After Chess Brain: Dark Troops failed to succeed with a fairly interesting twist on the classic board, developer Caio Flavio is back for another foray into the puzzle market. This time it’s the chance for HoneyLand to shine; a supposedly charming puzzler that’s also advertised as possessing some kind of turn-based strategy aspect. That’s surely enough to pique anyone’s interest.
Well don’t get too excited just yet as, even as a budget title, HoneyLand doesn’t quite seem a worthwhile venture.
Meet Mr. Fluff, a bear with an enormous appetite who’s on a mission to drink up all the honey on the island. The ultimate dream however, is for him to reach the honey volcano, where satisfaction and happiness for this hungry furry chap will be found. None of that is expressed too well in HoneyLand itself though. As a large proportion of puzzle games aren’t renowned for having solid narratives, it’s not too much of a disappointment to see a lack of storytelling. Perhaps the puzzling mechanics will more than make up for such deficiencies.
There are thirty levels to delve into, with the objective being to guide Mr. Fluff towards a jar of honey. Rather than simply controlling him, you’re given a selection of cards to choose from and these have a directional arrow upon them, as well as a number representing the number of steps. For example, it might show an arrow forward and the number two, which means moving two tiles whichever way the bear is facing.
HoneyLand is very straightforward initially, with a small number of cards and a relatively uncomplicated route to follow. The first idea introduced in order to make things more difficult is by increasing the amount of tiles to traverse and providing a greater selection of cards. Unfortunately it also creates a host of illogical solutions that you have to come up with to progress. You see, not all the cards are going to be used in each level, nor are those triggered necessarily going to be used in a usual manner.
Having red herring cards I understand to a degree, but the bizarre way in which certain actions must be performed to complete a level merely highlights the nonsensical puzzles. I’m talking about selecting a card causing you to go backwards two steps to turn our protagonist around, without actually moving any spaces because it’s a dead end, so that you can then pick another backwards card to move four tiles along the path. All this does is promote guesswork and occasional frustration.
There are other features that come into play over time, however they aren’t utilised well either. The ability to jump across a gap or over an obstacle is added to the array of cards, but that’s also actioned for manoeuvring across an extra regular tile, rendering its whole gimmick a bit pointless. And then there are levels with additional cards available to pick up by landing on their space. You would expect these to be vital, when in reality a fair few can be totally ignored.
Despite the lack of logic throughout the majority of HoneyLand, it’s likely you’ll still fudge your way to a full completion in under an hour. That’s also factoring in the possibility of a progression wiping bug akin to the one I encountered. On the plus side, there’s 2000 Gamerscore available to reward your efforts, but it still feels like a small consolation for having to experience these puzzles.
In terms of visuals, Mr.Fluff is possibly the only positive as he does look a tad cute from far away. Everything else is below par and rough around the edges, with pretty rubbish textures in place for the environments. Take the lava floor as an example, it’s basically a red tile that floats up and down a little, which is just one of the aesthetically unappealing ideas. Whether any of that should put you off in the grand scheme of things is a moot point thanks to the other failings.
Overall, HoneyLand is a budget game that leaves a bitter taste due to a series of illogical puzzles. While the initial concept is easy to grasp, every attempt to make matters more complex ultimately introduces flaws. If there’s no real logic to solutions, then it’s difficult to become elated upon success because of an overwhelming amount of trial and error. And that’s why even at a low price, I can’t suggest a purchase, unless it’s solely to boost your Gamerscore.
