Hitchhiker

About

"Hitchhiker" is a single-player mystery adventure game with an intriguing and emotional story. As a hitchhiker with no memory, you journey across a strange landscape in five rides with strangers, solving environmental puzzles and uncovering clues to reveal your past. Your conversations and choices with the drivers will shape your journey and reveal the truth behind your mysterious amnesia.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

65%

Audience ScoreBased on 124 reviews

story28 positive mentions

monetization4 negative mentions

The game features a unique and thought-provoking narrative that explores themes of self-discovery and human connection.
The voice acting and artistic presentation are well-executed, contributing to an immersive experience.
Some players found the surreal and philosophical elements engaging, providing a memorable journey despite its simplicity.

The ending is widely criticized for being unsatisfactory and lacking closure, leaving many players feeling disappointed.
Gameplay is minimal, with limited interactivity and choices that often feel inconsequential, leading to a sense of frustration.
The narrative can be confusing and disjointed, making it difficult for players to connect with the story or characters.

story
116 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
72%
3%
The story of "Hitchhiker" is often described as vague and disjointed, with many players feeling it lacks a coherent narrative and emotional depth. While some appreciate its surreal and philosophical elements, others criticize it for being overly abstract and failing to deliver on its premise of uncovering a backstory. Overall, the game presents a mix of intriguing moments and frustrating plot holes, leaving players divided on its effectiveness as a storytelling experience.
- “The storytelling is of top-notch level here, and strange but personal tales of courage and adventure, social musings and philosophical speculations are all found through the visually spectacular representations that you’ll get to experience on the ride.”
- “The graphics, voice actors, and storyline all provide enough to hold you through the slower parts of the game, while the storytelling tricks and surreal moments throughout each ride carry this game from a simple relaxing gameplay experience into a more curious and memorable journey.”
- “Surreal and thought-provoking, with phenomenal storytelling, it’s definitely worth a playthrough for those who like to ponder on things.”
- “They ultimately had no story worth telling and only vapid philosophical blather that they didn't bother to explain, clearly becoming another bad indie game that says 'the end is whatever you think it is, man.'”
- “The story was vague and obscure, but not in a way that drew me in, and there was seldom ever enough of a revelation that it felt worthwhile.”
- “The main story itself, however, feels a little too unsubstantial and nebulous to serve as an overarching narrative that connects all the pieces, especially since the ending is such a cliff-hanger.”
gameplay
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
9%
81%
9%
The gameplay is characterized by its extreme simplicity, primarily relying on point-and-click mechanics with minimal puzzles, which many players found unengaging and monotonous. While the narrative is profound and thought-provoking, it often overshadows the gameplay, leading to a feeling of incompleteness and a lack of adventure. Overall, the game prioritizes storytelling over traditional gameplay elements, which may appeal to some but leaves others feeling disappointed and underwhelmed.
- “The mechanics are simple point-and-click with a few puzzles sprinkled in.”
- “The graphics, voice actors, and storyline all provide enough to hold you through the slower parts of the game, while the storytelling tricks and surreal moments throughout each ride carry this game from a simple relaxing gameplay experience into a more curious and memorable journey.”
- “Would really recommend avoiding spoilers/let's plays as much as possible, the game is very light on actual gameplay but it uses what little it has very effectively with the goal of immersing the player into the narrative, which is the main sell of the game.”
- “The gameplay is as constrained as it could possibly be, and 'Hitchhiker' plays out a slow, meandering philosophical conversation about many existential topics that never seemed to come together in a coherent narrative.”
- “With no gameplay to speak of, and dialogue that kept losing me, having repetitive scenery only added to the monotony that this game soon became.”
- “The story is quite profound and does get you thinking and involved with it, but overall, in terms of gameplay, it feels unfinished - especially ride 3 - they have just avoided creating content that would have been more engaging and brought further options for gameplay and then just told you about what happened afterwards.”
emotional
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game elicits mixed reactions; some players feel manipulated and find the storytelling disjointed, while others appreciate its personal and meaningful narrative that can provoke genuine emotional responses, including tears. The voice acting has been criticized for lacking authenticity, yet the game is praised for its cleverness and ability to engage players on a deeper emotional level, appealing particularly to those who enjoy indie experiences focused on narrative over mechanics. Overall, it seems to cater to a niche audience that values emotional resonance in gaming.
- “But if you're like me and can appreciate a somewhat short, meaningful experience that asks a lot of the player mentally and emotionally rather than mechanically, this is a must try.”
- “It's personal, it's emotional, it's entirely human - with touches of the (super)natural.”
- “And, I can't believe a game actually made me cry.”
graphics
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
57%
21%
The graphics in the game are described as vibrant and artistic, enhancing the surreal and introspective journey of a cross-country drive. While the visuals contribute significantly to the storytelling experience, some players noted graphic glitches and seams. Overall, the graphics complement the game's narrative and create a soothing, dreamlike atmosphere.
- “The graphics, voice actors, and storyline all provide enough to hold you through the slower parts of the game, while the storytelling tricks and surreal moments throughout each ride carry this game from a simple relaxing gameplay experience into a more curious and memorable journey.”
- “The entire adventure takes place during a gorgeous cross-country drive – you move from golden fields of central California to the suburbs of Oregon to the never-ending desert that touches the sky in South Dakota and more. Simply riding and looking out of the window is a soothing, magical experience, but the true gem lies in the stories of the companions that all have very distinct visuals to go with them.”
- “Good for those who enjoy surreal worlds and dreamlike journeys, philosophical reveries (not the moody 'bring-you-down' kind, but the 'let me look at the stars and let my mind wander' kind), introspective mysteries that leave a lot to speculation, brilliant artwork (where the game itself is a work of art), and, of course, road trips.”
- “There are some graphic glitches and noticeable seams.”
- “Graphics is as big a part of this game as the narration.”
- “First person Kentucky Route Zero with colorful graphics.”
atmosphere
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
42%
25%
The atmosphere in the game is described as moderately engaging but ultimately lacking depth, with some reviewers noting it fails to evoke the same emotional resonance as titles like "Road 96" or "Life is Strange." While the sound design and voice acting contribute positively, the overall experience is seen as underwhelming, with many feeling it doesn't capture a compelling atmosphere.
- “The atmosphere, music, voice acting, and story made me finish the 4 hours in one go.”
- “It manages to be moderately atmospheric across the five scenes, but it’s not what I’d call photogenic.”
- “This sort of thing works nicely in Life is Strange where there is an atmosphere caught in the moment you want to hold onto, but I don’t see the appeal here aside from a toilet break.”
- “Things you interact with make sounds, like the dialpad tones on a phone, but there was very little that captured any sense of atmosphere for me.”
- “Rides is only a surface of this story for maybe a more dynamic and pensive atmosphere.”
music
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
42%
25%
The game's music has received mixed reviews, with some players finding it enjoyable during rides, while others criticize its placement during intermissions, leading to moments of silence. Many feel the soundtrack lacks memorability and could have enhanced the overall experience, but instead, it falls short of creating a lasting impression. Additionally, the voice acting has been noted as subpar, further detracting from the musical experience.
- “The atmosphere, music, voice acting, and story made me finish the 4 hours in one go.”
- “I found the rides themselves - the music, the scenery, and the delightfully sophisticated conversations - quite enjoyable.”
- “The game could have taken it on a whole other level and made a memorable kind of soundtrack that would beg to be downloaded and savored long after the journey ended, but it didn’t quite go there (or maybe wasn’t trying to in the first place).”
- “There is a soundtrack, but bafflingly most of it appears in intermissions, where for a moment the characters stop talking and you sit in silence just watching the scenery roll by.”
- “The voice acting is really bad, and the soundtrack is really weird.”
- “I immediately skipped on to get to the end, so I didn’t appreciate the music.”
monetization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization aspect of the game has received criticism primarily due to its high price tag and misleading advertising, which some users feel resembles that of low-quality match-three mobile games. This confusion has led to a reluctance to recommend the game.
- “The only reason I'm not recommending this game is because of the price tag and advertising.”
- “These tags can confuse you like a bad advertisement for match-three mobile games with different gameplay.”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, primarily due to lengthy and meandering dialogues that detract from the experience. While some appreciate the occasional profound insights, many feel that the repetitive nature of the conversations makes the grind feel unnecessarily drawn out. Despite this, some players persist for the sake of achievements.
- “I found this tedious within about 10 minutes, but I did pay for it, and like achievements, so I soldiered on until I completed it.”
- “Nearly this whole narrative is told through meandering dialogue with the respective drivers of the cars, who frequently ramble about their own lives speaking in metaphors that sometimes contain profound nuggets of wisdom, but which on the whole are tedious.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is consistently praised, with multiple users highlighting its comedic elements as a standout feature.
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Players find significant replayability in the game due to the engaging narrative and the challenge of uncovering the relevance of various elements, encouraging multiple playthroughs to fully understand the story.
- “Trying to piece together the narrative and figuring out what relevance certain things have has given me a lot of replay value.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users report experiencing graphic glitches and noticeable seams, indicating that the game's stability may be compromised by visual inconsistencies.
- “There are some graphic glitches and noticeable seams.”
- “There are some graphic glitches and noticeable seams.”