HAAK

Every now and then, a game comes out of nowhere and just gets it. HAAK is that game, a grimy, gorgeous, side-scrolling Metroidvania that hands you a hook and dares you to master it. And once you do? You’re not just playing a platformer anymore. You’re performing.

As the lone wanderer Haak, you carve a path through a sun-blasted cyber-wasteland filled with twitchy mutants, broken cities, and secrets layered like digital fossils. But it’s not just the setting that impresses, it’s the flow. That moment when you launch off a platform, hook-swing mid-air, dash through a barrier, and land a charged slash on a stunned boss? It hits like a caffeine rush straight to the soul.

Combat and traversal blur into a single motion ballet, and every upgrade you find, often tucked behind fiendishly hidden paths, feels like unlocking a new verb for the language of movement. Backtracking isn’t a chore here; it’s an invitation. You want to go back, just to ask the game: “What did I miss the first time?”

The story, while mostly background noise at first, blooms into something strange and tender by the end. And the difficulty options? Smartly tuned to let anyone see the credits, without dulling the sting for those who want the full punishment.

And when it’s all over, a mysterious judge named Ben Dover pops up to grade your performance. Yes, really.

HAAK isn’t just a game you play, it’s one you get lost in.

A hidden gem that deserves a spot right next to the greats it clearly reveres.