#oneaday Day 521: Hat Girl

Andie got me A Hat in Time for Switch for my birthday, and I've been playing it in bits recently. I really like it so far — even if the Switch port is, as expected for an Unreal Engine game, a little janky. Since the game is supposed to be an homage to collectathon platformers, I just chalk up any performance issues (which have not, I should say, made gameplay a problem at any point) to an attempt to pay tribute to the N64 with more than just the design and gameplay.

I'll write more about the game on MoeGamer when I've beaten it, but I'm really impressed with it so far. Hat Girl's movements are so fluid and natural throughout the game; you never, ever feel like you're fighting against animations, but everything she does flows absolutely beautifully into each other, regardless of what you're doing, and that gives the game a delightful, free-flowing feeling as a result. Just exploring the levels is a joy; it's not at all unusual to find yourself completely ignoring the objective you're supposed to be pursuing in favour of just leaping around like a crazy person.

I really dig the weird vibe it's got going on, too. Hat Girl is completely shrouded in mystery and never says a word, but the way she gets embroiled in all manner of stupidity around the various worlds of the game has a very "childish" feel — in a good way. By that, I mean that the game as a whole feels like an exploration of the concept of childish curiosity, and how children tend not to be inherently "good" or "evil", because they're still shaping the way they look at the world. Hat Girl does some obviously good things throughout her adventures — but she's also a little shit at times, too, and I really appreciate that.

I'm looking forward to playing more of the game over time. The objective-based nature of the game — think Super Mario 64's stars — means it's fun and easy to just dip in for a level or two, or sit down for a more protracted session if you have some more time on your hands. Since Andie will be doing some noisy DIY tomorrow that will preclude me from recording some videos, I have no doubt that I'll spent at least some of my Friday in the company of this adorable little hat brat.