Horace is a heartwarming and beautifully crafted narrative based platforming adventure in which you take control of a naive young robot who is welcomed into the household of a caring family and learns about life.
In Horace you take control of Horace, a sentient, but naive little robot who moves in with a family in a large mansion. The father in the family in particular takes you under his wing and teaches you about “life, the universe, Douglas Adams and everything”, helping you to become more than just a robotic servant. You’re treated as one of the family and even have your own room, watch movies and play video games with other family members. It’s an idyllic life and you’re a happy little robot, but later on in the game things may take an apocalyptic turn…
The current build of Horace features around an hour’s worth of gameplay, featuring a narrative heavy start of the game and a couple of sections from later on in the game where things have gone awry. The narrative is wonderful, told though the charmingly naive eyes of Horace and is packed full of heartwarming and funny anecdotes relayed through beautiful pixel art animation.
The platforming sections in the early stages of the game are a little unimaginative (aside from two excellent rescue stages). However, once Horace picks up a gravity bending bowler hat and shoe combo later on in the game things get a whole lot more interesting and the level design gets far more inventive and challenging. Of particular note throughout the game are moments when when other humans are in real peril and you have to save them – adding a real sense of drama to the proceedings.
It’a a fantastic game with superb pixel art animation, some very creative level design and an interesting narrative with real heart behind it. It’s a joy spending time with Horace and seeing the world through his cheerful robotic eyes. Highly recommended.
Check Out a Gameplay Video Here
Download Horace Alpha Demo Here (Windows)