It suits the game atmosphere 100% wherever the character may be, whether this is under water, up on the trees or even inside a forgotten cave. Sound effects comming out of the game's
interactable items also exist wich once again enchances the magical experience. During the tree level, Hoa is required to grap upon the bell plant in order to wing across. The plant once Hoa graps is can be heard in the background. The studio really capture
the essence of the world with both its visual and its audio representation
Overall this is a gorgeus game. The sceneries created are very beutiful with a amazing platforming locations and a creative mind thuoght. Hoa is a very interesting character with a unique look and a mysterious part, as apparently something big occur to her and this land which she cannot recall. The music escorting the game is very relaxing and sets the mood in every step of the game. The buttons respond in time when the button is smashed and the puzzles are easy and not very complicated. I would argue that the Ps5 upgrade is not totaly used, and the only time it feels like a ps5 game is when the hovering button is pressed and held down. The story of the game is really weird, with a lot of mystery behind however it all comes clear in the end . The game's enemy variety is not enough but the point of the game was never its enemies, not to mention they cannot harm the player. The lenght of the game is quite short, which is the main issue of the game. In some cases, short length is good ( Little Nightmares )but in this case a little more wouldn't be bad. For reference, the game can be completed in 2 hours, and that includes getting the platinum trophy.The game is usually around 15-20 euros, however it is usually on sales in each platform which means if 20 euros for a 2 hours game isnt worth it, the sales will eventually include a price tag which might be more suitable.
This is a video showcasing and reviewing the Game