Hirogami – PS5 Review

Whilst art and craft aesthetics are not new, I still get a kick out of seeing them. Hirogami is the latest to give them a shot. A joint effort from Bandai Namco’s Singapore and Malaysia studios, it has an enchanting look and charming presentation. Whilst it’s not short on ideas, choices around the camera and progression do dampen my enjoyment of it.

Hirogami‘s story centres around rescuing a world from blight. As Hiro, a fan-wielding shape-shifter, the task at hand is restoring shrines and rescuing animals from strife. It is steeped in traditional tropes of mysticism. Whilst I tend to ignore it, there’s an arc on offer and the world does respond to your actions. It’s told in short bursts and it’s not particularly heavy handed. It’s a simple tale with simple stakes and that leaves a lot of space for the gameplay.

That gameplay focusing largely on platforming. Hiro has basic moves at his disposal. His fan is used for combat and breaking up pink blocks of blight. These contain paper which is one of the game’s main currencies. He has a jump which can quickly be doubled but his main methods of traversal revolve around animal forms.

As the game progresses, the animals you save can be transformed into. There’s three in total and they all perform specific roles. The armadillo is built for speed and can roll into enemies. It’s diminutive stature makes jumping impossible but you do gain a later ability to catch aflame. The frog form provides a mighty leap and the ability to spit on foes. That can slow them down or hold moving pivots into place. Lastly, the ape form can climb vines, break floors and generally does more damage in combat. The trade being that he is a slow mover.

I like the compromises and all three feel specialised. It also leads to the level design feeling distinctly sectioned. I could recognise easily what form was needed where and there were rare instances of them overlapping. As a result, it can feel focused. I did originally see Hirogami as a much more lenient affair. Whilst the penalty for failure is very forgiving, the challenges on offer can throw an occasional curveball.

It can feel very linear. Getting lost is impossible due to arrows pointing towards progression. Secrets are tucked off to the side but never too far out of the periphery. Even when objectives branch, levels find themselves snaking back to familiar ground. Shrines typically indicate a level’s conclusion. I do think the levels show off a lot. Switching between forms is commonplace and mechanics are revisited often.

Unfortunately, switching can feel inconsistent. Sometimes it’s snappy but I’ve had instances where it feels sluggish. I’ve had jumps not quite respond to my inputs and it doesn’t quite match the stellar presentation. It’s rare for the game to have you swiftly chain into forms but, when it does, I want that to be more precise.

I also find the perspective to be more of a problem. The camera is mostly fixed with the right stick being used to peer further left or right. For certain tasks, I had a issues judging depth. Jumping onto vines and triggering windmills were the main culprits. Whilst it’s not a terminal bother, it did deliver some frustration. Slipping behind the scenery turns Hiro into a handy silhouette and, despite shadows indicating landing positions, judging depth remains a problem for me.

The levels themselves can take anywhere between ten and twenty minutes. Each one has three main objectives to accomplish. Successfully doing so rewards you with paper cranes. I originally saw them as optional but there is a latter progress check that gates the closing stages behind thirty of them. For me, that meant revisiting old levels and aiming for specific goals.

There’s a decent variety to them with some of the recurring ones centring around maintaining your health above a certain level or taking no damage at all. Given the length of the stages, I struggle to achieve those. There are also bonus objectives that I’m not sure give a tangible benefit. Secrets are stashed within the levels with blueprints used to craft new abilities and relics to find. There’s not many branching paths but it’s nice to see a reward for exploration.

I adore the paper aesthetic. It’s not a new idea but I never tire of a handcrafted world. Animations are given a stop-motion appearance and each of the enemies have a colourful look. It can feel like you’re exploring a set or a diorama rather than something digital. The sound of folded paper follows you everywhere and the score does well to give the adventure a sense of whimsy.

It has splendid visual design that conveys a lot of the mechanics well. Smoke will carry Hiro upward, paper drifts satisfyingly to the ground and there’s always a sense that you are a fragile but malleable being. Whilst the animations are curtailed by the choice of framerate, it’s still nice to see enemies fold and charge at you.

If the gameplay matched the presentation, Hirogami would be reaching for greater heights. Unfortunately, the inconsistent controls and fixed camera angle can make traversal trickier than it intends to be. The goal-based progression does give players a reason to return to old haunts but it also delivers a potential roadblock for the endgame. It shows promise but doesn’t quite hold it together.