Haiku, the Robot
Buzz
About the Game
Obscure Information – Battle bosses back-to-back in the new ‘Trial of Steel’. Two new bosses. New area to explore. Expanded lore & general improvements across the entirety of Arcadia.
Corrupt Mode – Test your skills in this new challenging game mode. One health point. Temporary health upgrades. Alternative storyline. New train stations. New achievements.
Haiku the Robot is a cute adventure-exploration game set in a vast interconnected world full of corrupt robots and machinery. Explore the dying land of Arcadia; fight fierce machines; befriend quirky robots, and seek answers to the mysteries of the world around you.
Explore.
Forge your own path through a vast interconnected world full of corrupt robots and machinery. Map uncharted paths and explore the hidden depths of Arcadia.
Fight.
Dodge, dash, and slash as you battle fierce-looking machines. Challenge your skills and reflexes through tight melee combat and epic boss fights.
Discover.
Evolve with powerful items and abilities, allowing you to reach previously inaccessible areas. Meet a variety of quirky robots, both friend and foe, and discover the dark secrets of the world around you.
- Classic side-scrolling action with all the modern trimmings.
- Dodge, dash, and slash through machine-like enemies.
- Jump, zip, and blink past challenging platforming obstacles.
- Meet a wide cast of interesting characters on your journey.
- Customize your playstyle through the chip system.
- Explore a vast interconnected world. Full of hidden secrets, fierce enemies, and quirky robots. A true Metroidvania.
- Make your own journey as you collect new items, abilities, and upgrades.
- Map your progress and piece together the secrets of Arcadia.
- Sharp and precise character movement with tight melee combat.
- GameBoy-inspired pixel art – each frame animated by hand. True retro aesthetic with modern controls.
Game Discussion
Steam User 6
Excellent metroidvania : 8.5/10
If you love Hollow Knight, you will feel right at home with Haiku the Robot. It takes a lot of inspiration from that masterpiece of a game but still manages to be its own unique, charming thing. The world is very open, and you get rewarded constantly just for exploring around. Combat is simple but really fun, and just moving through the map feels great. My only real complaints are that healing takes way too long, and you cannot rely much on your dash because it overheats haiku after 2-3 dashes and stops working + the lack of custom map markers which makes backtracking a lil bit confusing sometimes , Even with those small annoyances, it is an easy recommendation for everyone, either a fan of the genre or casual players.
Steam User 5
Great metroidvania. Maybe a little too much freedom to go wherever you want. I got deep into a couple areas and spent a ton of time trying to figure out how to progress before realizing I had to go somewhere else first. Its also a bit too easy to get yourself stuck and not know where to go at all.
Still, was a fun experience.
Steam User 4
Another short metroidvania definitely fun for a handful of hours. The progression is great and open. Finding everything was fun not really a chore. Atmospheric, unique, and exciting. Some flaws, like opening the inventory on the same screen (so you can't leave map open have to open and switch) and some other small stuff.
Fun for achievement hunters, the challenge to beat the game with no wrench is fun. Just don't pick it up or use the auto heal chip and it's a pretty straightforward 100% with no missables. So this provides a great 100% game with a small fun challenge. Although I don't think I spent more than 5 ish tries per boss.
Steam User 6
Cute little game. Basically: "What if *Hollow Knight* was shorter, easier, more pixel-y and had robots?"
Don't expect an epic adventure, but an enjoyable few hours with decent platforming and combat and gorgeous Pixel Art.
Steam User 5
One of my favorite metroidvanias, and it does that perfect thing that all of them do where every hidden wall, breakable area, or secret in the game has some sort of visual clue. If you are attentive and explore properly, you can find basically everything in this game yourself without a guide. Just as it should be. A guide is helpful sometimes, granted, and I'm not against them, but I love it when the game gives you the tools you need. I put this game right up there with Castle in the Darkness, but if you played Hollow Knight this is extremely similar.
Steam User 4
8.7/10
Pros:
+Limited hand holding
+Fantastic art style
+Classic Metroidvania vibes
+Worth while 100% achievements
+Rewards exploration
+Multiple paths to victory
Cons:
-I didnt always enjoy walking back to areas I had been to previously to check if my new ability would allow me access just to see it in fact did not
-Limited fast travel
Conclusion:
Haiku is easy,
Haiku is like Hollow Knight,
Bots instead of bugs.
Steam User 3
Haiku is a fun, short little metroidvania game that can scratch the itch for a unique little romp into platformers for a day or two. Its not very long at 8-10 hours so probably something to grab on discount but it has some unique gameplay and is pretty enjoyable just to move around the world.
Its not entirely bug free and has some quirks but I didn’t find anything gamebreaking and had fun enough to go ahead and 100% it. The game doesn’t have much of the metroidvania exploration for secrets, 80-90% of the pickups in the game are collected through the normal path with only a couple backtracks or hidden areas to sniff out. This can be seen as a benefit to some people but I personally enjoy the collection aspect of metroidvanias.
Some of the side collectable/side quests are also kinda disappointing, namely the conclusion for collecting all the power cells felt a little underwhelming. Not that I need an extrinsic reward to collect stuff but it'd be more enjoyable if there was more significant/better fleshed out story behind them.
Still, neat game, worth a grab if it looks interesting to you.