Henry Halfhead begins with our protagonist as a newborn baby, plotting his escape from his crib, to explore all the wonders of the world around him. His bedroom acts as a simple tutorial section where we gradually get to grips with the physics based gameplay, using Henry's momentum as a literal half a head, to roll around the environment. But Henry isn't just half a head; he has the unique ability to possess every moveable item around him. The more objects we possess and catalogue in the in menu collectible screen, the more we understand how to manipulate objects to interact with the world the developers have crafted. Like Henry, you begin to want to break out of his bedroom pen put up by his parents and explore the forbidden world.

You bounce from a book to a chair, to cutlery, eager to see how things would progress. Each level contains lovingly crafted rooms or scenes, that include small interactive optional challenges like building a tower out of the furnishings around you. But surprisingly, the game's narrative was what hooked me. What began as a rapid need to inhabit Henry's childlike mischief and wonder, turned into a sincerely heartfelt rumination on the different stages of life. The narrative team use Henry's whole life as emotional touchstones, like how work impacts adult friendships and how you can lose touch with your dreams and hobbies. It resembles the same emotional resonance I've come to expect from the imaginative works of Keita Takahashi. I instantly thought of his imperfect but enjoyable release from earlier in the year, To a T, which I appreciated it's portrayal of disability and friendship. Both are examples of how indie games often dare to say more in a few hours than some 30 hour experiences. Like it says about life, it's something to savour, no matter how bitesize.

That being said, Henry Halfhead isn't going to appeal to everyone. It's a thoughtful, semi-guided experience through Henry's life events. The simple gameplay mixes platforming and puzzle solving, that builds a little complexity but nothing I would consider to be a challenge. Rather, each scene contains a key objective, like one early game level sees Henry having to undo all of his birthday presents before his party to proceed. This keeps the story flowing, but it isn't until a few bigger levels that more optional objectives are included. I didn't find myself being disappointed, but I can imagine the more gameplay focused gamer being underwhelmed. These finally culminate into multi step objectives which were enjoyable, like cooking or working Henry's day job.

This is where the line between narrative and gameplay walks a tightrope between monotony and chilled. Without spoiling the scenes, I didn't think any of the gameplay overstayed it's welcome and only benefitted the story the Devs wanted to tell. Sure, it could've included more puzzles or life events, but with a small team, I think it would've only diluted the experience.

Outside of gameplay, the story is told by a British narrator who gives us a witty and informative commentary throughout the game. The writing uses humour and a compassionate tone as the narrator describes the simplist of actions. Although it kept me interested until the end, I would've preferred a little less narration.

We meet Henry at the beginning of his life, in the juvenile chaotic stage where all that matters to him is play. Rules don't account for much when Henry is exploring his environment, listening to the British narrator some might find funny and others grating. But I found the narration added to the experience, guiding you to the next objective whilst adding witty lines and offering remarks as you discover optional activities to do. It's a game that encourages unguided exploration, to find hidden collectibles or completing out of the box objectives to get a trophies or achievement.

The graphics are in a minimalist cartoon style with nice lighting and colours. But what is impressive, is the meticulousness the devs have gone through to animate the dozens of objects you can possess in the game.

The score compliments the relaxed nature of exploration, never taking centre stage from the solidly acted narrator. I personally enjoyed most of the narration as it added depth to Henry as a character without him saying a word. Also, the game has a few accessibility options like subtitles and simple and remapable controls.

While I wasn't astounded by the moment to moment gameplay of Henry Halfhead, I could look past the limited challenge and appreciate another example of impressive indie accomplishment in storytelling. That's why I find it hard to recommend to everyone. Anyone who solely plays gameplay focused games might find it overly simple and unfulfilling, but for those who want a unique game experience I often only find in indie games, shouldn't hesitate. Henry Halfhead is an introspective story that stays in your mind after playing, like To a T, or the fantastic What Remains of Edith Finch? Which if the lower entry price is appealing for a few hours, then I would say to give it a go.

review - Henry Halfhead

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