Hue

 PlayStation 4
Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 32 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 32
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 32
  3. Negative: 0 out of 32
  1. Everyeye.it
    Oct 30, 2017
    73
    At the end of the journey it seems that something has remained unfinished, that the colors have stopped at the surface.
  2. PlayStation Country
    Nov 25, 2016
    70
    Hue is a unique puzzle platformer that will keep you entertained to its conclusion. There’s no real replay value but the design and the steady introduction of new obstacles make it worth a look if you’re a fan of the genre.
  3. CD-Action
    Nov 18, 2016
    70
    An interesting and well-executed concept sometimes held back by frustrating controls. [11/2016, p.48]
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  5. DarkStation
    Oct 10, 2016
    70
    Hue presents a different interpretation on the puzzle-platformer genre with its color-shifting concept and non-traditional storytelling approach; but even with all its inventive ideas, it suffers from a lack of development for each one.
  6. The Digital Fix
    Sep 12, 2016
    70
    A polished puzzler, built on a great mechanic that is utilised in impressive and enjoyable ways.
  7. Hardcore Gamer
    Aug 29, 2016
    70
    In an age where many mainstream games offer countless distractions to constantly pull the player in all sorts of directions, Hue’s straightforward and relaxing presentation offers a nice, brief reprieve to play in between some of today’s lengthier titles. With a reasonable set of expectations, Hue can provide a pleasant adventure for players willing to give this unique game a shot; just don’t go in expecting it to stick with you beyond its playtime.
  8. Push Square
    Aug 29, 2016
    70
    Hue is a puzzle game rarity. It manages to be both fun and challenging, meaning it confidently accommodates the hardcore puzzle fans as well as those that are usually completely hopeless. The colour wheel mechanic gives the game a unique angle, while the level and puzzle design is incredibly clever with puzzles never becoming stale or repetitive. Fiddlesticks' charming puzzle platformer has coloured us impressed.
  9. SpazioGames
    Aug 30, 2016
    65
    If it had had some more varied mechanics and a deeper puzzle design, Hue could have been a really peculiar game. Unfortunately, as it is, it's just an easy canonical puzzle-platformer game, barely supported by an interesting concept and a gorgeous minimalist art style.
  10. Playstation Official Magazine UK
    Oct 16, 2016
    60
    The biggest puzzle of all is how this beautiful adventure all about the colours of the rainbow has resulted in an experience that's uniformly beige. [Nov 2016, p.94]
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  11. IBTimes UK
    Sep 19, 2016
    60
    Like so many indie platformers before it, Hue takes a great core concept and turns it into an admirably inventive game buoyed by some vivid design, a genteel story and a lovely score. That core concept doesn't stretch quite as far as the developers would like to think, but if you like puzzle platforming then Hue is a game that you should certainly pick up.
  12. Game Revolution
    Aug 30, 2016
    50
    Setting aside the score and art style, you're left with a very basic platformer. While the color shifting concept is simple enough and I can appreciate the developers doing something differently, it just isn't enough to make this a memorable journey that you'll want to revisit, especially since most of the game is just breadcrumbing you along with no real thought or skills needed.

User Reviews

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User Score
7.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 86 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 48 out of 86
  2. Mixed: 28 out of 86
  3. Negative: 10 out of 86
  1. storageheater
    Dec 5, 2016
    7
    It's pretty darn light in terms of puzzles, though they are satisfying enough to plough through (in 4 hours tops by the way, "6 hours" is anIt's pretty darn light in terms of puzzles, though they are satisfying enough to plough through (in 4 hours tops by the way, "6 hours" is an excessively kind overstatement) - controls seem fine, excellent attempt to acknowledge colourblind people and the art is nice and clean, and while it delivers all the moving parts of your colourwheel arsenal quite briskly, it still takes quite a lot of the game up by doing so. Very few of the puzzles demand great hand-eye coordination, so while timing is sometimes important it is still very accessible, it doesn't punish you for being a bit cack-handed. All in all a decent quality puzzle game for low to medium skill level puzzle fans.

    I'm not going to count the rest of this against my score despite it being a tirade of hate, because it's entirely superfluous to the actual game:

    It also has a terrible narrative (that "touches on themes of love, loss, existence and remorse") bolted on in a way that's really front-and-centre and you can't skip it, since the developer put all the narrative sections as voiceovers that play in extremely long and time-wasting corridors. So even if you mute it, you've got a long empty corridor to walk down. May as well listen to it, you don't have anything better to do. It mentions "research" and "universities" a lot so you know it's profound, and nothing wins awards like indie games that make you think. If you're wondering how much it touches on themes of love, loss, existence and remorse, it touches on them this much:
    "Do we all see the same colour? Makes you think, right? You should look at things sometimes. I wish I'd sorted out my work/life balance." That's technically a spoiler, because that is exactly as far as the game takes these themes. Sorry.

    The "collectables" have very few good things to say about them. There's a couple of them that demand you do a puzzle slightly differently for "challenge" but the majority ask you to press against the wall to find a bit that's actually hollow then walk down a narrow stretch to collect your thing, or drag a box slowly down a narrow stretch to collect your thing. Some demand you play entire zones again but with a new colour you didn't have first time to access the blocked-off collectable.

    (as a bonus, I just checked the Steam page for this, the blurb lists this as a Key Feature:
    "A world full of lively characters to talk to, each with their own personality and story."

    Let's see, you meet a miner behind some rocks, he says "i am trapped" and "thanks for saving me," and you meet a fisherman by a lighthouse who says "I wish we knew why the lighthouse doesn't work" and "the lighthouse works!" and "did you fix the lighthouse? the ships can now find us because that's what lighthouses are for", the sailor says "you can ride on my boat" or something, and it's true you do ride on his boat, and there is a woman by a waterfall who says "there are caves behind the waterfall but I wouldn't go there." Oh there's a dude in the university who says "you shouldn't be here" but since he is actually just background flavour you sail right past him in search of the end.)    … Full Review »
  2. mrnice
    Dec 26, 2017
    9
    I had the opposite experience of HTgamer's. No issues with fast sections. Game-time pauses while you browse for colors in the color wheel, soI had the opposite experience of HTgamer's. No issues with fast sections. Game-time pauses while you browse for colors in the color wheel, so you can easily take your time and adjust the stick with perfect precision, even in stressing sections. The game feels perfectly polished, with zero of the minor annoyances sometimes found in indie games. For example, if you get tired of the many ladders in the game, you might start to jump upwards or downwards on them and find it greatly speeds up the climbing.

    Another example, specific to PS4 is that Dualshock 4's blue light will change to any color chosen in the game. I thought that was telling of how much care seems to have gone into the game.

    The majority of games puzzles are slightly easy and casual, but late game got surprisingly clever and even had me stuck one time, and I had no idea what to expect of where the ideas would be taken. Turns out the ideas went in all sorts of cool directions. It was cool to pass by the Goethe statue at the university and be reminded of his big role in the study of color (you should google for that free old book which is in the public domain... I don't remember the title at all)... I'm sure the devs read that book, and Newton's work too, they definitely knew what they were doing and had a passion for the subject. Maybe this game is meant for teenagers, but despite the simple presentation, I appreciate the solid work and thought put into it nonetheless.

    It does not have much replay-value despite collectibles. But a single run through the campaign was easily an 8/10 for me. You know what? I'm giving a small 9/10 for the original concept.    … Full Review »
  3. HTGamer
    Nov 12, 2017
    4
    Hue is a nice little platform/puzzle game, with story and gameplay mechanics inspired by colours, but is let down by poor gameplay mechanicsHue is a nice little platform/puzzle game, with story and gameplay mechanics inspired by colours, but is let down by poor gameplay mechanics implementation on PS4.

    You have to change the colours of the backgrounds in order to reveal invisible doors and make some obstacles and platforms appear or disappear, all of which are linked to a certain color. This opens up the possibility of including gameplay mechanics like those of Guacamelee! and other older games, with the player shifting between "realities" in order to clear obstacles and proceed.

    It's great to shift between 2 realities at a time, but having to shift between 3 or more is too much for me. I stopped playing when I was stuck at a sequence where I had to quickly shift between 3 colors while running to avoid rolling stones. Why? Because the color shifting mechanic is tied to the right analogue stick instead of dedicated buttons, and it's imprecise. Tried it 20 times, failed, and that was it.

    I am sure that Hue is a nice game overall but the shifting mechanic implementation on PS4 was a disaster for me.    … Full Review »
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