Horace

Horace is a pitch-perfect puzzle platformer that expertly balances addictive gameplay with its moving tale of a robot trying to discover himself in a world that makes no sense. It knows why we love video games, and it confirms we’re right to do so.

79%Game Brain Score

story, gameplay

grinding, optimization

79% User Score Based on 518 reviews

Critic Score 79%Based on 16 reviews

Platforms

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About

"Horace" is a single-player comedy platformer game with a splendid story, marvelous game mechanics, and hilarious, highly emotional moments. The game combines eccentric British humor with a cinematic narrative and nostalgic popular culture references from the 8 and 16-bit era. As the charming robot protagonist, players must learn to master their abilities, reunite with their family, and save mankind from destruction in this touching and humorous adventure.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

+14

79%

Audience ScoreBased on 518 reviews

story211 positive mentions

grinding9 negative mentions

Horace features a deeply engaging and emotional story that resonates with players, often evoking laughter and tears.
The platforming mechanics are unique and challenging, with a variety of gameplay elements that keep the experience fresh and interesting.
The game is filled with charming pixel art, a delightful soundtrack, and numerous pop culture references that enhance the overall experience.

The game suffers from an excessive number of unskippable cutscenes, which can disrupt the flow of gameplay and lead to frustration.
Some players find the difficulty spikes to be punishing, with certain sections feeling unfair or overly challenging.
The text-to-speech narration can become monotonous and detracts from the emotional impact of the story.

story
487 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
52%
4%
The story of *Horace* is a central aspect of the game, described as both charming and emotionally engaging, often drawing comparisons to classic British television and literature. Players appreciate its humor, depth, and the way it intertwines with the gameplay, although some criticize the pacing due to the abundance of cutscenes and lengthy narrative segments. Overall, the narrative is seen as a heartfelt journey that resonates with players, particularly those familiar with the cultural references embedded throughout.
- “The story is surprisingly emotional and great, and the gameplay is rather unique.”
- “Horace is a brilliant experience, with a heartwarming/breaking story that if you're reading this, and thinking if you should play it, then let me tell you, you should.”
- “The story is both surprising and wholesome, there are a lot of mini games and the music fits the mood in each stage.”
- “The story is constantly evolving and changing, and there's some very clever dialogue.”
- “The story is surprisingly long; there were at least three points I was expecting the game to end soon, but there was much more to come.”
- “The pacing of the story could not be better; it feels like you live a full life as Horace throughout the game, which makes it easy to get emotionally attached to the characters.”
gameplay
267 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
64%
4%
The gameplay in this title is characterized by a mix of platforming and innovative mechanics, such as gravity manipulation, which keeps the experience fresh and engaging over its lengthy runtime. While many players appreciate the variety and challenge, some criticize the frequent cutscenes that disrupt the flow and the occasional frustrating difficulty spikes. Overall, the game offers a unique blend of storytelling and gameplay, though opinions vary on its execution and pacing.
- “The gameplay is entertaining.”
- “The gameplay is a good platformer and evolves constantly while you're playing.”
- “The platforming is fun enough, introducing new mechanics as time goes on.”
- “The gameplay is around 25-30 hours which when is platforming is fun.”
- “The pacing is not good and the gameplay, while solid in many ways, isn't strong enough to carry it all the way through the narrative slog.”
- “Nearly chunk of gameplay is punctuated by long, slow-paced, unskippable cutscenes that really kill the flow of the gameplay.”
music
132 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
54%
2%
The music in the game is a standout feature, blending chiptune renditions of classical pieces with original compositions, creating a nostalgic yet engaging soundtrack. While many players appreciate the creativity and fitting atmosphere of the music, some find the repetitive loops and occasional distractions detract from the overall experience. Overall, the soundtrack is praised for its charm and ability to enhance the game's storytelling and gameplay.
- “The music beautifully blends original music by Paul Helman (the game's primary creator) and classical music together.”
- “Great game play, music (awesome chip tunes), funny, touching, sad in places, and utterly full of charm.”
- “The music is amazing, changing in whatever way it needs to depending on the scene or the place, with nice classical renditions to even some rock chiptunes which just makes it funnier.”
- “Pretty much the only place where this falls short is in the music.”
- “Most of the music is a bunch of classical music played like it was done by a low quality chipset, an obvious homage to the kind of music you'd hear on early ZX Spectrum/C64 games.”
- “Less than an hour in I already had a headache, but that may have also been from the incessantly loud sound effects or the audio blueballs looping classical music.”
emotional
92 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is widely praised for its touching and heartfelt narrative, with many players expressing deep emotional involvement and even moments of tears. While the story is often described as humorous and charming, some critiques mention pacing issues and occasional implausibility that can detract from the emotional impact. Overall, the game is recognized for its ability to balance fun gameplay with a genuinely moving storyline, making it a standout experience in the indie game scene.
- “I can assure that this game has one of the best and most emotional stories I've ever seen from an indie game (maybe even games overall).”
- “Horace is a brilliant experience, with a heartwarming/breaking story that if you're reading this, and thinking if you should play it, then let me tell you, you should.”
- “By the end I was emotionally invested in Horace's story and was sad when it came to an end.”
humor
86 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is widely praised for its cleverness and charm, often blending British wit with nostalgic pop culture references that resonate with players, particularly those familiar with the genre. While many find the humor to be genuinely funny and heartwarming, some critiques mention that the referential jokes can become repetitive and may not appeal to everyone. Overall, the game balances humor with emotional storytelling, creating a unique and engaging experience that leaves a lasting impression.
- “This game has great humor; it made me laugh at least 15 times.”
- “It's clear that real passion went into the creation of this game, and it was beautifully harnessed; it is genuinely funny, and parts of the story are quite touching.”
- “The pop culture and gaming references, written with heavy British influence, kept me laughing and entertained throughout.”
graphics
68 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
57%
4%
The graphics of the game have received a mixed but generally positive reception, with many praising the charming pixel art style and vibrant visuals that evoke nostalgia for classic games. While some players found the graphics to be visually appealing and well-executed, others criticized the pixelation and close-up views as difficult to navigate, particularly on larger screens. Overall, the art direction is seen as a strong aspect of the game, contributing to its unique aesthetic and immersive storytelling.
- “Absolutely outstanding, charming graphics and story. You get a great and tough platformer with loads of fun references to so many random and fun things.”
- “All throughout, the visuals are very good, from the high-effort and varied sprite work to the various visual effects and manipulations that are applied both during gameplay and cutscene segments.”
- “Beautiful graphics, great gameplay, fun minigames, and a compelling storyline.”
- “They chose to use obsolete retro pixel 'art' as a substitute for contemporary PC graphics.”
- “As for graphics and music - they try to emulate ye olde games but the result is ugly.”
- “I had to stop after the first ~20 minutes due to the very zoomed-in pixel graphics on my very close 23" monitor.”
grinding
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players frequently criticize the grinding aspect of the game, citing tedious cut scenes that cannot be skipped and the need for excessive backtracking without fast-travel options. Many find the gameplay repetitive and frustrating, with poorly designed puzzles and mechanics that contribute to a sense of dragging on, making the overall experience feel like a chore rather than an engaging adventure. Despite its charming story and aesthetics, the grindy elements detract significantly from enjoyment.
- “Life is grindy enough as it is, please don't put that in my games too.”
- “Then, to add insult to injury, the player must backtrack the whole way, repeating the tedious challenges they faced on the way there, without any sort of shortcut or fast-travel opened in light of their having completed those challenges already.”
- “Unfortunately, the gameplay gets a bit tedious and the game felt like it was dragging on by hour 5.”
optimization
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
38%
38%
Overall, the game's optimization is mixed; while the custom 2.5D engine delivers good performance in many areas, players report significant control issues and bugs in certain minigames that hinder progress. Some users experienced performance drops, even on capable systems, but others noted no issues at all, suggesting variability in optimization across different setups.
- “The in-game engine itself is pretty nice; it's a 2.5D engine, probably custom-made because it offers great performance.”
- “As far as performance and bugs, I had no issues whatsoever.”
- “Some minigames are quite easy, but that's a small minority; most of them control horribly, and you tend to have poor performance at those, which you have to beat in order to continue.”
- “There's also a decent amount of bugs, and the game's performance manages to chug in more than a few areas (and this is a computer that runs Path of Exile and Monster Hunter World).”
- “I think every screen/room in this game has been optimized for speedrunning.”
stability
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is marred by inconsistent input recognition, particularly near platform edges and during transitions between surfaces, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences. Users report issues with controls, including delayed or ignored inputs, and occasional buggy behavior, particularly in mandatory minigames that detract from overall enjoyment. While major bugs are rare, the presence of audio glitches and visual inconsistencies further undermine the game's stability.
- “Questionable interpretations of inputs near platform corners, arbitrary retention or cancellation of momentum when moving between surfaces of different orientations, finicky short-hop inputs, visually inconsistent hurtboxes, and admittedly rare actual buggy behavior all detract from the experience.”
- “Controls tend to be buggy and out of place in certain moments; they could really get in the way of game progression.”
- “I say buggy because my inputs unpredictably varied between correct, delayed, or ignored.”
atmosphere
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
The atmosphere of the game receives mixed reviews; while some find it bland and unengaging, others praise the exceptional music and art that enhance the overall experience. The soundtrack is particularly highlighted for its ability to enrich the various cities and environments, contributing positively to the game's ambiance.
- “The gameplay and level design is exceptional and the music fits well with the atmosphere.”
- “Nothing but praise for the game's soundtrack, art, and atmosphere.”
- “Apart from gameplay, the music is amazing to listen to as it breathes atmosphere into the many cities and areas you visit.”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Character development in "Horace" is highly praised, with users noting its excellence alongside other game elements such as storytelling and worldbuilding. The game features a rich narrative that enhances the player's connection to the characters, contributing to an engaging overall experience.
- “In almost every way a video game can be good (controls, storytelling, music, level design, character development, variety, game mechanics, set pieces, humor, worldbuilding, etc.), Horace excels.”
- “It's a platformer/puzzle game mixed with some Metroidvania mechanics, featuring beautiful pixel art, scenarios, and character design.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
150%
150%
Overall, the game's replayability is considered limited, with players feeling that once they achieve 100% completion, there is little motivation to revisit it. While some may enjoy watching others play, the lack of compelling reasons to replay or backtrack diminishes its long-term appeal.
- “The replay value is high; even after completing it 100%, I still enjoy watching my friends play and react to it. Who knows, I might dive back in someday!”
- “Each playthrough offers new experiences and surprises, making it hard to resist coming back for more.”
- “The game has so many different paths and choices that every playthrough feels fresh and exciting.”
- “The replay value is low; once you achieve 100% completion, you may not feel inclined to play it again. I might watch my friends play and react to it, but I doubt I'll return to it myself.”
- “The backtracking and replayability are honestly lacking. By the time you reach the end, the motivation to finish everything else diminishes significantly compared to earlier in the game, especially when you find out that cleaning up a million things is optional.”
- “After completing the game, I found little incentive to replay it. The experience felt complete, and there wasn't much left to explore or discover.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization aspect of the game is viewed positively, with players appreciating its adventure theme and mystery elements, but there is a strong desire for increased advertising to enhance its visibility and reach.