Platform(s): PC (version reviewed), PS5
Genre: 3D Platformer, Asian Aesthetics

The Paper Mario series. Tearaway. Puppeteer. That one easy-as-heck Yoshi game with the sequins and craftstuff for the Wii U. These are just a few games that use papercraft and arts-and-craft to the fullest when presenting their aesthetics, making themselves stand out from the deluge of RPGs and platformers they’re associated with. While some of them ring hollow, few of them have just enough gameplay mechanics to not use said aesthetic as a complete crutch supporting it. They’re not common, but you can’t help but feel good just seeing these breed of games in action.

The Singapore and Malaysian branches of Bandai Namco’s development are clearly inspired by those games, and Okami by extension, with their debut game and latest in the not-quite-long line of papercraft-styled games: Hirogami.

Fold ‘Em

A 3D platformer with loads of platforming, puzzles, and perils presented for your folding & solving, you control main paper character Hiro who is tasked with dealing with the ever-growing Blight in the papercraft he’s in while also regaining his powers. He gets aid from his fellow paper pals and paper animals as he goes through a redemption arc of sorts.

Note the heavy use of “paper”; the game’s look and entire graphics are all origami-tailored and animated in stop-motion style, with shallow depths of field used to show the “miniature” origami-filled landscape and world Hiro resides. Suffice to say, Bandai Namco SG/MY nailed it out of the ballpark with the look and feel of a totally-new world that’s serene and chill, save for the digital abominations invading Hiro’s realm.

The game plays and controls great too; your 3D platforming and action controls aren’t compromised for the sake of its art. Hiro is responsive and has appropriate wake-up and cooldown times for his default fan attacks that hinder the digital onslaught while also unfolding himself to paper form to either float or go through tight spots. Once he helps cure certain paper animals in his journey, he can mimic their powers to further go through more platforming obstacles and defeat tougher foes. His Armadillo powers let him roll fast away and through danger, and can also absorb fire to deal with tougher barricades. His Frog form makes him jump three times as high and also let him do a buttstomp not unlike Yoshi from that arts-and-craft game I mentioned earlier.

His Gorilla powers let him do a ground pound and also climb onto vines (and summon them at designated hoops ala a grapple point). Lastly, Hiro can fold into a paper airplane to partake in arcade flight sim-style segments where he can fire paper missiles at enemies and barrel roll away from airborne terrors. And they all add loads of flavour to the paper mix; the entire game is 6 to 7 hours of pure platforming and puzzle-solving, with a bit of story here and there.

Crease By Crease

What’s really cool about Hirogami is that you get all your animal powers in the first half of the game, and then get thrown into a ton of tougher platforming and puzzle challenges as you progress through the second half. It’s a little atypical from other 3D games that slowly dishes out powers per stage so that you can play around and experiment with Hirogami’s folding combinations. Going from Armadillo to Frog to do a buttstomp when get airtime from the former’s roll-and-jump is doable thanks to the simple controls – you unfold to paper and then press any of the corresponding transformation buttons to be that form. And you can unfold at any time, even in the air, so you can jump into a fight or onto an obstacle in real-time and quick. It takes practice, sure, but it becomes second nature after an hour or so.

My only issues with the tag team studio’s first major effort are twofold: some platforming glitches and the environment being a bit too same-y. There were times when I’m on vines in Gorilla form when I end up jumping the opposite direction when I’m very sure I had my analog stick pointed to where I want to land. There’s also one or two late-game moments where I just glitch out and end up going through parts of the ground; I didn’t need to restart the whole stage as I did manage to get out of it and reload at the nearest checkpoint (which are generously dished out, thank goodness). Still, a few patches here and there post-game could help this title out.

While the backgrounds and paper forests bits are nice and all, they all end up gelling and blending in together due to the overall texture of paper and its colour palette. It’s sticking to theme and the digital Blight bits do help parts of the game stand out due to their neon glow, but the backdrops do tend to get drab the longer you play through Hirogami.

Between The Folds

Hirogami is a great first effort from Bandai Namco Singapore and Bandai Namco Malaysia in the mellow-level 3D platforming department. Even with some of its quirky bugs that hamper my platforming by a tad, it’s still a worthy look for its aesthetics and paper animal-shifting gameplay that requires some semblance of skill. This is especially if you’re getting all the paper cranes and collectibles needed for that 100% achievement for the game. Even if you’ve completed it, there’s still a need to go back to past stages to collect ’em all.

Having said that, I fear this title is going to drown in the sea of a much-acclaimed smaller title that’s coming out a day after Hirogami, even if it’s not the same genre. A shame, really, as this Southeast Asian platforming effort embraces its origami nature and chillax atmosphere.

Final Score: 70/100

Review copy provided by publisher.