Horace

« Horace is something very special — the only vaguely negative thing we can say about it is the fact that there are so many spectacularly brilliant indie games on Switch already vying for your attention that we fear Horace may fall somewhat by the wayside. If you have any interest in superb level design, excellent storytelling, terrific art, evocative music, great characters, hilarious situations and emotional gut-punches, Horace is a no-brainer. It's moving without being manipulative, clever without being smug, and nostalgic without being a lazy rehash. So yes, Horace is another indie masterpiece, and every gamer who enjoys quality experiences should play it; a masterpiece that owes so much to its medium, but has the strength, creativity and identity to stand alone as something very, very special. Buy this. »

« Horace is a pitch-perfect puzzle platformer that expertly balances addictive gameplay with its moving tale of a robot trying to discover himself in a world that makes no sense. It knows why we love video games, and it confirms we’re right to do so. »

« Horace's story by itself makes it an easy recommendation, but it doesn't hurt that the game is also a fun, challenging 2D platformer with plenty of gameplay variety to ensure that players are almost always doing something new. The backtracking and pacing issues are something to keep in mind, but they are easily overlooked when the rest of the game is this good. Simply put, Horace is an absolute must-play for platforming fans. »

« Horace is a challenging platformer with strong core mechanics and inventive design, all of which gradually build up into something truly amazing and satisfying as a video game. Its homage to the heart and soul of video games as an art form and its deep insight into human nature all come together to make it an experience that is both memorable and important. »

« Horace is a 7-year labour of love from a two-man development team, and the amount of quality content here is incredible. Packed to the rafters with nostalgia, it provides laughs, tears, and a brilliant platforming experience that everyone can enjoy. »

« Indie gem, hardcore platformer, robot fairy tale all rolled into one. This is a creative mix that also includes loads of funny retro references, puzzles and great storytelling. »

« Horace is a captivating retro adventure full of different gameplay styles and homages to series, movies and other games. »

« Charming, cute, hardcore with a great story and narrative: Horace already was a great game, now capable of being played everywhere thanks to a nearly perfect Switch port. »

« Horace is the definition of hidden gem and one of the most touching and humorous games I have ever played. The mix of story and platforming leads to an incredibly balanced and satisfying game. Multiple innovative mechanics keep the gameplay fresh and the story is so compelling that I never skipped a cutscene or hurried my way through the dialog, which I typically do. At $15 (I bought it on sale for $5) it is well worth it. It is lengthier than you would think, but even if it was a few hours long it would have been worth it just to show my appreciation for the developers and the fact that this game exists. »

« Interesting, clever, well conceived platforming. With also some good story to tell. »

« This is a true hidden gem. What a journey, such a beautiful narrative, really heartfelt and beautifully written. The platforming is definitely challenging, and although I am not a very skilled player I kept going, dying THOUSANDS of times and still I couldn't stop. The satisfaction from finishing it was enormous. It deserves more recognition . Thank you Paul Helman »

« It's a weird game for sure. A bit long compared to a lot of other 2d platformers, a huge focus on story with plenty of cutscenes, an insane level of difficulty which they try to compensate with very generous checkpoints, and a lot of minigames which range from fun to frustrating to extremely frustrating when they use them for a boss battle or a platforming section. Still, its an amazing experience, the characters are fantastic, the story has a lot of heart, the music is great, Horace as a protagonist is the best, and when the gameplay works, which is 80% of the time, it's a delight if you like challenging platformers. This game deserves more recognition and I hope you give it a chance, even if I hope they tweak the formula a bit for a potential Horace II. »

« Clearly made with lots of creativity, love and attention, a challenging platform/metroidvania hybrid that kept me busy for hours and hours. My only complaint is that if anything it's a bit *too* long, kinda outstays its welcome. I picked it up in a sale and definitely got great value out of it. »

« I'm nearly 50..gaming all my life, all the way from the beginning, where this games inspiration comes from with many many zx spectrum, c64 Easter eggs, winks and nods too. If your an old boy (or girl) like myself, you are going to be absolutely blown away by this absolute masterpiece. Yes the story premise is utterly lifted from bicentennial man, but the likes of Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams would be proud of this game as there is enough spin on the story to make the game its own entity. The music, the gameplay mechanics, the smoothness of the game running on switch, the level design, the genius humour and the delivery from the voice acting.. its pure and utter genius. It made me actually laugh out loud at the writrin and tear in my eye for the human moments. If your an old school gamer this is a masterpiece, for all other gamers, it's still a great game but you might not get all the references. Total bargain even at the full price. »

« I thoroughly enjoyed this game. I've passed it by a number of times, and glad I finally picked it up during a sale. The game is definitely worth it's full price. The gameplay is a platformer where the "gimmick" is that the robot can walk along the walls and ceiling. When oriented on a wall, for example, gravity will act toward the wall. At first this is quite disorienting but you get used to it. It makes for some interesting level design, with the designers using the orientation to great effect. It's similar to Super Mario galaxy in terms of gravity shifting, but plays quite differently because gravity tends to act at 90 degree increments. I found the story very heartwarming. The robot protagonist is almost child-like. The robot will not quite understand the adult things happening around him. The story is very British and I chuckled a number of times at the humour. The "voice acting" is all narrated by the robot with a varying pitch English robot voice. The supporting characters were all quite different and memorable. I really enjoyed the ending, it was a great wrap up to the story. The game was quite expansive. It is a Metroidvania game (with addition abilities and backtracking), linear in story (divided into chapters). »

« Enjoyable and challenging platforming, good variety of side games and a good, lengthy story filled with funny moments and references to more than a few classic movies. Good value and worth a buy, especially if it is on sale. »