Game Review: I, Hope (Xbox One)

I, Hope deserves your support for one very important reason. 100% of the proceeds through sales goes to the GameChanger Charity. An organisation that supports children fighting cancer and other life-threatening diseases.

Like the charity I, Hope is all about support and the story told throughout sits in line with that aspect. A young girl named Hope is forced to fight against an evil monster known as ‘Cancer’ which has infected her island home. It’s a wonderful idea and worthy of picking up just so you can give support to an important charity. If we were reviewing it on the heart, kindness, support shown and given for children going through a horrendous time it would get 10/10.

We would ask that before you read on…go and buy it. It deserves the sales for the reasons said above. Find out more about Gamechanger here.

However, we are here to review the game, not the message.

Unfortunately as a game I, Hope massively misses the mark. It’s frustrating, ugly to look at, buggy and just not much fun to play. It’s a sad thing to have to report but simply put I, Hope is not a good game.

A 3D platformer, players take control of Hope. The aim of the game is to visit different islands and find special weapons that can be used to defeat Cancer. Items such as the Goggles of Knowledge or the Gloves of Strength. Each has their own ability that can help Hope progress further. Although most have very limited use and there is no need for backtracking to find newly unlocked areas.

Hope carries a staff that is used as a melee weapon to fight cancer infected wildlife. Beat the cancerous cells out of the animals and then draw it into her staff whereupon it can be used as a projectile. An easy system to understand and very rarely taxing with only a handle of enemies requiring you to use Hope’s dodging roll.

Combat is just not done very well at all. Poor hit detection is one problem and the lack of a lock-on feature is another. It’s not a difficult system to use but these little misses just add to the overall frustration felt while playing I, Hope.

These combat complaints and issues with controlling Hope really rear their ugly heads during boss battles. At the end of each island you’ll face off against a Cancer tentacle and have to defeat it following set patterns using the item you’ve collected on that island. There is no variation in attacks and it quickly becomes monotonous. Especially when you reach the final boss only to discover it’s just a repeat of each boss you’ve fought already. Baring one final, short and mostly non-interactive finale after they have been defeated.

To add some longevity and exploration to each island level, there are also four letters hidden throughout that spell out ‘hope’. Collecting each of these letters will unlock a new song that can be listened to in the Cave of Hope.

It sounds like it should be relaxing and fun but it isn’t. After a very lengthy tutorial, you’re suddenly dropped into some tricky platforming sections particularly on the third and fourth island. These might not have been too bad had it not been for Hope’s floaty jumping making sticking a landing really tough.

The generous checkpoint system won’t alleviate the frustration felt. Nor the feeling of boredom as even the puzzles fail to impress. As you play on, you’re waiting for a moment to really shine and it never comes. The visuals are dull and plain for the most part. The music is sweet but unmemorable and it can be completed in 2 hours max. It’s such an underwhelming game and no amount of good intentions can change that.

Regardless, you should pick up I, Hope up. Simply because it’s a wonderful idea and linked to charity work that really makes a difference.