Hue Reviews

Hue is a middle of the road puzzle-platformer. You play as Hue, in a world where everyone sees in black and white. Your mother discovered COLOR – and more precisely, that you can change the way you see the world, shifting the colors of it, and change the world as a result.

Naturally, she then managed to get herself stuck outside of reality, so it falls to you to save her.

The gameplay of Hue is pretty simple – it’s a very basic puzzle-platformer. You run, you can jump a relatively short height, and you can pull and push boxes. The central mechanic of the game, however, is the chromatic ring – an ability that allows you to select one of up to eight colors (acquired over the course of the first half of the game), which causes the background color to shift to that color – and everything in the foreground that matches with that background color to disappear as long as that color is the background color.

The game, then, centers around using the colors to manipulate the environment around you, walking through solid objects and pushing crates around to weigh down buttons and block lasers (which are themselves colored, and can be nullified in the same way as other foreground objects) to get to the end of the level. The game doesn’t focus on precision platforming, instead being all about solving these puzzles using colors, though a few levels do require some reflexes as you run away from boulders or run across crumbling platforms while switching colors on the fly to allow you to eliminate walls and make blocks appear in front of you.

There’s only a relatively small number of mechanics in the game, but the game itself isn’t actually all that long – I 100%ed the whole thing in five hours, grabbing all the collectibles along the way (which requires repeating some sections, as you don’t have the colors necessary to get some of them the first time through), and if you’re just going through it, you could easily beat it in 3-4 hours. The puzzles were generally pretty small, which fit them well – the complexity was mostly in figuring out the correct sequence of actions and making use of the various mechanics to solve the levels.

The thing is, it’s hard to complain about a game like this – it does what it is trying to do and then gets out of the way before it belabors the point.

But at the same time, this game didn’t exactly thrill me. This isn’t even the first time I’ve seen this exact mechanic in a game, and the game itself felt like “standard puzzle platformer with gimmick mechanic” gameplay.

Is that a bad thing? Well, not really; the game is exactly what it seems to be. But at the same time, it isn’t wow me, either. This isn’t a title I’d go out of my way to consume.

It’s hard to recommend something that is merely passable. This game didn’t really excite me to play it, it was just a middling experience, without any moment where I was like “Man, I’m glad I played this.”

After finishing the game, I had to sit and think on this a moment. I already knew I'd recommend the game for the puzzles and game play alone, but the story really struck me. I'll start with the story, and then I'll address the other points.

I'm a mom, and I have very little in the way of relationship with my own mother. Throughout the game, our main character, Hue, is searching for his mother and reading letters she's left behind for him. These letters detail her life at university, experiments with color, and how she ended up in the village where the game begins. She also reflects on mistakes she's made, as a person, as a scholar and as a mom. This hit me in a personal way, and it's caused the game to really sit with me. For a simple story, it's told in a beautiful way.

Control wise, the game is not difficult. You run, jump, climb, activate switches occasionally and most importantly, change the color of the background as you unlock colors (beginning with aqua). I don't think this game would be very difficult with a keyboard and mouse, but as always, I'm primarily a gamer who uses a controller (DualShock 4). I found the game fairly easy to navigate with the default control scheme.

As far as the actual content of the game, if you like the Legend of Zelda series, you'll probably like Hue. A lot of the puzzles feel very much like 2D LoZ puzzles, with the addition of the color changing mechanic. You'll change colors to eliminate obstacles of whatever color you've changed to, rearrange blocks, avoid spikes/pits/lasers, and carefully work your way to the university while seeking out letters from Mum and beakers (if you're after the Cyantific Apparatus achievement). Periodically, you'll be rewarded with a new color to add to your ring.

The sound is beautiful. Music is soft and beautiful, and sound effects are sprinkled into the game play at just the right frequency. This is presumably done to keep attention on the letters from Mum, which are read aloud by a voice actor. The soundscape creates a peaceful environment that allows you to really think about the puzzles are you progress.

Graphics are simple--mostly line art--and colors are utilized in such a way as to actually be a part of the game play. Interestingly enough, for a game about color, there is a "color blind mode" where each color is also represented by a symbol unique to that color. The levels offer interesting visual design, and the backgrounds fade to the background (hah!) as necessary and really come out when needed. Most art is done in black, with some hazards and collectables (water, Erlenmeyer flasks) being done in white.

I picked up the game during the free weekend, but I would have happily paid for this. The game is an indie classic that really lets you think about the reality around us and mistakes that we have made. 4.5/5

В ходе "безумного" эксперимента - мать главного героя бесследно исчезла... Оставив лишь несколько листов из своего дневника. Но этого достаточно для чистого сердцем ребенка, - чтобы отправиться на поиски любимого человека, открыв одну из "тайн мироздания" - Истинные цвета.

Понравилось:
+ Наличие достижений
+ Локализация на несколько языков, в том числе и на русский
+ Поддержка геймпада
+ Простое управление
+ Наличие сюжета
+ Приятный визуальный стиль

Не понравилось:
- Отсутствие контрольных точек между сегментами загадок
- Баг с меню выбора цвета, что не помещается на экран монитора
- Проблема с масштабированием на некоторых локациях/помещениях, что ограничивают поле зрения игрока
- Баг с субтитрами финального диалога Мистера Грэя. Отсутствует часть начала диалога

Вывод:
Найди мать-безумного ученого, пробираясь через смертельные ловушки - ради сказки на ночь

Перед нами головоломка, что успела собрать уйму наград за время своей жизни. А также побывать на всех гаджетах - благодаря своей популярности (и хайповому названию в России)
Игроку предстоит открыть все 8 (Внезапно_О) цветов радуги, в мире наполненном серостью. А также решая сложные задачи на логику и смекалку - найти пропавшую Мать (и узнать, что у него есть отец!)

Большинство уровней построены на скорости и точности игрока - так как Вам предстоит очень быстро менять цвета - чтобы не потерять темп бега от опасности, что преследует Вас. Стараясь избежать неверно выбранного цвета, что обрушит Вам на голову камень - или отправит в бездну с шипами.
А так как мы следуем по пути Безумного Ученого - то все окружающее пространство будет стараться убить Вашего персонажа, чтобы Вы начали все с самого начала. Поэтому не удивительно - что многие игроки тратят по несколько часов на уровни - в которых (как оказывается) есть предметы, что игнорируют Игрока...

Да-да, и я сейчас о "Жиже" - что фонтаном бьет из похожих на лазер брандспойтов. Как оказалось - под ними можно спокойно перемещаться. Но привыкнув к постоянной опасности - 90% игроков (в том числе и я) потратили около часа на решение наипростейшей загадки. Избегая попадания жидких капель на тело персонажа. Ведь зачем бежать сломя голову с голой грудью на шипы - если можно просто встать и осмотревшись - подумать о решении...

Как итог: Игра невелика, и ее сложно назвать "шедевром" - но было интересно пораскинуть последними извилинами в своем котелке, пытаясь логически решить как покрасить череп в нужный цвет и остаться при этом в живых...