Review for Hauntii

Hauntii is an adventure game and twin-stick shooter that was developed by Moonloop Games LLC and published by Firestoke Games for PC and console. It follows the story of an unfortunate little ghost who becomes trapped in the realm of Eternity, a peculiar afterlife filled with fantastical worlds and strange creatures. With the help of an angelic being known as an Eternian, the ghost hopes to find a mysterious tower said to be the entrance to a higher plane of existence. 

On your quest through Eternity, you’ll converse with a curious selection of characters including wisps, seraphim, and other supernatural creatures. Many will have at least a sliver of guidance to give, and some may clue you in on how to find the answers you seek. Dialogue isn’t the highlight of the gameplay, however, and you’ll find yourself piecing a portion of the story together through the game’s art. “Show, Don’t Tell” seems to be neglected in many games, so I found this choice to be oddly refreshing. Rather than forcing you to read page after page of exposition or watch extended cutscenes of characters, Hauntii is adept at sharing a story through visuals that can be surprisingly tear-jerking at times despite the cutesy nature of everything overall. 

In the world of the dead, you’ll encounter a mix of friendly and malevolent spirits who are either eager to aid you on your quest for answers or hellbent on dragging you into the horrifying unknown. As a lost soul, our ghostly protagonist soon learns that the afterlife can be deceptively dangerous. Life after death comes with strange new powers and abilities that make navigating the spirit world a little bit easier, however. The primary attack you’ll have as a ghost can also allow you to “haunt” various objects and characters to solve puzzles and make combat segments more manageable. There are usually multiple ways to get around a challenge in Hauntii if you’re willing to carefully observe the environment, and this made the gameplay feel very natural and intuitive overall. While you can’t possess everything, the variety of objects that you can take control of is quite impressive. Throughout your journey, you’ll haunt anything from ghost dogs to trees, and even amusement park rides. 

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Another core aspect of Hauntii’s gameplay includes collecting various items found throughout the map. The most important collectibles in the game are stars which are said to be a piece of the player character’s soul, and a certain number of these are required in order to progress. By completing short quests for NPCs, playing mini-games, and solving puzzles, you’ll be rewarded with stars that can be used to create a series of constellations in the night sky. Each completed constellation unlocks a lost memory and also allows the player to upgrade the haunt ability, increase the dash ability, gain additional hearts, and access some locked areas.

This means that if there aren’t enough stars in your inventory by the time you’ve made it to the end of one region, you’ll have to revisit old locations to earn more. Some players may find this a bit tedious, seeing as enemies will respawn in previously cleared areas and this may hinder exploration. However, the mechanic also makes it easy to farm for ghost flames, hearts, and other items that can be used as currency at different vendors. Thankfully, a few merchants even sell stars that can be used to complete constellations, and this is great news for players who may find some quests or puzzles more difficult to complete than others. (I would like to note that I played this game on a PC using a PlayStation 5 controller, so my experience may not mirror everyone’s. While a mouse and keyboard can certainly be used, a gamepad is recommended.)

Aside from its appealing gameplay, the unique visual style is probably the more striking feature of Hauntii. It’s what initially drew me to the game when it was announced in 2023, and it’s clear that a lot of heart and soul was put into the art and animations. While the design is minimalistic in terms of color, the monochromatic palette draws more attention to the extensive detail found in different environments. Bright hues, intricate patterns, and mesmerizing textures shape the world of Hauntii, and almost every corner of Eternity has something visually interesting to offer. You’ll find that the world is teeming with charming characters and vast landscapes as you travel through forests of fungi spirits, an angelic cityscape, a spectral carnival, and much more. 

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The game’s original soundtrack composed by Michael Kirby Ward meshes well with its overall design, consisting of hauntingly beautiful piano tracks, soft jazz, and some folk and acoustic pieces in the mix. As a result, it manages to create a relaxing and enchanting atmosphere throughout that perfectly contrasts with its themes revolving around death and the unknown.

Hauntii presents one of the more calming interpretations of the afterlife that I’ve found in an adventure game apart from Grim Fandango. It acknowledges grief and fear, but it also doesn’t want to lose sight of positivity and hope. It is difficult to find something truly bad about Hauntii, and it’s hard to believe that this is Moonloop’s first officially released title.