Game Review: ‘Hirogami’ Offers Engaging Yet Relaxing Gameplay
Every gamer needs that one relaxing game that gives you a lot of satisfaction but doesn’t do everything for you. One of those games is the recently released Hirogami from Kakehashi Games. It’s a 3D action-platformer set in an origami world where every rock, tree, element, and creature is made of folded paper. You play as Hiro, an origami adept who can “fold” into different forms to move and fight by using his fan, and try to solve problems of the mystical world of Papyrunia.
What immediately stands out from the beginning is how described, developed, and explored the element of origami is in this world. Hiro’s fan isn’t just a weapon that he uses to defeat enemies. It’s a symbol of folding and unfolding, the push-and-pull, wrinkle and smooth, and more, which symbolizes “the ways of the paper.”
[Note: While I am reviewing this game independently and honestly, it should be noted that it has been provided to me by Kakehashi Games for the purpose of this review. Warning: Light spoilers from Hirogami are below!]
The story and world of Hirogami
Hirogami keeps its story short and to the point. A digital threat called “Blight” has found its way into the paper realm of Papyrunia, corrupting wild creatures and changing the world into evil. Hiro sets out to restore the region to bring back its glory and to restore the spirit and history of Papyrunia. The narrative of the game is less about plot twists, evil schemes of crazy villains, or big fights straight from God of War. It’s more about the tone of the game, which is gentle, calm, blessed, and focused on the act of journey and finding beauty.
The game’s writing doesn’t give you much backstory or lore of Papyrunia, but instead, it lets the environment, NPCs, and your own mind do the work. A destroyed bridge, a painted mural, or broken antiques say more than a thousand words on paper. That minimalism gives the story room to breathe around the visuals.
Making the Blight a digital interference villain in a natural “old-school” paper world is a neat thematic contrast. When you think about it, it is very modern, because machines are overtaking physical papers, there are fewer and fewer places where you can pay with cash, and everything is getting digitalized. It just speaks for itself.
The main part of the story is consistent from start to finish. You have to fix the world, quiet the noise, remember what the world looked like before it was digitalized, and stay true to yourself.
Uniquely challenging puzzles and gameplay from Kakehashi Games
Hirogami’s gameplay is all about switching forms and finding the best way to progress through the story. We have to go through various movement challenges, solve puzzles, and defeat enemies in fights. Hiro’s base stance uses his fan to swipe, parry, and create gusts that hurt enemies. You may think it’s just a standard melee/range weapon, but it gets more interesting as you unlock the ability to fold into different shapes.
The armadillo form grants you the ability to gain rolling momentum and navigate faster. The Mighty Ape allows you to lift heavy objects, swing, climb, and crush enemies with powerful heavy attacks. And the other one, frog, allows you to jump to higher places and crush foes using jumps.
Discovering new fold forms is always a small, nice moment that you appreciate, because it automatically allows you to go back and rediscover some places you weren’t able to access before. The controls are responsive enough to support the ambition and initial vision of the gameplay, but they’re not flawless. Combat is light, but it matters because this isn’t an action game with boss fights every 30 minutes.
What I liked most about the gameplay of Hirogami is the design of the puzzle levels. They are not hard, but they are not too easy either. For example, in one place you’ll have to redirect airflow to carry your paper form, stack paper blocks in a specific direction so you can go further in the area, or reconfigure certain mechanisms so you’ll be able to solve the puzzle. That said, a few late puzzles are focused on forcing you to swap between different forms, and with a clock timer running. That requires fast thinking and analyzing each step so you can succeed. But the overall satisfaction of a quick time event moment is real, and the angry emotions when you fail are real, too.
Boss encounters in Hirogami continue the idea of “the less angry layer gets, the better” approach that certain studios decided to adopt. Each fight is thematic, not overly long, and has its own “difficulty,” which suits the game. However, sometimes the hitboxes and damage you receive or give can vary due to luck or the game itself.
Structurally, the game is made to let you visit different regions, have short or long combat moments, and let you pick optional mini-challenges with some rewards. These side activities, like time trials, precision gliding courses, and collectible hunts hidden in some hard-to-notice places, are a lot of fun and satisfying when discovered. They encourage you to master each form of Hiro’s “folding ability” rather than just unlocking them and pretending like you know everything to finish the game.
It’s worth mentioning that Hirogami is not a long game. It took me a few hours to finish it, but it wasn’t more than 10 hours, because I wasn’t speedrunning or leaving all side quests and areas uncompleted. I’d say that the development of the game, the upgrades you get, and the evolution of it fit the length of the game quite well.
Final thoughts on Hirogami from Kakehashi Games
Hirogami is the definition of a strong concept game that achieves its goals by pushing hard against big expectations. As a piece of visual design, it’s one of the most appealing games of the year. It’s cohesive and carefully creates the origami world. The art isn’t just a theme but part of the story and gameplay. The story is gentle and well-matched to the game’s aesthetics.
Whether Hirogami is for you depends on what you value most. If you’re more of a gamer who loves art direction and travelling through creative, beautiful worlds above all else, you’ll find plenty to love. The world of Hirogami invites you to take a closer look at the aesthetics at every turn. Hirogami is a beautiful, worthwhile experiment that occasionally tries to do more than it intended. There’s a clear line from the moment we start playing the game up until the end credits.
My rating for this game: 4/5
In a crowded release window with numerous games that came out at the beginning of September, Hirogami’s refusal to step aside, and remain with its original release date, was a good decision. It’s a game about standing against the odds that are not in your favor, insisting that crafting your own way through the story still matters, and it’s another proof that we need more relaxing games like this.
Hirogami is now available to play on Steam and Playstation 5.
Also check out: Game Review: Hell Is Us
