Horace

82%
Game Brain Score Based on 534 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • music
Horace Game Cover
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.
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"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.

  • Nintendo Switch
  • PC
  • Play​station 4
  • Steam Deck
  • Windows
  • Xbox One
  • Play​Station
  • Xbox
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

82%
Audience ScoreBased on 534 reviews
story239 positive mentions
grinding12 negative mentions
  • Horace features a charming and emotional story that resonates with players, often evoking laughter and tears.
  • The gameplay is diverse and engaging, with a mix of challenging platforming, clever puzzles, and entertaining mini-games that keep the experience fresh.
  • The pixel art and soundtrack are beautifully crafted, enhancing the overall atmosphere and nostalgia of the game.
  • The game suffers from pacing issues, with lengthy and frequent cutscenes that can disrupt the flow of gameplay.
  • Some players find the difficulty spikes frustrating, particularly in later levels and during boss fights, which may deter casual gamers.
  • Technical issues, such as bugs and inconsistent controls, can detract from the overall experience and enjoyment of the game.
  • story464 mentions

    The story of "Horace" is widely regarded as emotional, charming, and filled with humor, often drawing players in with its heartfelt narrative about a sentient robot navigating a dystopian world. While many appreciate the depth and character development, some critiques highlight pacing issues due to lengthy cutscenes and a meandering plot that can detract from gameplay. Overall, the storytelling is seen as a significant strength, making it a compelling experience for those who enjoy narrative-driven games.

    • “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 great, and will make you smile, laugh, and at times bring a tear to your eye.”
    • “A fully realized, richly detailed story with many ups, downs, laughs, and tears.”
    • “Tldr: a mediocre platformer that can't pick a genre wrapped in a poorly written and cliché 'robofeels' story that can't keep track of its own themes, hiding behind some references to 70s and 80s arcade titles.”
    • “Apparently the game's developers didn't get the memo as you get literally hours of boring cinematic telling a very bland story in agonizing details.”
    • “The story itself is a weird meandering thing that keeps getting distracted and going off on bizarre tangents.”
  • gameplay307 mentions

    The gameplay in "Horace" is a mix of challenging platforming and innovative mechanics, including gravity-defying abilities that keep the experience fresh. While many players appreciate the variety and emotional storytelling, some criticize the pacing due to frequent cutscenes and a steep difficulty curve that can frustrate. Overall, the game offers a unique blend of engaging gameplay and narrative, though it may not appeal to everyone due to its uneven execution and reliance on retro references.

    • “The gameplay may not be for all, but I love it for what it is: an endearing storytelling adventure filled with platforming and adventure.”
    • “The tight challenging platforming that progressed throughout the game is only topped by the amazing narrative paired with varied gameplay.”
    • “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.”
    • “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.”
    • “Unfortunately all the energy spent on the cinematics was made at the detriment of the gameplay.”
    • “Bland gameplay with constant cutscene interruptions, which there are four and a half hours of, and all that is voiced by a text-to-speech program.”
  • music143 mentions

    The music in the game is a blend of retro-style remixes of classical pieces and original compositions, often praised for its charm and ability to enhance the atmosphere. However, some players find the repetitive loops and occasional technical issues, such as overlapping tracks, detract from the experience. Overall, while the soundtrack is generally well-received, opinions vary on its execution and impact on gameplay.

    • “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.”
    • “The story is both surprising and wholesome, there are a lot of mini games and the music fits the mood in each stage.”
    • “The gameplay, story, music, and the pixel graphics were done exceptionally well.”
    • “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.”
    • “A good deal of the chiptunes are fast looping cuts of classical music, which become really grating after a while.”
    • “The cut scenes' volume are too low most of the time and the music is too loud most of the time.”
  • emotional117 mentions

    The emotional aspect of "Horace" is widely praised for its touching and heartfelt narrative, which balances humor and poignant moments, often leading players to tears. While the story is engaging and filled with memorable characters, some reviewers noted pacing issues due to the frequent cutscenes that can disrupt gameplay flow. Overall, the game is celebrated for its unique storytelling and emotional depth, 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.”
    • “Whilst making me constantly laugh when playing, Horace knew exactly the right moments to add emotional beats and I'd be lying if I said I didn't tear up multiple times.”
  • humor84 mentions

    The humor in "Horace" is widely praised for its cleverness and charm, blending dark, dry British wit with heartfelt moments and nostalgic pop culture references. Players appreciate the game's ability to evoke laughter through its engaging storytelling and quirky character interactions, although some find the humor can be hit-or-miss, particularly for those unfamiliar with British culture. Overall, the game is seen as a delightful mix of fun and emotional depth, making it a standout in the platformer genre.

    • “It really is like a unification of Undertale's narrative and charm with Celeste's razor-sharp platformer design covered with a smattering of Gen X pop-cultural references while also bringing a ton of its own very unique and hilarious ideas to the table.”
    • “The storytelling is funny and deliberately silly, and the game is challenging with mostly pleasant shifts between various genres and eras.”
    • “I have audibly laughed out loud at least a dozen times from the hilarious narration - the story has already pulled me in and evoked many feels.”
  • graphics50 mentions

    The graphics of the game are widely praised for their beautiful pixel art style, which evokes nostalgia while incorporating modern design elements. Reviewers highlight the high-quality sprite work and visual effects, noting that the art direction is both charming and artful, despite some criticism regarding pixelation in close-up scenes. Overall, the visuals contribute significantly to the game's appeal, enhancing the gameplay and narrative experience.

    • “All throughout, the visuals are very good, from the high-effort and varied spritework to the various visual effects and manipulations that are applied both during gameplay and cutscene segments.”
    • “The platforming is tight, the mechanics are varied, the areas are well-designed and inventive, the graphics are gorgeous, the script goes from heart-wrenching to comedic and back again.”
    • “The art style is especially gorgeous in cutscenes.”
    • “Graphics are really really pixelated and when the camera is close (especially in some cutscenes) it can be too much on large screens, but otherwise the art is decent.”
    • “This game has a charming story, fun sense of humor, great overall aesthetic...but it is so friggin' tedious to play!”
    • “The graphics, well, they are 8-bit, but also some classic Sega arcade style ones (I love the Fantasy Zone gameplay) and it doesn't just use that; it is truly surprising.”
  • grinding12 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious, with repetitive challenges and poor level design that detracts from the overall experience. The lack of shortcuts or fast travel exacerbates the frustration, making gameplay feel like a chore rather than an enjoyable adventure. While the game boasts a charming story and aesthetic, the grinding elements lead to a sense of dragging and monotony, especially after several hours of play.

    • “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.”
    • “This game has a charming story, fun sense of humor, great overall aesthetic...but it is so friggin' tedious to play!”
    • “Unfortunately, the gameplay gets a bit tedious and the game felt like it was dragging on by hour 5.”
  • stability9 mentions

    The game's stability is marred by various issues, including inconsistent input interpretations, momentum problems when transitioning between surfaces, and occasional buggy behavior that can disrupt gameplay. Users report frustrating control glitches and audio issues, such as overlapping music tracks, which detract from the overall experience. Despite these flaws, some players still recommend the game, particularly for fans of indie titles.

    • “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.”
    • “Buggy music (two different songs playing simultaneously) sometimes ruins the mood during emotional cutscenes.”
  • optimization8 mentions

    The game's optimization is a mixed bag; while the custom 2.5D engine generally offers good performance, many minigames suffer from poor controls and performance issues, leading to frustrating gameplay. Additionally, players have reported a notable number of bugs that further detract from the overall experience.

    • “The in-game engine itself is pretty nice; it's a 2.5D engine, probably custom-made because it offers great performance.”
    • “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).”
  • atmosphere6 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is highly praised, with exceptional level design and a captivating soundtrack that enhances the experience across various cities and areas. Reviewers highlight how the music and art contribute significantly to the immersive environment, creating a rich and engaging atmosphere.

    • “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 development4 mentions

    Character development in "Horace" is highly praised, with reviewers noting that it excels alongside other game elements such as storytelling and worldbuilding. The game's characters are well-designed and contribute significantly to the overall experience, enhancing the emotional depth of the platformer and puzzle mechanics.

    • “In almost every way a video game can be good (controls, storytelling, music, level design, character development, variety, game mechanics, setpieces, humor, worldbuilding, etc.), Horace excels.”
    • “In order to describe the genre: it's a platformer/puzzle game, mixed with some Metroidvania mechanics, with beautiful pixel art, scenarios, and character design.”
  • monetization4 mentions

    The monetization aspect of the game is not explicitly discussed, but users express a desire for more advertising to increase its visibility, indicating that they believe the game deserves a larger audience. Overall, the focus seems to be on promoting the game rather than on monetization strategies.

Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

79% average critic score

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Play time

26hMedian play time
22hAverage play time
16-29hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 10 analyzed playthroughs

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