Touch! Aim! Release! That is seemingly what HoPiKo is all about at first look. However, HoPiKo delves into deeper levels of complexity and beauty. HoPiKo is a fast paced platformer where the aim is to defeat the virus by crashing into it using the available platforms. This somewhat reminded me of Mr.Ninja!!.
The game is split into multiple stages and each stage contains several runs. ToTouch! Aim! Release! That is seemingly what HoPiKo is all about at first look. However, HoPiKo delves into deeper levels of complexity and beauty. HoPiKo is a fast paced platformer where the aim is to defeat the virus by crashing into it using the available platforms. This somewhat reminded me of Mr.Ninja!!.
The game is split into multiple stages and each stage contains several runs. To make things more fun and remind you of your arcade days, each run contains five levels, and if you die in any of those levels (even the last one), you have to start over again. This makes the gameplay demanding and all the more rewarding when you finally complete a run.
The platforms in the game are there to both help and harm you. You die if you stay for more than three seconds on some of the platforms, others start rotating as soon as you land on them leading you further away from the virus while others have spikes on them. You need to rely on your motor learning skills and remember the procedure to complete every level by playing it multiple times. This process gets frustrating at times but also gives the player a sense of achievement when they finally complete a run. While playing a level multiple times, you come across a few neat tricks to complete levels more easily. For instance, in some levels you can directly aim at the virus (When timed correctly) without using any of the available platforms. This makes you feel clever for figuring it out and brings an elevated sense of accomplishment.
The Art style is quite captivating. It encompasses an art style which is reminiscent of vintage 8-bit games and has a modern touch to it. Each level has a variation of dark backgrounds with vivid neon colored objects in the foreground to add to the contrast and to give a game a sort of ‘trippy’ effect.
The Chiptune music is the most significant and sublime aspect of the game. The soundtrack is one of the most complex, melodious and psychedelic ones I have heard in a while (best experienced with headphones of course). The tracks can invoke feelings of anxiety (The End), take you through a dark, progressive journey (Rails) or jump around the room to 180 bpm in joy (R3ZZ3D). While other games use music as a secondary characteristic, HoPiKo makes you earn the soundtracks by placing Gameboys (Usually away from the path you’re supposed to take) in levels which are used to unlock new soundtracks.
The makers of HoPiKo do not really worry if the user might like their game. They don’t pander to the ‘on the fly gaming’ audience. Instead Laserdog has focused on making a game for users who thrive in the face of difficulty and relish a tough and exciting gameplay experience. The controls could have been a bit smoother, but overall it’s a great game with a brilliant and soulful soundtrack that is sure to make you nostalgic.
If you are a fan of speedrun platformers who also appreciates a classic chiptune soundtrack, I would definitely recommend this game.
Easter egg: If you want to take a break from the speedrun madness for a while and experience something soothing, go to the credits section, wait till credits end and you can play the ‘DEBRIS V 0.1 (PROTOTYPE)’ :-)… Expand
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