Papercraft-styled games remain a surprising rarity, despite the cult success of Tearaway and its PS4 remake. It’s been five years since the adventures of Iota/Atoi, so Kakehashi Games’ Hirogami serves as a welcome reminder of the striking impact of playable paper art. It’s a slight and breezy experience, but one with an intoxicating visual presentation.
You play Hiro, a master of folding, who must travel his kingdom and purge it of the blight that has weakened the sacred celestial crane. Despite the grandiose setting, there really isn’t much more story beyond that.
Hiro traverses an overworld (neatly designed as a diorama on a huge table), exchanging humorous banter with his village buddies, before entering stages and cleansing the blight from his land.
An action platformer with the emphasis on platforming, stages offer shifting perspectives and light combat. Hiro battles amorphous blobs called glitches and the corrupted forms of animals, who become chatty friends once freed from the blight.
Being the master of the fold, Hiro can also transform into these defeated animals to unlock new abilities and progress through obstacles. Each fold form has combat and movement utility, with some required for progression.
The armadillo rolls through obstacles, while the frog leaps over them. The ape can swing across levels with vines and also has the most useful melee for pummelling glitches into pixels.
Hiro can also transform into a sheet of paper and glide through tight spots or over gusts of wind. These transformations feel great to do and we never really got tired of the crisp sound effects of crumpling paper.
The platforming can be a bit stiff, with the frog form feeling especially heavy and unpredictable. Elsewhere, Hiro’s standard form has a double jump that’s almost imperceptible in the extra distance it affords.
Mechanical issues aside, Hirogami is still an accessible and visually sumptuous treat. It’s not a lengthy adventure, but there’s plenty of incentive to return to levels with new abilities, hunting for collectibles and secret areas.
Hirogami is a fine example of an underused aesthetic, and its beautifully styled origami world looks great on PS5. The platforming is a bit messy and there isn’t much variety on offer, but for those who prefer a bit more style than substance, it’s well worth a look.
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