Hotaru no Nikki (htoL#NiQ: The Firefly Diary) is that one game that I didn't play simply because I was afraid to play it. I'm sure some of you may have a similar game in posession, likely a horror game, which isn't everyone's cup of coffee. But htoL#NiQ isn't a horror game, it doesn't have jumpscares. Maybe static effects from memories may startle you the first or second time, but there's nothing really "scary" about this game per se. That being said, it's still incredibly dark, and sometimes fucked up kinda dark, and it does have some creep factor in it. My reasoning for not playing it is that it features a little girl protagonist, and I would feel bad for messing up. Of course, the game isn't as gruesome as I made it out in my mind, and in the end I found courage to play and beat this game (especially for upcoming halloween).
As I mentioned, you control a little girl named Mion in a seemingly post-apocaliptic desolated ruins. You don't have a direct control, instead using a light firefly called Lumen to guide her. There's also firefly Umbra that resides in the girl's shadow. You can control Umbra by switching to shadow mode, where time freezes and you guide it in the shadows, and can activate certain things like levers that way. The game is on a slower pace side, require you to think rather than act more. Mion doesn't move fast, or run fast. That being said, there are sections where quick action is required. You'll face a variety of challenges, like shadow creatures that can't be killed direclty, mostly avoided. There are other hazards, such as sawblades that need to be avoided. There's a good variety of obstacles that you'll face, usually presenting the player with something fresh to keep adventure somewhat engaging. Unfortunatly, while there is some good level design, there's also frustrating parts, which sour the adventure quite a bit. A few particular standouts are boss of chapter 2, which felt a little random on when it wanted to spread fire or eat dynamite, and it took me a while to finally down it, chapter 3's vertical shaft where you contract a fungus. The fungus takes away some control and reverses them, but even without these handicaps I'm sure it would've been a frustrating experience due to tight corridors with spikes, and that one lever you had to notice while going up. The boss of chapter 4 absolutely blows, you have to have god-like reaction to notice things. I kinda cheated by using video recording and checking footage to see where the shadow figures are, also the music choice is absurd, kinda fitting but its a weird ending to the game. Let's get this thing out of the way, there's a bit of trial and error in this game. You will keep dying until you notice something to progress. There are a couple of Lumen mazes where you have to carefully navigate Lumen without touching shadows, which doesn't make sense to me, becaues it was fine phasing through objects and stuff before, why is this a thing now? The second time it occurs in chapter 4, there's one section where you have to notice a panel at the very bottom which is actually offscreen after you get out of the maze, and there's a plant at the very top that can shoot a projectile that can activate that panel, and you have to aim that plant with Lumen while the panel is offscreen, one of those quick action sections that I didn't really like. There are some clever moments, such as in chapter 3, where you're first introduced to the umbrella which can be used with big fans to float in the air, and is expanded upon further with the fungus form.
One thing this game absolutely excells at is it's visuals and atmosphere. The graphics have a hand-drawn appearance, like children's illustrations, but with a much darker color palette, and little lighting, giving isolated feel, and the ambiance contributes to the darkness of this game. The memories from memory sprouts are done in a pixel artstyle, giving them a more cutecy appearance, even if the imagery is decidedly not. The story telling is purely visual or sound, there's minimal text only used at the beginning of the game to introduce Lumen and Mion, and that's pretty much it. In those memory fragments, it's not always clear what's happening, giving the story a bit of mystery and potential for speculation and just theories. GAME THEORIES. Although I admit I didn't collect all of the sprouts, some of them are in pretty tough to reach spots, adding more challenge, so maybe I'm talking shit without getting the full picture. But overall, I think the setting, story telling and atmosphere are absolutely incredible.
Overall, I don't regret playing this game. I do like the setting and dark themes presented in this game, and it does have some good parts. It took me just under 6 hours to complete, and this playtime can be extended if you're looking for those Steam achivement challenges. But you have to be wary of various frustrating and trial and error parts, which do undermine the good parts. In the end, I don't think this is a bad game, just not as great as it could've been.
As I mentioned, you control a little girl named Mion in a seemingly post-apocaliptic desolated ruins. You don't have a direct control, instead using a light firefly called Lumen to guide her. There's also firefly Umbra that resides in the girl's shadow. You can control Umbra by switching to shadow mode, where time freezes and you guide it in the shadows, and can activate certain things like levers that way. The game is on a slower pace side, require you to think rather than act more. Mion doesn't move fast, or run fast. That being said, there are sections where quick action is required. You'll face a variety of challenges, like shadow creatures that can't be killed direclty, mostly avoided. There are other hazards, such as sawblades that need to be avoided. There's a good variety of obstacles that you'll face, usually presenting the player with something fresh to keep adventure somewhat engaging. Unfortunatly, while there is some good level design, there's also frustrating parts, which sour the adventure quite a bit. A few particular standouts are boss of chapter 2, which felt a little random on when it wanted to spread fire or eat dynamite, and it took me a while to finally down it, chapter 3's vertical shaft where you contract a fungus. The fungus takes away some control and reverses them, but even without these handicaps I'm sure it would've been a frustrating experience due to tight corridors with spikes, and that one lever you had to notice while going up. The boss of chapter 4 absolutely blows, you have to have god-like reaction to notice things. I kinda cheated by using video recording and checking footage to see where the shadow figures are, also the music choice is absurd, kinda fitting but its a weird ending to the game. Let's get this thing out of the way, there's a bit of trial and error in this game. You will keep dying until you notice something to progress. There are a couple of Lumen mazes where you have to carefully navigate Lumen without touching shadows, which doesn't make sense to me, becaues it was fine phasing through objects and stuff before, why is this a thing now? The second time it occurs in chapter 4, there's one section where you have to notice a panel at the very bottom which is actually offscreen after you get out of the maze, and there's a plant at the very top that can shoot a projectile that can activate that panel, and you have to aim that plant with Lumen while the panel is offscreen, one of those quick action sections that I didn't really like. There are some clever moments, such as in chapter 3, where you're first introduced to the umbrella which can be used with big fans to float in the air, and is expanded upon further with the fungus form.
One thing this game absolutely excells at is it's visuals and atmosphere. The graphics have a hand-drawn appearance, like children's illustrations, but with a much darker color palette, and little lighting, giving isolated feel, and the ambiance contributes to the darkness of this game. The memories from memory sprouts are done in a pixel artstyle, giving them a more cutecy appearance, even if the imagery is decidedly not. The story telling is purely visual or sound, there's minimal text only used at the beginning of the game to introduce Lumen and Mion, and that's pretty much it. In those memory fragments, it's not always clear what's happening, giving the story a bit of mystery and potential for speculation and just theories. GAME THEORIES. Although I admit I didn't collect all of the sprouts, some of them are in pretty tough to reach spots, adding more challenge, so maybe I'm talking shit without getting the full picture. But overall, I think the setting, story telling and atmosphere are absolutely incredible.
Overall, I don't regret playing this game. I do like the setting and dark themes presented in this game, and it does have some good parts. It took me just under 6 hours to complete, and this playtime can be extended if you're looking for those Steam achivement challenges. But you have to be wary of various frustrating and trial and error parts, which do undermine the good parts. In the end, I don't think this is a bad game, just not as great as it could've been.