Hauntii – Test and News

When we first laid our hands on Hauntii, it was during Gamescom 2024, at the booth of Scottish publisher Firestoke Games. At the time, we did not yet know that the title imagined by the American developers Moonloop Games would be released on Xbox Game Pass, despite the potential that gave it its rightful place on the service. Now comes the time for confirmation, and to dive headlong into this atypical universe.

It is in the darkness that Hauntii begins, in the heart of an unknown place where our hero is quickly invited to follow a path of light that stands before him. Here we are in reality in the afterlife, without any memory of our past (and ended) life, in search of a goal which will soon arrive. It is guided by another being that the Ascension begins, a long climb towards the unknown, finally disrupted by a painful return to earth. The goal will then be to find our ephemeral traveling companion, to a majestic fable where friendship between two completely opposite beings becomes a central themecapable of releasing beautiful emotions.

So here we go for a ride, at the controls of our little ghost, we evolve in a particularly original universe, and entirely hand-drawn. The features of the settings and characters are very simple, but exude true artistic harmony. In summary, each stroke of the pencil contributes to forming a coherent whole that is very pleasant to read. The action takes place in isometric 3D, with a fixed camera, which allows for a little freedom of movement while increasing the pleasure of discovery. Concretely, the world proposed by Hauntii is made up of several small areas linked together. Each area is an opportunity to recover a certain number of memory fragments to unlock new doors, a concept which thus takes up the principle of the Collectathon like a good old Mario 64Banjo-Kazooie or more recently Promenade from the French studio Holy Cap.

Each area is well demarcated and sufficiently restricted for research to be carried out peacefully, without having to scour a large area to try to find a missing memory. It's all the more peaceful as memories, even hidden ones, generally emit small bright flashes which indicate their location. Same desire not to put the player in difficulty, it is obviously not necessary to find all the memories to open the different doors of each sector, while having the possibility of returning to look for what has not been recovered a little later, and at any time during the game, to try for 100%. From this point of view, Hauntii is a game capable of quickly activating the reward circuit, which already provides a certain pleasure.

Especially since the ways to obtain memories are numerous, with often interesting and funny mini-games, areas to clear enemies found there or objects, characters or elements of the decor to haunt. This is also the main mechanic of Hauntii, with a main character capable of shoot projectiles like a twin-stick shooter. In addition to spraying enemies, you can also shoot certain elements of the scenery and characters to haunt them. Thanks to this functionality, you can shake a tree, make a monolith fall, control a powerful turret and even board a roller coaster cart. Clearly, the variety of what you can do in Hauntii is a real strong point, and helps push the player to always come back with great pleasure. Gameplay ideas also evolve as you progress through the game, as you discover new environments.

The Hauntii hero's range of movements is limited, but it is still possible to perform a dash. He can also collect crystals to exchange for various items, including donning hats, from merchants in the afterlife. Ammunition can also be picked up to be used to operate the special abilities of the characters to possess. Moreover, an important point is that the accumulation of memories allows us to reconstitute constellations which allow us to relive, again in very basic form, moments experienced by our character, who thus gradually regains the memory of his previous life. Each constellation allows you to increase three statistics, namely the number of dashes, essences and life points. The hero's health is represented by hearts, which can drop very quickly when facing certain enemies or in particularly tough situations to manage. This is also the case when you stray from the lit paths for too long, before being quickly overtaken by the threat lurking in the shadows, while a slightly darker ground prevents you from reloading your basic ammunition. , which can therefore complicate a fight. What vary the situations and force the player to organize a minimum to get out of certain situations.

In terms of artistic direction, as we have said, Hauntii is impressive in its ability to make relatively basic graphics and colorimetry work. The particle and dust effects are very successful, and the deliberately choppy animations fit perfectly with the rest. Add to this absolutely sublime music, for a general atmosphere that works very well and makes you want to immerse yourself in this atypical universe.