Game Reviews: Mysteries of the Afterlife and the Eerie Present

In a month rife with original indie games, including Animal Well and Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, there has seemingly been something for every player. The creativity continues with Hauntii, Crow Country and Paper Trail, even though one stumbles a bit.

Hauntii

The inventive characters in Hauntii speak few words, but those words can pierce. “I hate you,” one cute devil says after you climb meandering steps to reach him.

This 10-hour adventure game by the studio Moonloop can be slightly subversive as well, all the while musing upon what the afterlife means. Hauntii, a tiny, faceless Druid-esque being, embarks upon his trek energetically. But the point of his cowl hood droops behind his head, perhaps from the sheer weight of finding out he’s died.

In this invitingly artful, mostly monochromatic world, Hauntii soon meets an Eternian, seemingly an angel with flowing hair. Hauntii’s green eyes become wide with attraction. She lifts him to the heavens, where they ascend hand in hand to observe sparkling constellations — a wonderful representation of love at first sight.

As it can be with relationships, she leaves. To find her, it’s key to remember who you once were by collecting lustrous stars hidden among trees or locked away in cages. As you search, the characters encourage you to stay in their world, a place where you can always be safe. There’s nothing good where the Eternian is, they caution.

Yet it’s not safe where you are either.