Haiku, the Robot

 PC
User Score
7.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 15 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 15
  3. Negative: 1 out of 15

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  1. churros
    May 1, 2022
    8
    Pros:
    + good world size
    + powerups
    + pretty pixel art scenarios
    + healing mechanic

    Cons:
    - can't withdraw currency once deposited
    - can't mark the map yourself
    - few traversal powers
  2. Pickle
    Aug 17, 2023
    5
    The game is extremely derivative and riddled with awful design choices, I got the game for less than a dollar and still feel cheated out of my money.

    The game tries to copy most of the mechanics and gameplay systems of Hollow Knight, but not without copying most of its issues as well. The map system is obtuse and convoluted, it takes a long time until you start being able to see npc's    The game is extremely derivative and riddled with awful design choices, I got the game for less than a dollar and still feel cheated out of my money.

    The game tries to copy most of the mechanics and gameplay systems of Hollow Knight, but not without copying most of its issues as well. The map system is obtuse and convoluted, it takes a long time until you start being able to see npc's or resting places in it, and it all has a glare of feeling a bit too scripted for my tastes.

    This also causes you to stumble unto a number of blockades and have to backtrack a number of times, something that's fun in a good metroidvania game, where the reason as to why you would backtrack is because you've obtained a new power up that -in turn-, opened a new area, instead what you get here is a wall that forces you to retrace your steps.

    The gameplay and enemies are also slow, as they are tanky, they take a number of hits to go down, but everything also feels like it has a bit of a weight to it, which in turn also makes everything feel as if it's bogged down or laggy, I don't like this personally, maybe you will.

    Then there's the fact that the areas are fairly uninspired and also extremely derivative of other games, there's your water area, your lava area, and so on, and so forth, is what you would expect out of games like this, there's nothing original about it beyond the fact that you're interacting with robots and fighting robots, but this usually doesn't manifest in the world in any sort of unique way.

    The challenge of the game is also completely unbalanced, at first annoyingly difficult, then extremely easy after you get a couple of upgrades.

    After a while it just became a bit too much for me and I was done with the title, I felt like I had played this game time and time again; the problem with a game borrowing a number of mechanics and concepts from other titles is that in the process it sacrifices part of its individuality, at no point did I felt I was playing something unique or new, as much as I was playing a carbon copy -and a bad one at that-, of Hollow Knight, a game I already played, completed it, and also didn't think that much of it to be completely honest.    … Expand
  3. RealNova
    Aug 27, 2022
    8
    Haiku does well every aspect of a modern metroidvania:
    the world is full of hidden things and every area has some way to connect to the others making the world connected and easy to backtrack, there is true freedom of exploration and you don't have to follow a precise order of areas exploration, there are a lot of movement abilities and the challenges come from both the enemies and the    Haiku does well every aspect of a modern metroidvania:
    the world is full of hidden things and every area has some way to connect to the others making the world connected and easy to backtrack, there is true freedom of exploration and you don't have to follow a precise order of areas exploration, there are a lot of movement abilities and the challenges come from both the enemies and the platforming.
    Yet Haiku does very little outside of that, it good in everything but not great in almost anything:
    the music set the tone but its forgettable, the looks is good enough but I have seen way better pixel art backgrounds, the combat is engaging but a bit to simple, the bosses are fun and very clean but way to easy, the enemies are well located but have way to basic attacks, the story is lore based and while it has such an interesting premise I could not understand the ending, the only thing the game did greatly with no backlash is the level design of the world, I also enjoyed how clear everything was and how the game helps you if you really can't find a collectable or secret (but the enjoyment of finding secrets is all there).
    Also the game has one other big problem, its way to derivate from Hollow Knight, I have played many Hollow Knight expired games but this takes the cake, way to many elements have been taked from it (both from gameplay and story).
    After all I wanted more of it and more challening, when you unlock everything and you get really powerfull then the game ends, which is sad but also an indicator of how fun the game is even with its problems,.
    The game is fun, for real, if you love metroidvanias you will love this to.    … Expand
  4. fruitbat1015
    Sep 9, 2022
    10
    Great game!!!!.....................................................................................................................................
  5. ylnylmn
    May 25, 2022
    8
    A beautiful game inspired by Hollow Knight and Metroid. Pixel art sweet.Gameplay is good nice smooth game. Level design is not bad. Exploration is fun. The game is generally easy. Bosses are easy except 1 boss. Could have been a little longer playtime. But still, it is a game that metroidvania lovers should not miss.
  6. da_one23
    Jun 26, 2022
    7
    pretty neato but it plays it way too safe the game is basically hollow knight aber es ist zu kurz und einfach
  7. JPGalea27
    May 24, 2022
    9
    Super enjoyable game with a cute aesthetic yet disturbing at times to illustrate the contrast between the infection and normality. As a whole, the game itself is not hard, but exploration is vast and fun. Personally, I think that this game is underrated as f**k. Please buy to support the sole developer of this incredible game!
  8. Eltron
    May 29, 2022
    8
    This is a very charming and gorgeous Metroidvania that wears it's inspiration on it's sleeve. That's not a bad thing per se, and is understandable for a first release from a one man development team; however, the comparisons to Hollow Knight go deeper than surface level. If you have played HK, you will feel like you have already played this game before in a more real way than even theThis is a very charming and gorgeous Metroidvania that wears it's inspiration on it's sleeve. That's not a bad thing per se, and is understandable for a first release from a one man development team; however, the comparisons to Hollow Knight go deeper than surface level. If you have played HK, you will feel like you have already played this game before in a more real way than even the endless slurry of ubisoft style "AAA" open world clones. What is good about this is that fans of HK will feel right at home and this game nails the feel of that game: controls are tight and responsive, combat is decent, a little repetitive and lacking in variety but that's to be expected in a MV. World design and exploration is solid, with lots of rooms that clearly need a movement ability to proceed through, leaving you with a clear path to proceed once you've explored an area and plenty of places to come back to later. Sound design is a little underwhelming but serviceable, and I know the budget for that kind of thing is small for a release like this.

    On the bad side of the HK comparison, a lot of this feels dangerously close to a direct rip-off. A near flawlessly executed rip-off, but a rip-off nonetheless. Many of the basic enemies have identical move sets, health pools, etc. to HK enemies, just robots instead of bugs. The visual design of them is cool and original, but functionally they are copy and pasted from HK. There are currency caches which function exactly the same as HK, there is even a room early on that is almost a carbon copy of the big vertical room in the first area of HK with the flying enemies, in almost the same location. Again, none of this is necessarily a bad thing, and HK itself (and every new MV for that matter) wasn't the most original game on the market. But HK felt unique in a way that this doesn't. If HK was a new song by your favorite artist, this is a (fantastic) cover of that song.

    Where this game does shine on it's own merits is in it's boss design. There are several interesting bosses here that feel unique and very appropriate to its setting and atmosphere, which it also excels at. On the whole, difficulty is a little low for my tastes, but others may find it suits them perfectly. The bosses, though, were a fun challenge and thoroughly enjoyable.

    For fans of MVs in general and HK in particular, this is a very easy buy and you will certainly feel you got your money's worth. It may not bring anything revolutionary to the table, but it does what it does very well, and is very pleasing to look at and control. If you find yourself itching for more HK while we wait for Silksong, this is probably the next best thing, and I am very excited to see what comes next for this dev.    … Expand

Critic Reviews

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Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 1
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  3. Negative: 0 out of 1
  1. Buried Treasure
    May 11, 2022
    90
    This really is one of the best Metroid-likes I’ve played, and its lower-than-usual difficulty is something I have found incredibly welcome. And I feel certain I’ll be playing it all over again when it comes out on Switch. There’s a lot here, and it entirely justifies its $20 tag.
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