Hopefully quirky PlayStation-exclusive titles are interesting to you, as two of them are currently in development – Hohokum and Doki-Doki Universe.
Kicking things off with Hohokum, it is arriving on the PlayStation 4, PS3, and PS Vita in 2014. A Sony Santa Monica project, Hohokum is a collaboration between artist Richard Hogg and developer Honeyslug, who is based in London.
Taking control of a flying snake-like character, Hohokum emphasizes exploration and creativity, eliminating common video game tropes like being told to do something, fearing failure, and being challenged to earn progress. The game won’t be without direction thoughout as there will be goals, secrets, and Trophies, but Richard adds that “Hohokum is a playground, a place to wander about, even lose yourself in.”
Now looking at Doki-Doki Universe from HumaNature, which is founded by Greg Johnson who has worked on games like ToeJam & Earl, it is also showing up on the PlayStation 4, PS3, and PS Vita, but no date has been announced for this one.
Greg himself says that “it’s tough to describe Doki-Doki, because it’s actually a set of related products that will be released at the same time.” What you’ll be able to get first with Doki-Doki, is a free version of the game where you can fly around a Universe and take personality quizzes. This free download also includes the Doki-Doki Mail messaging app, something also available on mobile, enabling cross platform chat.
If you decide you like Doki-Doki after playing through it for a bit, the full game can be purchased, giving you the ability to land on planets and interact with the characters, with Greg calling it an “RPG/Simulation/Interactive Story” game.
With such a weird description given by Greg, we’ve decided to place the whole thing below, rather than breaking it up:
In Doki-Doki Universe, you’re a robot named Model QT377665, or QT3 for short (QT – get it?). Your human family said to wait here on this asteroid, and they would be right back to get you.
That was 11,432 days ago. Bummer.
To make matters worse, an alien that looks like a green hot-dog, named Alien Jeff, finds you and gives you some bad news: It turns out your model is getting recalled and scrapped, because you apparently don’t have enough “humanity”… whatever that is.
Alien Jeff has been assigned the task of discovering just how much “humanity” you are capable of, and reporting back to the company. So as you travel around the Universe on a giant flying pig (or whale, or poo, or whatever you choose) and visit themed planets (cute, scary, gross, robot, ice, etc.) you’ll interact with hundreds of some of the most bizarre characters you’ve ever heard of, and Alien Jeff will be watching you the whole time.
While you’re traveling the Universe, you’ll also stop at many tiny asteroids where you can take fun, visual personality tests. You can get a full personality report from the Therapist who lives on your home planet, which by the way, you get to decorate. You even get to visit your friend’s home planets and check out their personality reports.
Doki-Doki is a lot more than just a game. It’s a huge simulated “living” Universe of intriguing content, filled with interactive stories and self-discovery. From within Doki-Doki players can use Doki-Doki Mail that ‘magically’ animates anything you type, and lets you communicate in playfully expressive ways with friends who also have the game or the mobile app.
Are you interested in either of these titles? Let us know in the comments below.
