Hue, like most 2D platformers and indie games of the same ilk (Hue has a publisher, however), takes a simple concept and hones it to create a fully-fledged, challenging and, generally speaking, unique game. In this instance, the shifting of colour to solve puzzles. However, while many titles outstay their welcome, or falter with some design oversight, Hue is as solid an experience as I have ever experienced, and maintains a uniqueness and interesting mechanical design all throughout.
The game starts with our character – a young boy – in a black and white world. We make our way through a dark corridor, picking up a letter with some narration from a woman. As we reach the end, the voice of this woman is shown, sitting at a typewriter, and then our character wakes up. The world is still black and white, and a storm is raging outside on the pier. Braving the weather, we can explore, and after not too long meet a lighthouse operator (or fisherman) who mentions something unusual was sighted past the lighthouse. Indeed there is something unusual – a blue object. After picking it up, the storm fades, the sky turns blue and the atmosphere becomes much lighter.
I won’t say any more about the story or how the adventure unfolds, because as a fairly mysterious and narrated title this would take too much away from the experience if you decide to play (also it’s not a game with an easily describable plot, so I can dodge a bullet with that one), but I feel the opening does a great job of summing up the mood and direction of the game.
In other words, the main objective is to explore this small world and its various levels unlocking colours that can change the presentation of the world. Before you get too excited, by presentation I literally mean the colour of the background – nothing exceptional like (aside from the opening part) the environment, weather or mood – though with regards to how the puzzles work, this mechanic is a big deal.
You’ll soon find that throughout the levels there are objects of colour amidst the black and white environment. A blue box for example. And quite simply, and brilliantly, when you select the colour blue, the background will change and the blue box will blend it, meaning you can pass through it. Obviously as you acquire more colours there will be a larger variety of colourful things you can manipulate, and new areas will be able to be entered.
At its simplest this could entail changing colour to remove an obstacle, or revealing a box to use to get to a higher area, but at its most complex, this could entail changing colours in particular orders, dodging hazards, dealing with multiple objects and dangers all at once and so on. Without spoiling too much, there’s a particular set of puzzles towards the end of the game which introduce paint/sludge to the equation. So if you push an object through the sludge it will change colour – meaning you need to be aware of what colours you need certain objects to be and to be careful they don’t get contaminated with the wrong colour of sludge. It sounds a bit silly as I’m typing it out, but I assure you it’s pretty intense stuff – just the way my mind works, I found it very difficult to visualise everything that would happen once I changed a colour, usually resulting in me falling through the floor because I forgot that that section was orange, for example. It really is a brilliant system and proficiently implemented.
The difficulty of Hue becomes more significant towards the end, and while I did find myself frustrated, it was never due to a fault with the game (controls are solid, platforming not too fiddly), and it struck me how smoothly the scaling of difficulty occurs. No spikes whatsoever, just gentle introductions, then increasing challenge and complexity with each new area. Couple that with the interesting colour changing mechanics and a great variety of puzzles makes Hue a consistent and engaging experience.
Not only does the gameplay impress, but the aesthetic and story presentation are endearing as well. Hue is quite a simplistic looking game – the drawings of people and the environments are basic, and there’s not much to the animation – but it is a charming looking title, and I was impressed with little details such as hanging decoration/vegetation moving when you touch them, water being physical (so pouring onto and then off our character’s head) and so on. Nothing particularly special, but at the same time these are extra details that weren’t expected. Of course, the colour changing mechanics adds something extra to the aesthetic, with each colour changing the background of the world – especially when you enter new areas that are black and white and change them for the first time, there’s something oddly compelling about that.
And to top it all off, the atmospheric soundtrack and stellar narration. I’ll be honest, I often find narrated games such as these can come across as a bit pretentious, and there is a little bit of that here – prepare yourself for a lot of “but what is reality” kind of stuff – but Hue’s narrative was also quite sweet in a melancholic sort of way. You are just a boy who’s running around this bleak looking world, and when you pick up letters (usually at the beginning of a new area) a woman’s voice enthusiastically regales you with stories of her work as a scientist, addressing you directly. It helps that the voice acting is top notch, but there’s also a tone to Hue that prevents it from being cringe worthy.
The only criticism I could have about the game is perhaps a lack of other mechanics. I won’t fault it for its length, despite being fairly short, because the game did a good job of keeping it brief yet offering a fulfilling adventure; but perhaps becoming tedious wouldn’t have been a concern if there was a bit more too it. Personally I don’t mind, there are collectables to return to and a reasonable amount of levels based around this one solid mechanic, however if you were looking for something more time consuming or involving, then Hue might disappoint you (especially as the opening area reminded me of Guacamelee a bit, leading me to expect side quests). Otherwise, it’s an all-round great experience.
A very creative, if simply presented, puzzle platformer that gets every aspect spot on and doesn’t outstay its welcome.