Haimrik

My Playtime: 5.8h (100% achievement, finished the game)
My First Playthrough: 4.3h
Grindy Achievement(s): No.
Optional Achievement(s): Yes (15 achievements, all missables).
Difficult Achievement(s): No.
Intro
Haimrik is just a scribe living in a basement in a tiny village. One day, he found a book that can turn words into life. Haimrik tells the story of a protagonist of the same name with a focus on materializing objects from words and using them to solve puzzles.
Pros:
- Unique gameplay that relies on trial and error
- A lot of checkpoints to accommodate the trial and error playstyle
Cons:
- Control can be confusing
- No chapter select for hunting missing achievement
Specs
Intel Core i5-9300H 2.40GHz, 8GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650
Should you buy this game?
Yes.
If you want to play a short game with unique gameplay and don't mind with a little puzzle, buy this game at a sale.
In-Depth Review
Visuals
Haimrik looks like a 2D game at first with a sidescroller perspective. Characters are drawn in a cartoonish style, focusing on white and brown color. I like it when the game shifts its perspective, showing that it's actually a 3D game instead. It blew my mind when it happened for the first time.
Story
The storytelling is told in two different styles. The first one is the usual dialogue that you'll find in any other game, and the other is related to the gameplay. Words will be shown on the platform that you walk, letting you know what happened with the visual that was shown in the middle. In the book world, the dialogues mostly serve as a puzzle that is related to each level and the use of imaginary words helps to connect them to the object that you can materialize. However, this makes the dialogue that was told outside the book world to be boring and more straightforward.
The story itself is straightforward, though. It gives you objectives after objectives that you can do to progress the story. There were some exposition and hints given early in thegame, but they are pretty small in amount. That being said, the game is pretty short, so it's natural that it doesn't have such a complicated story to begin with.
The Game
Gameplay
Despite the use of words, it is more of a puzzle game rather than a visual novel. It has 2 gameplays: one where you explore the area to find your objectives, and the book world where you have to solve puzzles after puzzles in the book. All are done in a sidescroller format, although the book world will look more like platformers since it has to fit so many words on one screen.
Words have power. You can materialize an object from words given in the text, combine it with another object (which you also materialize from the text), and use it to another object that might or might not be procured in the same way as the other two. Each puzzle will tell a story and what Haimrik needs to do to bypass it. Sometimes, the instruction is not clear; sometimes the objects that you can materialize might not be obvious either.
It's a game that focuses on trial and error. There are some red herrings mixed in between the words that you can materialize, and you need to filter out which one you need. Although there are some hints, both from the text and the environment, sometimes they are not obvious enough until you know the answer. This was especially true during boss fights - you need to rack up your brains to figure out what the game really wants, and there are no hints that will help you if you are stuck.
Checkpoints are abundant. Despite the numerous puzzles, the game seems to expect you to die at least once in these puzzles, allowing you to retry from the start of the puzzle whenever you die. Each puzzle doesn't take long to finish, so you don't have to worry about wasting your time.
Boss fights feel more like the regular puzzle you solve throughout the game, where you also need to watch your health. They will keep on draining your health with your attacks, and if you don't know how to dodge their attacks, you'll die. It can be challenging to figure out how to damage them and dodge their attack, although luckily, the sidescroller format helped. There won't be a lot of ways for you to dodge, and you can just list out the possibilities and try them out one by one. The same goes for attacking.
Length and Difficulty
I finished the game in 4.3h. All optional achievements are missable and I missed 1 achievement during my playthrough. Since there is no chapter select, I ended up replaying the game from the beginning to get that missing achievement that was nearing the end game. Luckily, the game can be finished quickly if you know what to do.
The game doesn't overstay its welcome. The gameplay might be unique and all, but it can be exhausting to continue playing the game since you usually just do some chores and collect objects from the book. It ends just at the right time, letting you have the enjoyment you need before you get bored.
As for the difficulty, the game can be challenging at first. The control scheme wasn't clear enough at the beginning, making it hard for me to finish some puzzles. Moreover, killing enemies can take a while early game if you don't know what you are doing. And don't get me started on the bosses. Some of their attacks are annoying enough, blocking you from what you need to do and draining your health little by little. However, the annoying parts are usually short enough and it is usually followed up with easier puzzles.
Conclusion
Haimrik is such a unique game. I like the gameplay on how you are supposed to figure out what to do from all of the available objects. It can take a while to find what you need to do from trial and error, but that's where the game shines. However, since it can get boring quickly, I'd rather recommend it on sale.

Haimrik is a breath of fresh air in the indie game scene! The blend of vibrant visuals and clever storytelling sets it apart from many other titles. The hand-drawn art style is absolutely stunning, creating a whimsical atmosphere that draws you into the world.

The gameplay mechanics are both innovative and engaging, with the unique word-based puzzles adding a clever twist to the traditional adventure formula. It’s a joy to see how your choices and the words you collect directly influence the narrative and the environment around you. The story is quirky and full of charm, featuring memorable characters that kept me invested from start to finish.

The humor is well-executed, providing plenty of laughs along the way, and the soundtrack perfectly complements the whimsical vibe of the game. Each level feels fresh and creatively designed, making exploration enjoyable.

Overall, Haimrik is a delightful adventure that combines creativity with clever gameplay. It’s a hidden gem that deserves more attention. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a unique gaming experience!

This game has a unique art style and juggles both comedy and a dark tone. It's not perfect. The mechanics are a bit rough at times, particularly near the end, and the story can drag on a bit. I also found a few spelling and grammatical errors, which is ironic considering this is a word game, but overall it's quite fun and interesting. The purpose of the game is to use certain words to progress through puzzles and defeat powerful bosses. It's pretty good, and I think most people will enjoy it if they have a love for language and problem solving.

Pretty cool game with an interesting concept - you go through linear levels made of 2-4 floors. The floors have sentences written on them, and you have to find out which word can be made physically become object they describe, and then figure out how and in which words to use them to get to the end of the stage.
This applies to both puzzle solving and boss fights, which require some good timing and aiming.
The game is not very long, and that’s a good thing since doesn’t overstay its welcome.
Visually, it’s a mixed bag. Character design is cool (but I never got used to the main character's running face - it looks like he’s always mere seconds from pooping himself), and, for the first hour or so, the sepia-ish filter is nice. However, there’s very little variety and it all becomes a bit bland eventually. Some meaty gory effects help, though. Plenty of blood and entrails.
Same goes for the OST, pleasant at first, but very repetitive. Try and figure out the puzzles fast, or you’ll be stuck listening to the same short audio loop over and over.
A solid 7/10.