Hauntii review – monochrome possession

From the moment you clap eyes on its monochrome visuals, Hauntii leaves you in no doubt that it belongs to a tradition of contemplative arty indie games that includes the likes of Limbo, Journey, and Little Nightmares. Its hand-drawn art style – which sometimes makes sparing use of colours in place of white to make particular gameplay-related points – is wonderfully atmospheric and its gameplay just as unique and interesting.

Hauntii revels in minimalism and that extends to its storyline which, in that great indie game tradition, must be assembled in your imagination from a cryptic set of clues. You play an unnamed ghost navigating Eternity, a netherworld which is surprisingly rich and bizarre and even includes a rollercoaster-studded amusement park called Wickland.

At the beginning, you meet a character who the locals call an Eternian; she disappears, but one early puzzle involves summoning her back using a giant magical bell. From then on, it’s nice to have a companion on your quest to ascend from Eternity – except the locals constantly remind you of their distrust of Eternians, which proves to be not entirely without reason.

Hauntii has two main elements to its gameplay: twin-stick shooting (your ammo being blue energy blobs that the game calls essence) and the ability to possess all manner of objects, from animals that shoot more powerful projectiles or have devastating stomp-jumps, to hills, trees, street lamps, and marquees. Once you possess them, what you can do with them depends entirely on what form they take, with part of the game’s fun being discovering what you can do with possessed objects.

The first thing you learn is to stay in the light areas: if you head into a black part of the environment the music – which is lovely and also feeds into Hauntii’s chilled but mystical vibe – will go endearingly wobbly, and little purple eyes will signify the presence of predators; remain in the black and you will lose a heart from your life gauge.

That may suggest Hauntii is a single-path game, but it isn’t. By possessing trees and shaking them, for example, you can light up patches of dark areas, and by moving from tree to tree, you can open up hidden paths. Collecting things is a big part of Hauntii’s gameplay: there are crystals, its main currency (which can only really be used to buy hats for your character), purple souls, and, most importantly, stars.

Collecting stars quickly becomes the focus of your gameplay endeavours: each area of the map has an altar where you can cash them in, to fill in the constellations in the local night sky. Every constellation you fill in brings a minimal, impressionistic memory of the life you led before dying and being consigned to Eternity.

Filling in particular constellations can gain you access to new areas, and in each area, when you sketch out a whole collection of constellations, you’re rewarded with a key crystal. Plus, each constellation you complete lets you upgrade certain aspects of your character, such as overall health and the ability to perform two dashes, rather than one, before a cooldown kicks in.

Each area of Hauntii contains a specified number of stars, so you will find yourself backtracking – and developing an intimate relationship with its map – in your quest to collect enough to get those key crystals. Which is probably just as well, since Hauntii isn’t the longest game, with only up to 10 hours of gameplay.

As you progress, you find some more challenging sequences, often involving some pretty manic twin-stick shooting or having to possess the creatures that have the correct firepower for taking out specific enemies. You can also possess static posts that allow you to shoot in any direction, which come in handy during boss battles.

Hauntii has one noticeable issue: the fixed camera can sometimes work against you, particularly when you need to employ twin-stick shooting or solve platform-style puzzles involving passing through gates with a high degree of precision. But the game is generally forgiving in terms of jeopardy: when you run out of health, you merely respawn at the nearest save point, after being docked a small amount of crystals.

Overall, Hauntii feels pleasingly original: it looks superb, contains some puzzles which will exercise your grey matter, and generates a mood which is quirky, contemplative, and, despite occasional hints of creepiness, always inviting. Like the best indie games, that attempt to make a virtue of minimalism, it does a really good job of firing your imagination. If you’re a fan of games that strive to be thought-provoking and atmospheric, there’s not a ghost of a chance you won’t enjoy Hauntii.

Hauntii review summary

In Short: A highly original indie action puzzler, with some wonderfully minimal visuals and a uniquely beguiling atmosphere.

Pros: Great art style and music helps to create an enjoyably unusual vibe. Exploration and experimentation is always rewarded and the twin-stick shooting is fun.

Cons: Fixed camera sometimes works against you. Not very long and sometimes gets a bit too cryptic.

Score: 7/10

Formats: Nintendo Switch (reviewed), Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC
Price: £16.99
Publisher: Firestoke
Developer: Moonloop Games
Release Date: 23rd May 2024
Age Rating: 3