You play as Hue in a grey colorless world looking for your mother, but you have one ability, the use of color. With 8 colors to use to figure out puzzles, Hue is a wonderful platform/puzzle game for the whole family.
General Gameplay
The game plays out just like any platformer/puzzle game. As “Hue” you have to collect the colors of a unique color wheel and use those colors to manipulate your environment. So if there is a pink boulder that is blocking your way, then you would select the pink color from your color wheel to get rid of it. You can also use the matching colors to either turn on/off a laser or object or have a platform appear of this color so you can use it to solve the puzzles in the game and move on. The game uses colors and injects this into gameplay, making it a unique style of game.
Audio
The game itself has it basic sound effects from laser shooting, to the movement of items. However when it comes to its background music, the game has a fantastic soundtrack with a very mellow piano playing. Also in the game that you will run into letters from your mother. These are done once collected via audio recording in which she tells you things about the story to help it go further into what is going on in Hue’s world and why he is gifted with this ability to see in these colors (for the sake of keeping this a spoiler free review, we will not touch on what the recording say but can assure parents that there is nothing that would be offensive or anything that is not appropriate for the whole family). Also as the game does not have any audio with vocal so again parents the game sound and soundtrack is for all ages. The game does not support 5.1 surround sound, but with that being said the game sounds fantastic even in stereo, also for gamers in your family that uses the headset will also know that the game also sounds good throughout the headset.
Visuals
The visuals for the game are beautiful. Hue is in a darker color tone with more greys and blacks used to illustrate the game settings (even Hue is in a black silhouette), but this is why the game visuals works well. The reason being is when you use the color wheel it makes the colors pop. The game visuals are very easy to the eyes where designs and backgrounds pop and everything has a colorful design to it. For family gaming members those that have a hard time with seeing colors, the game supports a colorblind mode as well making it easier for all to play the game. There is little to no violence in the game. In our play test we did not see anything that would be a concern to any family members in the in regards to violence or anything else objectionable. Also in our play test we have seen that almost all of the family members loved the visual style of the game.
Controls
The controls are very easy and simple, one button for jumping and another for moving objects and the right stick to choose the colors. The game was made in mind to be able to have anyone pick up and play the game and they did this right. In our play testing we did not run into any issues with the controls of the game. Even in our special needs testing of the game it was very easy for our family gaming members to pick up and play the game itself. For parents there is no need for any special controller or setup to play the game.
“Hue is one of those puzzle games that comes by that gets everything right”
Delivery
The game is a fun game, fun for the whole family. Fun enough for even platform or puzzle fans to even play it and have a great time. Hue is a game that even if you do not get the puzzle right, punishes you for getting it wrong. It is very pick up and play friendly and the story of the game is well done. This is a great overall fun, family game to own. If you are in the market for a puzzle, platformer this is a must have game.
Family Friendly
Hue is a very family friendly game. Don’t let the puzzle aspect scare you off from this game. Hue itself is a fun game to play and the best part is that the game does not punish you for getting the puzzle wrong. Most games will either make you start all over, but Hue does not do this, in fact most puzzle games do this and Hue does not. Hue does not punish the gamer for getting the puzzle wrong, if anything it encourages the player to discover through colors, and trial and error to get it right, and when you get the solution of the puzzle you feel a sense of accomplishment when completing it. Also the way it works with colors it is a great game for younger children to play as it will help them better identify colors. In our play through of the game we seen elements that in other games would be too difficult for the player to play such as platforming or even the puzzles but in Hue the game is well done. Also with our special needs gaming testing we did not see any issues as our gamers were able to pick up and play the game. If anything we notice in our family member that has Autism that he enjoyed the game more because of the color choosing aspect as he was more engaged. Overall this is a game that is worth picking up. Our only concern during the play test was that some levels do get harder as you go along but this was something that did not hinder the game at all. If you are stuck in the game you can easily go online and get a strategy guide that will help you with the solution to the puzzle that you are at. Also another thing that we did notice is that there is only one option to save so if you want to start a new game for another member of the gaming family to play, be aware that it will erase the previous save.
Closing
Hue is one of those games that is released that you simply do not want to miss. With it fun, approachable style of platforming and puzzle solving this is a game that is fun for the whole family.
