htoL#NiQ: The Firefly Diary

 PlayStation Vita
Metascore
58

Mixed or average reviews - based on 16 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 16
  3. Negative: 3 out of 16
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  1. Digitally Downloaded
    Mar 3, 2015
    90
    A game that offers a brutally dark theme and sheer precision with its atmospherics, combined with incredibly difficult, but incredibly well designed puzzles to overcome. The result is a visionary project that might not resonate with every player, but everyone should try it because if it does resonate, then it's going to be an unforgettable experience.
  2. Gamestyle
    Feb 28, 2015
    80
    htoL#NiQ is a decent game for the Vita that pushes no boundaries but does little wrong either.
  3. Arcade Sushi
    Feb 24, 2015
    70
    Although htoL#NiQ: The Firefly Diary is cursed with a flawed control scheme, the total package did enough to keep me intrigued throughout.
  5. Hardcore Gamer
    Feb 23, 2015
    70
    This is the kind of game you’ll enjoy while playing it, but will almost immediately forget about once you move on to something else. htoL#NiQ is good, which is a shame because it could’ve been much more than that.
  6. The Vita Lounge
    Apr 17, 2015
    62
    In all, htoL#NiQ is a decent platformer that is wrapped in a truly beautiful and terrifying experience.
  7. Digital Chumps
    Feb 20, 2015
    62
    htoL#NiQ's flaws are significant, and I experienced a lot of frustration in the process of grinding through it. It's hard to recommend to a general audience, but if you're into 2D platformers, especially ones with puzzles and unforgiving difficulty, htoL#NiQ is one to consider.
  8. DarkZero
    Mar 11, 2015
    60
    In the end, htoL#NiQ is a beautiful and encouraged experiment marred by a frustrating difficulty and clunky controls (even if intentionally clunky). It will require a bit of patience and several hundred deaths, but those willing to commit themselves will appreciate the game’s haunting beauty the most.
  9. ZTGD
    Feb 25, 2015
    60
    The Firefly Diary is a title that showed potential but was ultimately done in by its philosophy on implementing a needless level of difficulty to the experience.
  10. Destructoid
    Feb 23, 2015
    60
    I won't lie: htoL#NiQ: The Firefly Diary feels like an ordeal to play, but it is worth noting that historically, surviving an ordeal was often taken as a sign of being blessed by a higher power. That notion may appeal to some types of players, and it's they who'll find the fun in this gorgeous, cruel game. Everyone else should just hang back and ask how it went.
  11. Gaming Age
    Feb 23, 2015
    58
    The visuals by themselves are enough to make htoL#NiQ seem like a game worth investigating, but in the end, that's really all the game has to offer.
  12. Vandal
    Mar 3, 2015
    55
    The core experience of this game is beautiful, but it becomes frustrating because of the control system. If you can get over these issues, you might find a surprising adventure.
  13. Attack of the Fanboy
    Feb 23, 2015
    50
    A rather short game that relies much more on difficulty to make it seem longer. Full of unrealized potential, the somewhat stiff controls do not help while trying to solve genuinely creative puzzles at times.
  14. PSNStores
    Feb 23, 2015
    50
    For as great as The Firefly Diary looks it’s really unfortunate that the gameplay can be so frustrating. Cheap deaths, unresponsive touch controls, and a number of other smaller annoyances really hurt my experience with the game by the time it was all said and done.
  15. PlayStation LifeStyle
    Feb 23, 2015
    40
    I genuinely applaud Nippon Icchi for trying something new and doing up a fresh IP. However, the design of the game is currently flawed. Give users a bit more speed and proper implementation of analogue controls, and this currently boring and frustrating affair might be a whole lot more fun.
  16. CD-Action
    Jul 27, 2015
    30
    Its charm fades away the moment you look past cute graphics and notice terribly imprecise and unnecessarily complicated controls. [08/2015, p.78]
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  17. Push Square
    Feb 23, 2015
    30
    htoL#NiQ: The Firefly Diary has an interesting story and some decent art, but the touch controls and trial and error puzzles make it a hateful affair.

Awards & Rankings

41
#41 Best PS Vita Game of 2015
33
#33 Most Discussed PS Vita Game of 2015
33
#33 Most Shared PS Vita Game of 2015

User Reviews

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User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 25 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 25
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 25
  3. Negative: 4 out of 25
  1. Oldbeaver
    Feb 24, 2015
    9
    Most "professional" (check the air quotes) reviewers are giving it a bad score on this game because of the "touchscreen-only" controls inMost "professional" (check the air quotes) reviewers are giving it a bad score on this game because of the "touchscreen-only" controls in despite you can easily switch the control schemes (C scheme for analog controls) in the options.

    However, htoL#NiQ is a game that focuses primarily in trial-and-errors, pretty much like Limbo, which is also available on Vita and have a great artstyle too. If you liked this kind of game however, then you'll definitively love htoL#NiQ: The Firefly Diary.    … Full Review »
  2. Ryuuto
    Dec 13, 2015
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click full review link to view. This game gives me the different kind of chill. The decent art with the dark atmosphere, the deadly traps and monsters, and the music. The memory fragments are kind of tricky, which is worth to replay the game to collect all of them. Normal puzzle games make you go all kind of places to find things and read stuffs, but The Firefly Diary requires your skills, quick reaction and right timing which are something I like. Cute Mion is the reason I keep playing this despair game because I cannot allow to see her never be saved by my own hands (funny is in the artbook limited edition, the book says quite the same thing about Mion).
    When you actually try to figure it out what the hell is wrong in this game, you try to find each memory fragment and the truth about Mion and the world she lives. When you collect everything, each chapter makes sense to you. Like the boss in chapter 2, the forest and Mion's corpses in chapter 3, the plants can kill shadow monsters, and the shadow parents. When I understand that, it makes me feel this game is better than I thought, NIS shapes the game perfectly.

    To make the game less fearsome like trying to collect all memory fragments but you really hate to go through 100% the game, you can select chapter and specific area to find them. For example, I didn't know there was a fragment inside the box hanging in 1-3, so I go to select chapter 1 -> 1-3 to find it, then u can select other area like 2-2 to continue your searching without going through the whole nightmare (Also to skip sometime to unlock secret place).

    The cons of this game are the controlling in either the touching screen or the joystick are really getting my nerve sometimes (especially when I have to guide Lumen out of her dead zone). Puzzles of this game is its strong and also weak point. Several places when you need to be extremely careful can kill you a dozen of time before you can proceed further. In fact, there's a high chance that you need to die before you can solve the puzzle.

    Those reviewers who give the game bad scores is because they are impatient about the controlling system and the puzzle. You can't accuse a horse is bad because you can't ride on it when you don't have the skill and try to spend time to train. In my opinion, I feel they try to make the game look bad. Mion is slow because she is a young frail little girl in a dreadful place. When you actually finish the game, you can make sense why she's slow + fast pace is not what this game made of.

    In my conclusion, it's a strange horror puzzle game that you, who are reading this review should try. For anyone who is emotional, you would try to finish the game 100% story, and the same for anyone who is like me, doesn't want to abandon Mion. This game has no text but you can figure out everything. One thing I want to say after I finish the game is "Screw the war".    … Full Review »
  3. Happyspelling
    Aug 23, 2021
    9
    I was nervous about going into this game because I had never played a horror game before. Fortunately, this game is about building atmosphereI was nervous about going into this game because I had never played a horror game before. Fortunately, this game is about building atmosphere rather than being actually scary, so for people who prefer to avoid scary stuff like me it's a perfectly suitable game. That's not to say the game isn't spooky, it can get very dark and can be pretty disturbing. The story is really good despite there not being any text. It can be pretty confusing but I love the idea of finding memories to slowly uncover what happened. The presentation is also amazing. The hand-drawn look of the game is beautiful to look at, and the music and sound design perfectly builds the atmosphere for a quiet but tense experience. When it comes to the gameplay, the game shines just as much. Some people won't like the tough trial and error gameplay loop, but I love it. It feels incredibly rewarding to figure out your way through a hard section, and the level design is some of the most creative I've seen in recent years. The game does what a lot of platformers fail to do: keep things interesting. It constantly introduces new mechanics, and also finds way to keep them interesting without getting old. I'm a huge fan of Nippon Ichi Software games, and this is definitely up there as one of the most memorable ones. The director of this game also made 2 other games after this: A Rose in the Twilight and Void Terrarium. It's better than Rose but not as good as Void. If I were to score these three games based on a score out of 100 Rose would get an 84, NiQ an 88, and Void a 95. I really hope we get news of a 4th game soon, I bet it will be just as amazing as the first three. (Technically there is a 4th game but it's a Japan exclusive). The moral of the story: this game is amazing but PLAY VOID TERRARIUM! I could gush about it for paragraphs, but I already did a review on how amazing it is.… Full Review »
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