Hamstermind Review | Dial of Rodentsy

Hamstermind is an intriguing puzzle game from studio Righteous Tree that engages players within seconds of booting up the game. You play as Professor Hamster Jones, who curiously enough looks like the spitting image of Indiana Jones…but as an adorable hamster version of the character. I was immediately interested in seeing what this adventure had to offer, and by the end, was happy I stayed for the ride.

As the game opens up, Hamster Jones receives a mysterious package from a djinn-looking cat creature named Charaon. In the opening cinematic of the game, Charaon challenges Hamster Jones to solve the mysteries of a pyramid, all of which was spoken in French - the studio’s origin. Though the premise wasn’t too in-depth, it provided just enough context to propel the mysteries and puzzles towards the forefront of the game.

As quickly as the game started, I was thrust into a mysterious pyramid, along with Jones’s cohort of compatriots, where each of them had their own in-game focus. Chris Eratops, a mild mannered triceratops, for example, focuses on finding weak spots in the pyramid. This group of characters are sprinkled throughout the adventure and can always be found in your home base, which is also the top of the pyramid. Every so often, the game guides you back to this home base for additional story bits and lore hints, but nothing too much that will bog you down if you just want to get to the next puzzle.

The character designs and environmental artistries are a fun throwback to the earlier 2000’s console games. When the characters spoke, 2D drawings emerged, but within the 3D environment, a rendering of them also appeared. Each character was seen as distinct, both visually and in personality, and only furthered the appeal of the game.

The main highlight of the game is, of course, the puzzles within Hamstermind. Each room consists of at least one puzzle, however nearly every room has at least one additional mystery to uncover. Hamstermind challenges players to solve puzzles by rotating giant tiles within each room and collecting a glowing orb. These orbs, once collected, will unlock another room and continue this process. In order to rotate these giant tiles, Hamster Jones must be oriented in the space. So if a room has four giant tiles, Jones can stand in one of them and rotate it to move into a different tile. Eventually, you move the tiles forward and backward, finding an optimal path to the glowing orb and exiting the space.

Happily, these weren’t the only puzzles found within Hamstermind. One of my favorite puzzles within the game focused on manipulating the movement of an electronic scarab across a coordinate grid. Placing various nodes allowed the scarab to change directions and land on various impact sites. Once the electronic bug hits all the points, then a new pathway unlocks. These sorts of puzzles continued the theme of identifying a pattern and solving the pathway, but offered a new lens that made it distinct from the main tile puzzles. There are also several move variations of puzzles within the game, but I’ll leave you with that to find for yourself. It is worth noting that certain puzzles earn you a certain currency that will unlock various hats for Jones - a fun little nod to the whimsy and cuteness of the game.

The first half of the game, I was happily buzzing through these puzzles, finding the solutions after a few moments of pondering. The briskness of the game was a fun romp around the pyramid, occasionally finding some clues to the bigger picture surrounding the lore of the game. However, there eventually came a moment where the difficulty seemed to have spiked, and the easy-going vibes of the puzzles took a hard stop. I didn’t enjoy my time any less, but the random spikes in difficulty pulled me out of the momentum I was building throughout the game. Instead of laboring the issue further, I did as the game suggested - I had to walk away for a bit and relax.

Unfortunately, once I reopened the game, I was back at the top of the pyramid instead of the room I was working in. Since I wasn’t keeping track of what room I was in, and there eventually became several branching paths, I spent the first five minutes going in and out of each room looking for the room where I stopped my last game session. Eventually, I found the room, and after some more brainsmashing was finally able to move forward into the game.

Hamstermind also has inconsistent and even frustrating hints. On more than one occasion, one of the hints stated that you can move the tiles around, which is literally the premise of the main puzzles of the game. I wasn’t sure if that was meant to be a humorous nod or not, but in the room that gave me the largest frustrations… it did not.

With all this, I eventually rolled credits on the game, satisfied with my experience. Surprisingly, Hamstermind has further puzzles beyond the base game. Though I am not sure how in-depth the post-game is, it was enough to entice me to continue playing the game and discover more than just a simple conclusion…

Breakdown

Game: Hamstermind

Developer: Righteous Tree

Publisher: Righteous Tree

Availability: PC

Game Length: 8+ hours

Accessibility: N/A

Final Thoughts

Hamstermind is an intriguing puzzle game with plenty of heart, personality, and appeal. The easy-going vibes with a lingering mystery offered a fun dynamic that kept the momentum going. Though there is still more to discover after the main ending, not all players will feel the pull to go further. However, I look forward to seeing what other mysteries can be unearthed in the ancient tomb.

Key provided by Righteous Tree. Reviewed on PC.