Hue

Hue came out of almost nowhere and shocked me with its sublime design. While it might seem like Limbo at first, the game is able to establish itself on its own fairly quickly and create a distinct and memorable experience. Fans of puzzle platformers will find a lot to enjoy in this game, as well as those who just want a new and fresh indie title to play. While the gameplay still needs a few tweaks, the thought-provoking story and level design take advantage of its mechanics and create an experience wholly unlike any other.

Fiddlesticks' Hue is a beautiful puzzle-platformer that questions reality and perception. While often a little too easy, it's still a clever and rewarding trip.

Puzzle games have been around since the beginning, and have always been hit or miss. After all, it’s hard to make such a title stand out, and it’s not as if the genre always makes the best use of (or benefits the most from) advancements in console and PC graphics technology. Some truly do stand out, though, and do the best with what’s available, with a prime example of that being the puzzle/platformer, Hue, from publisher Curve Digital.

I was pleasantly surprised by Hue. Having played numerous other puzzle/platformer titles in the same vein, Fiddlesticks had some pretty big shoes to fill. But it has done a wonderful job; Hue fits right alongside the big names like Limbo or Braid, and its colourful twist on the formula helps it stand out from the crowd. With a fun, curious soundtrack and diverse levels filled with dozens of different ways to manipulate the rainbow, Hue is a charming adventure well worth diving into.

While definitely drawing inspiration from other games, Hue really shines bright as an example of a puzzle platformer done right.

I had a lot of fun with Hue. It was frustrating sometimes, but most puzzle-platformers are, and it would be boring to get every level right first time. Its faults mostly lie with being over-ambitious in terms of tone and narrative, but I think I’d rather see a game overreach than be content with mediocrity.

As much as I love AAA games, it’s the indie games that often stick out to me the most, because they’re the ones who really take chances with a game. Sometimes the chance is a visual design, sometimes it’s a story topic that may be too sensitive or controversial, and sometimes it’s a simple game mechanic. Curve Digital took their chance in using color as a puzzle-solving mechanic. It’s unbelievably simple, and yet this indie team found a way to make something so simple be so incredibly complex. Hue starts off leading players to the water, showing how simple and easy it is to just drink, and the...

Hue is a well-crafted, enjoyable experience. I don’t usually like physics-based platformers, but the controls are simple and responsive enough that I never felt like a death was anyone’s fault but my own. Its visuals are sparse but clean, and the puzzles gave my brain a workout. It’s a little brief, clocking in at four to six hours, but that just means it doesn’t overstay its welcome, and it left me wanting more.

That said, Hue is a real blast while it lasts. It's the kind of game that never strays far from the memory, and there's a comfort to be found among the perplexing rooms of the title even after the puzzles have been solved for the first time. Hue is one of those games that just begs to be shared with others - a true indie gem that achieves nearly everything that it sets out to accomplish.

The story is brought to you by the silky voice talents of Anna Acton and Matthew Wade, and is surprisingly heartfelt, despite the game’s basis as a platformer. The narration fits perfectly into the world that Fiddlesticks have created, and though it’s the puzzles that will truly draw you in it’s heartening to find an actual plot in a genre that often purely pays them lip-service.

A simple concept that is very well executed, Hue is a nice change of pace from the usual game releases.  The narrative is the provoking in the game play what surely stretch your mental muscles.

Republished on Wednesday 27th September 2017: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of October's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows.