Review for Haimrik. Game for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 06/06/2018 The version for PC came out on 19/06/2018
The videogame industry is as fruitful as it is often identified as saturated by users who, in one way or another, are "spoiled" by productions that often lack that touch of uniqueness, that spark that ignites the soul of gamers. Haimrik, a title developed by the guys from Below The Game, tries to bring an undoubtedly original and particular idea to the screen, aimed at proposing to the players a very simple concept and basic mechanism, rendered with a peculiarity that wants to be the trademark of this production.
Will they have succeeded in their intent? Let's find out together by going to eviscerate Haimrik.
It is precisely to dissect the most suitable verb to use when speaking of Haimrik, the title that catapult the player into a medieval world where violence reigns supreme. Here we will take on the role of the homonymous protagonist, who lives with his mother in the two-dimensional city of Sinisa. Haimrik is an unsure of himself, but he has the benefit of get hold of a "magical" book that, after a pledge in blood from the boy, catapult it within its pages. Here the shy protagonist will move, under our control, between the words that make up the text, eventually transferring the objects obtained from the book to the real world, which will allow him to solve various situations and earn the esteem of fellow citizens. Advancing in the book, however, is not always so simple, in fact, in fact, in addition to useful objects, also hidden inside enemies and puzzles which Haimrik will have to promptly resolve.
It is right inside the pages of the magical book that it is put on display the peculiar mechanics of the game: the ability to interact with certain words of the text that, by pressing a button, they will incredibly come to life in front of our eyes. The concept is similar to that of titles like Scribblenauts, except that in Haimrik all this is limited to certain words in the book: although the basic idea is still quite original, having the words already available limits the variety of solutions to the puzzles of the various levels, which often result in a collection of certain objects and their combination, or a simpler and more Spartan combat with various enemies.
The plot of the game tells the story of the world of Estria, a place of conflict and rivalry between the four local kingdoms. This moment of weakness is exploited by enemy forces to devastate conflict-torn lands. Only thanks to the intervention of King Udolf and the warriors of the word the enemy is defeated, through the use of a magical power hidden from the population. Unfortunately, the story does not develop in an interesting way and often some situations presented on screen are forced and banal, thanks to the fact that they are staged by several characters with almost no characterization.
The difficulty is never too high or frustrating, in fact, every time you die you only need to replay the last section. The first areas of the game will act as a tutorial offering very simple puzzles to solve, while as you proceed the puzzles will become more complex, requiring combinations of objects in a specific order. Boss fights are the highest peak in gameplay and add even more variety to the title with some really interesting gimmicks. It is a pity that the care taken for these phases has not been proposed in situations in which Haimrik is in the real world, where it will simply be necessary to move from one place to another with interactions limited to the minimum wage.
Artistically speaking Haimrik cuts a great figure, proposing a world of sepia tones often soiled by the blood shed by enemies and by the protagonist himself, in case of some mistake of ours. The characters they are drawn in a caricatured manner that really works well in the overall spirit of the game; just as much care has been taken in keeping it intact the gloomy atmosphere of Haimrik's medieval world, both in the real world and - above all - in the pages of the book.
Unfortunately, this artistic attention was not placed in the colonna sonora, often repetitive and not very diversified, even more so in a title where, in the event of a mistake, you will find yourself having to start the section over and over again listening to the same musical track. Another small problem is i title checks in the manual shooting phase with the crossbow, situation where you go from a 2D to a kind of 2.5D, whose control is not optimally rendered but it is nevertheless contextualized in a fun way in the search for solutions to the puzzles.
Haimrik brings to the screen an original idea that contributes to diversifying a gameplay that is too simple in its fundamental mechanics. The game has a successful artistic sector and a background atmosphere that goes well with the nature of the title that does not fail to provide some fun moments. Unfortunately, the care of the team placed in this area is not as evident in the soundtrack and in the plot, interesting but not properly developed. These elements could have been that little bit extra, giving production a boost that probably didn't happen in the end.
► Haimrik is an Adventure-indie-Puzzle game developed by Below The Game and published by 1C Company for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 06/06/2018 The version for PC came out on 19/06/2018
