Hook: Complete Edition Review – Get Hooked All Over Again – Indie Game Reviewer – The Best Indie Games

Hook: Complete Edition by Maciej Targoni

Pushing buttons is a simple act, one of the simplest yet most effective mechanical devices in the world, easy to understand. Hook: Complete Edition is designed around this act: simply pressing buttons to solve puzzles.

Pushing All the Right Buttons

Hook introduces the button-pressing mechanic slowly at first; pressing a button retracts a line on screen. The game slowly becomes more complex, as some lines may block others, which are in turn connected to other buttons. This is where the main gameplay mechanic lies: pressing buttons in the correct order so that they don’t block and aren’t obstructed by – other lines.

Finding the correct order for each puzzle is rewarding. It’s a minimalistic core concept, but Hook does a number of cool variations to add complexity. For example, later puzzles feature switches that are remotely activated across the screen instead.

Others feature overlapping lines, which means the lines on top need to be retracted first. Another variable is the ability to change line directions via line-rotating switches. The game throws enough little changes to make puzzles feel different from one another while also ramping up the difficulty in a rewarding way.

Short and Sweeet

Most of the game’s 160 puzzles are rewarding, and since they are bite-sized, it mitigates any frustration you might have if each level was more time-consuming. Still, later puzzles enough moving parts to satisfy those looking for a true challenge.

Overall, Hook has a mobile game-style approach with short puzzles that don’t take too much time to complete.

Its minimalist approach to puzzles bleed into its audio and visual presentation, too. The monochromatic approach to visuals gives off a cold, almost bleak vibe.

Hook opts for ambient sounds in the background; ocean waves, chirping birds, light piano tones, and soft reverberating bells make it feel almost like a meditation app. I liked these artistic choices, which give the game a relaxing Zen atmosphere.

Sinking the Hooks In

Being a complete edition, this version also includes Hook 2. It’s very much like the first game, offering more of the same – which isn’t a bad thing – but also a major difference: the ability to rotate puzzles.

Puzzles in Hook 2 exist on a 3D plane as opposed to a flat 2D one. This mixes up the game in some fun ways. Lines can be hidden or obscured if not seen from the correct angle, making camera rotation an added complexity.

There isn’t much wrong with these games, but they do have some minor issues. For example, I wish navigation with a controller was more precise, especially in Hook 2, since many buttons aren’t perpendicular because of the camera rotation, which means that moving to another button is finicky. It’s not a major issue, but I noticed it from time to time in puzzles with many buttons on screen.

Another nitpick is that I wish the camera would rotate a bit faster in Hook 2, or at least let you hold down a button to move it at a faster speed. I imagine this issue would be lessened by mouse or touchscreen controls on other platforms. Again, a minor issue in the grand scheme of things, but still noticeable.

The Verdict:

Hook: Complete Edition offers enough puzzles to keep you entertained for a handful of hours. It’s a chill, simplistic puzzle game with a satisfying difficulty curve. I enjoyed my time with it and would recommend it to fans of the genre.

Hook: Complete Edition is available via the Nintendo eShop and the Microsoft Store.

Check out the official trailer for Hook: Complete Edition below:

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