Hocus
Gameplay 9
Graphics 8
Sound 6

Hocus is a nice puzzle game that makes use of Escher style perspective illusions. You simply need to navigate a red square to a marked red spot on the level, but can only navigate along straight lines. Hocus has 100 puzzles to complete and you can also create your own ones or import puzzles created by other players, which means it offers plenty of value for money. It does feel more like a maze game than a puzzle game at times because it is possible to brute force your way through levels, but overall it is a lot of fun.

Gameplay: The puzzles are not as hard as they might seem, but completing them is still very satisfying.

Graphics: The mobile roots of this game are very obvious, but the minimal visuals still look good.

Sound: The music is soothing at first, but can become repetitive while the sound effects are best switched off immediately

Summary 7.7 Great
Gameplay 0
Graphics 0
Sound 0
Summary rating from user's marks. You can set own marks for this article - just click on stars above and press "Accept".
Accept
Summary 0.0 Terrible

Hocus

Developer: Yunus Ayyildiz, Sho Ohhira | Publisher: Yunus Ayyildiz | Release Date: 2015 | Genre: Puzzle / Casual / Indie | Website: Official Website | Purchase: Steam

Everyone should be familiar with the “Penrose Triangle” that featured prominently in the art of M. C. Escher. This seemingly impossible shape, that mess with the natural instinct our brains have to view 2D images as 3D ones if certain angles and shadows represent has been fascinating people for ages. It is also a concept that has been very popular with puzzle games and the latest title to join their ranks is hocus. Hocus is a perspective illusion puzzle game with levels that look like something Escher would have doodled and it presents players with the simple goal of navigating a red square to the marked red location on the line drawing.

Right from the start it is very obvious that hocus is a port of a mobile title. The current puzzle is displayed in portrait mode in the center of the screen while the previous and next puzzles are shown to the left and right of it. In fact, during the tutorial level, the game even tells you to “swipe” your cube to move it. Usually these would all have been bad signs for a PC game, but hocus manages to sidestep any criticism with its reasonable price tag and the fact that it really doesn’t need any “enhancements” for PC. As simple and basic as it is, it is still a lot of fun.

Unlike most other mobile titles hocus doesn’t complicate the experience with timers, ratings, and other nonsense. Instead, you are presented with 100 puzzles and can complete them all at your leisure. There’s no goofy story to try and justify why your red cube is trying to reach its destination and no whimsical characters to attract younger players. This makes for a refreshing experience where you can just dip in and out of the puzzles at your own leisure. The puzzles have to be completed in sequence, though, so you will be unable to move on to the next one until you have solved the one that you are busy with. However, while some levels are a bit harder than others, it shouldn’t take too long to get through a puzzle and many of them can be solved in a matter of seconds.

Hocus uses very minimal visuals, but the effect is rather striking. The puzzles only use shades of black and grey, displayed on a white background, so the only splashes of color are your red cube and its destination. All of the levels are static, which keeps things simple. This does mean that sometimes your view can be blocked, depending on the position of your cube, but a handy icon at the top of the screen always indicates the possible directions in which you can move. This does mean that a lot of the levels can feel more like mazes than puzzles, as it is possible to reach the exit using only trial and error.

The audio in hocus follows the same trend as the visuals and keeps things very simple. The soundtrack consists mostly of chimes and while it can be relaxing at first, the fact that the music never changes can eventually become a bit annoying. One thing that is definitely annoying is the clicking sound that your cube makes while moving, so switching this off immediately is highly recommended. Since hocus was originally designed with touch screens in mind, it is easy enough to control using a mouse. You simply click where you want your cube to move and it will travel along a straight line until it reaches a junction. The game suggests using a gamepad with analog sticks and this works well, but it isn’t really essential. You’ll definitely want to stick to a mouse for the level editor, though, but creating your own levels is fairly easy. It’s a pity that the game doesn’t have support for the Steam Workshop, as it would have made it much easier for users to share their levels.

Hocus is a nice and relaxing puzzle game that works just as well on PC as it did on mobile. It’s more of a game where you complete a couple of puzzles whenever you have a few spare minutes, which means it is probably better suited for mobile devices. However, it is also possible to get caught up in the puzzles and lose track of time as you work your way through them, so it doesn’t feel out of place on PC. It’s not a perfect game, the music and sounds are definitely not as relaxing as claimed and some of the levels are much easier than others, but it is hard to fault a title that offers so much entertainment for such a low price. If you love puzzle games and enjoy playing them on PC instead of mobile, then you really can’t go wrong with hocus.

System Requirements

  • OS: Windows XP SP3
  • Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0Ghz or equivalent
  • Memory: 2 GB RAM
  • Graphics: Intel Core HD Graphics 3000/4000, NVIDIA 8800 GT, ATI Radeon HD 4850 or better
  • DirectX: Version 9.0
  • Hard Drive: 3 GB available space
  • Sound Card: DirectX 9.0c compatible sound card
  • Additional Notes: NOT SUPPORTED: ATI Radeon X1600, Intel GMA950, NVIDIA Geforce 7050
  • OS: Windows 7, Windows 8
  • Processor: Intel Core i5 2.8Ghz or equivalent
  • Memory: 4 GB RAM
  • Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 450, AMD Radeon HD 5670 or better
  • DirectX: Version 9.0
  • Hard Drive: 3 GB available space
  • Sound Card: DirectX 9.0c compatible sound card
  • OS: Snow Leopard 10.6.8 or newer
  • Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0Ghz or equivalent
  • Memory: 3 GB RAM
  • Graphics: Intel Core HD Graphics 3000/4000, Nvidia GeForce GT 330M, ATI Radeon HD 4850 or better (ATI Radeon X1600 NOT SUPPORTED)
  • Hard Drive: 3 GB available space
  • Additional Notes: NOT SUPPORTED: ATI Radeon X1600, Intel GMA950
  • Processor: Intel Core i5 2.8Ghz or equivalent
  • Memory: 4 GB RAM
  • Graphics: GeForce GT 650M, AMD Radeon HD 6750M or better
  • OS: Ubuntu 12.04 or newer, other unsupported distros may work
  • Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0Ghz or equivalent
  • Memory: 3 GB RAM
  • Graphics: Intel Core HD Graphics 3000/4000, NVIDIA 8800 GT, ATI Radeon HD 4850 or better (Open Source Drivers NOT SUPPORTED)
  • Hard Drive: 3 GB available space
  • Sound Card: lib32-alsa-plugins or libasound2-plugins:i386 and libasound2-plugins-extra:i386 may be required.
  • Additional Notes: NOT SUPPORTED: ATI Radeon X1600, Intel GMA950, NVIDIA Geforce 7050
  • OS: Ubuntu 14.04
  • Processor: Intel Core i5 2.8Ghz or equivalent
  • Memory: 4 GB RAM
  • Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 450, AMD Radeon HD 5670 or better
  • Hard Drive: 3 GB available space

Related posts

Drakensang: The Dark Eye

Drakensang: The Dark Eye

Drakensang is one of those games that harkens back to the days of hardcore role playing with a party of characters and an epic quest. While it is great to see something like this in an age where dumbed down console ports are becoming the norm on PC it does require a considerable investment in time and patience from players. A good game, albeit somewhat generic. Gameplay: Definitely aimed at hardcore role playing fans. Graphics: Treads a fine line between colorful and realistic. Sound: The music is OK, but overall audio is average.

Go Home Dinosaurs!

Go Home Dinosaurs!

If you like Plants Vs Zombies then you will have a blast with Go Home Dinosaurs! There is a nice selection of units and levels are quite frantic. The sixty levels will fly by in the blink of an eye but achieving three steaks on each level provides some long term challenge. Gameplay: Simple but very entertaining and addictive. Graphics: While not spectacular the art style is very nice. Sound: Good.

The Falconers: Moonlight

The Falconers: Moonlight

Help Cassandra Winter save a small New Zealand town from a monster in this engrossing Visual Novel by Bionic Penguin. Instead of romance or fan-service, this title places the emphasis on action and intrigue. It is a little on the short side, but the unique setting and fascinating lore ensure that there is never a dull moment. Three different endings also provide the game with some replay value, so if you are a fan of the genre then this is definitely one to add to your library. Gameplay: The story will have you hooked from the start and never lets up. Graphics: Great character designs and good use of color. Sound: No voice acting and the music frequently just stops, but the sound effects are excellent.

Penumbra: Black Plague

Penumbra: Black Plague

Black Plague focusses on the best parts of the original game (the creepy atmosphere and physics based puzzles) while trimming the worst parts (the combat) making it a better experience overall. Playing the original is still required to make the most out of it and it is a little on the short side but it made me jump quite a few times which is commendable. Gameplay: Removing combat ramps up the atmosphere considerably. Graphics: Better looking and featuring more detail than the original. Sound: Solid voice acting and lots of creepy ambience.

Nightmares from the Deep 2: The Siren`s Call

Nightmares from the Deep 2: The Siren`s Call

Nightmares From The Deep 2 is a worthy follow up to the first game and once again stars the plucky museum curator, Sarah Black. This time Sarah has to contend with an isolated town full of cursed people who are slowly turning into sea critters. To break the curse Sarah will have to take down the corrupt mayor of the town, which is easier said than done seeing as he made a pact with Davy Jones. Fans of the original game will love Nightmares From The Deep 2 as it offers the same type of enjoyable and polished experience. Gameplay: Not that hard, but very enjoyable. Graphics: The backgrounds look great and the animations have been improved compared to the original. Sound: Great music and sound effects, but the voice acting could have been better in some spots.

Eventide 3: Legacy of Legends

Eventide 3: Legacy of Legends

Mary the botanist is back and this time it is her brother that is in need of rescuing. This means another adventure through exotic locations while encountering interesting creatures from Slavic mythology. Like previous titles in the series, Eventide 3 isn’t the longest or most challenging example of the genre, but makes up for it with its unique setting. Newcomers to the genre will get the most out of this game as it features quite a few minigames that are very familiar to veterans, but makes up for it with some nice hidden object scenes. The lush visuals and imaginative scenes also set this game apart from other titles. If you are a fan of the genre and want a relaxing adventure that will keep you busy for an evening or two, then Eventide 3 should be high on your wishlist. Gameplay: Not that challenging and the minigames could have benefited from some more originality, but the hidden object scenes are good. Graphics: The series has a reputation for great visuals and Eventide 3 doesn’t disappoint in this regard. Sound: Decent voice acting and some nice tunes.

Leave a comment

18 − two =