Hoomanz! is a cutesy, non-violent stealth game with a fantastic premise: pesky humans have invaded planet Erf. Not in a hostile sense, per se — they’ve just turned up and are busy sunbathing all over the place, ice skating, or setting up big machines. Oblivious to the local wildlife, they don’t realise the locals aren’t so keen on them hanging around. So, it’s up to you to scare them away. But don’t get caught, because those annoying, gross, disgusting humans think you’re just some cute, fluffy animal to cuddle. Those bastards.

Available On: PC
Reviewed On: PC
Developed By: Koffeecup
Published By: Koffeecup

Disclosure: I received a free review copy of this product from https://www.keymailer.com

To get rid of these thoughtless lumps of flesh, you first need to get them a little nervous — a little bit scared of what might be lurking in that conveniently placed bush over there. To get them unsettled and ready to bolt, you use the environment to create noises. One of those handy bottles they’ve left littering the ground can be thrown, for example, or you can run through a pile of leaves. Later, there are traps to lure them into or snowballs to chuck at their face. Each sound has a specific range, and some cause the humans to react differently, so positioning and timing matter.

Stick to the shadows and you’re completely invisible — a fluffy version of Batman without the cool gadgets, all the money, and the butler. But at least your parents are alive… I think? The point is, the shadows are your friend. Step into the light and you move slower, can be spotted, and your special dash move takes far longer to recharge.

Once the humans are in a sufficient state of pooping their pants in terror, they’re ready to be scared away completely. By tapping a button while in the shadows, you briefly turn into a weird demonic being, sending nearby humans hurtling off the screen, never to be seen again. However, if they spot you at any point, they’ll realise there’s nothing to be scared of and return to their normal, calm state.

Across the three or four hours it takes to beat the game, the humans will slowly ramp up the difficulty. They’ll carry torches that pierce your comforting shadows or equip themselves with long grabby poles so you have to be extra careful when spotted. Some levels even feature technological mazes and other nonsense designed to stop you from achieving your singular goal of turning the humans’ new vacation spot into a rated-PG horror movie.

The game even tosses in what it calls “bosses” to deal with, although these are actually machines that you need to turn off by hitting a button. I feel like the developers wanted to go bigger and get more inventive in these sequences. Instead, they’re fun little sections but nothing special. This is most noticeable during the final level, where the game really struggles to build to a climax and give you a big moment to finish on. It plays out like any other level, and then — that’s it. The game’s just over.

Each level has a gate at the end that magically opens once you’ve terrified enough humans into gibbering wrecks. The level design is fairly linear, but you can choose to avoid some of the trickier humans and focus on the easy victims. There are also optional collectibles to find that unlock new skins.

Really, this is a puzzle game in disguise, where you have to figure out how to approach each situation. There might be a light switch you can turn off for extra shadow cover, or you might have to figure out how to lure humans away from their comrades. Or you can just run in like a nutter and make it up on the fly.

I did have some minor issues with the controls. There’s no mouse support — the entire game is played on keyboard, which is perfectly fine. Except when throwing items, lining up a precise toss can be tricky. Swapping to controller makes things easier, but even then I had a few moments where it jumps from one angle to the next instead of a smooth arc. Dashing suffered from this too, as there were a few sections where I had to make a very precise dash but the controls felt like they were fighting back.

Finally, the levels could do with some work. They’re fairly bland to look at, serving up the usual suspects — snow, forest, and lava levels. And while I fully admit this is a personal bugbear, it annoys me that we can walk around on what is clearly lava. Perhaps that makes some sort of sense for the strange creature we play as, but the humans are ambling around on the lava too. What, have they invented fireproof crocs?

Cute and quirky definitely describe Hoomanz!, but they also sum up its biggest limitation. I love the concept behind it all, but found myself losing interest in the gameplay after just a couple of levels. The developers wanted to keep it simple and casual so anyone can play, and it does nail that. But the best kinds of simple games also offer some hidden depth or clever hook to keep you playing — and that’s what Hoomanz! is missing. In a way, it’s a mercy that Hoomanz! is short — by the time its charm wears off, the credits are rolling.