Hauntii Steam Charts & Stats

I'm somehow always awed by the art.

Beautiful and fun

If Nintendo had an estranged relative who became obsessed with the afterlife and going back to “monochromatic drawings” then this would be it. Hauntii has an instantly striking visual style. The world is presented in mono. Hauntii looks like a super high-definition version of a monochromatic monitor from the 80s or early 90s. Blues, Greens, Oranges. But played in modern resolutions (even ultrawide). If you never used an old monitor before, just imagine an old comic in black and white. Hauntii has the style, complete with bubble dialogues. Voices are not present in this game, which would normally be a negative point, but here, this is probably one of the few games where not having any spoken dialogue (only written) is actually better since it gives more space to the music of this game which is, at times, something special and builds the mood. The music by Michael Kirby Ward can lift you off the ground along with the visuals (especially at the beginning and ending sections of this game) and makes for one of those rare cases where you can’t imagine one without the other. During the midpoint of the game sadly there are some tunes, which are not that great to listen to (and they play constantly while you are on a few levels) which can get a little tortuous, but that has to do more with the game choosing to repeat the same song again instead of, for example, having some cool down periods, or mixing it with some other tracks. This is one of the few negative points I see for Hauntii. The game is great for the most part, but it just has too much, it needs some editing… I honestly think Hauntii could have been even better, with fewer levels. It’s not that the levels are bad, but for this experience, the real core of it lies in the gameplay flow. Hauntii can be relaxing at times, you are (literally) floating from one place to the next, moving in a monochromatic world, listening to beautiful jazzy music. Possessing things (as you do!) That’s the flow of the game… but having so many levels (especially during the first region) can bring down the pace, the gameplay… And if you are a completionist and want to do everything 100% that will happen. Of course, more than half the content in these levels is optional so you can skip it at the end of the day. Another aspect of the game that could have been improved are the “cutscenes”. These are special memories that play many times during the game, when we collect “Stars”. These memories play in a very minimalistic drawing style, similar to an animated story board. While something similar to this is used during the whole game, (the monochromatic colors style) and it works great there, here, for these cutscenes, it falls somewhat short and it becomes a limitation in telling the story. It is understandable, however, that it is not a more elaborated animation style since it was probably out of the scope for this game, but also, this could be another case of less would have been better. Hauntii is a minimalistic experience, its story is told through the game world, there’s no need for cutscenes, nor a narrative to follow to (and that’s ok), or dialogues to listen to, you just have the gameplay, the mood, the music, and yes, the visual style of the levels, they will take us on a journey through the planes of the afterlife, until we reach our final destination. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKD7Ni4y5kI [b] Home to Home – Hauntii Soundtrack ©2024 Michael Kirby Ward. [/b] [b] This eternal review ©2025 Aleena. [/b]

Absolutely loved this game from start to finish. It's the perfect game to decompress at the end of a long day; not too difficult, but challenging enough to keep you engaged. Beautiful art style and absolutely stunning music that is integrated with the gameplay with a high level of polish. I actually played this game because I discovered the soundtrack first and just had to hear it in context... so glad I did! The music deserves a spot in the indie music hall of fame. My congratulations to the development team. 10/10.

I got to a point in the game, where you are trying to take a "boss" down, and the whole thing just pissed me off so bad, that I had to uninstall. Otherwise some good elements. A bit in doubt about the recommending part.

I loved the art and the atmosphere of the game, it made me think of the Tove Jansson's illustrations. Would definitely recommend!

Hauntii's story takes things slow and aims to be a more personally existential experience. I would compare it closely to games such as Gris where the story focuses more on the exploration of one's self and learning to move on. It takes its time to make each point and prefers to keep things small-scale for the sake of a more tightly knit narrative. This game is not one to keep you at the edge of your seat by throwing twists every chance it gets, you start to piece together how the game needs to end when you start it. It is just about the challenge of doing so. For this reason, I found the ending concise, and rather heart-warming. Hauntii exudes its strengths in its music and art. It is near impossible for me to do justice to the talented work behind this game's visuals and audio. The character designs, animations, every clink of a star or musical rise as you progress, is all so uniquely designed to completely enrapture you in the world. Although the story is on a smaller scale, the environments themselves could not be any more grand. The constant wide shots of forests, cities, and grandiose theme parks litter the game where you just can not help but stare at every new introduction. Every single part of the world you travel to in the game has such a unique theme and consistent design that you could recognize any place off of just its color palette. If you were to play this game just to appreciate the effort behind the visuals and audio, I am confident you would come out satisfied. The gameplay itself is more of a vehicle for the story as you travel from one place to another. You do improve your skills as the game progresses, alongside your character, but this is mainly how the game helps you combat the rise in difficulty as enemies become stronger, faster, or more unpredictable. As I played, I felt like the game did a very good job of matching the difficulty to my current place in the story. I did not find any sections too difficult or too easy. Each level felt well tuned. The platforming parts of the game display themselves most in the combat where you are constantly dodging projectiles and enemies. But the puzzles the game contains are just as enjoyable. Every stage had a different set of creative rules and mechanics that all felt incredibly different from the last and meant you could never predict what you would have to do next. If you are looking for a short game to just get lost in, and enjoy being carried away by a game's art style and soundtrack, then this game is well worth your time. The puzzles always kept me thinking and there is no end to how deep you can get lost in each part of the world

I wanted to love this game so badly. The visuals and music are nothing less than astonishing. But I never had any fun, even after two full hours. The gameplay has no sauce: neither abilities nor rewards are compelling. Reading the positive reviews here, I guess I didn't realize this is supposed to be a cozy game. If you are not into cozy games, I have to warn you away from Hauntii despite its enchanting art design.