

The game doesn’t even give you as much as a hint as to what is going on at first, kicking you out right into the action after a brief tutorial explaining how to play. She is soon joined by two fireflies, one that guides her through the world of light and another that navigates obstacles in the shadows behind her. The game opens with the adorable, large headed little girl Mion waking from a some sort of slumber. It is still a fairly entertaining ride through to the end, but while it seems to mold itself like one of those stylized indie adventure games currently glutting your Steam library, it just doesn’t have the same heart and there is ultimately not enough substance to back up all the style. The fundamentals for an incredible experience are there, and yet htoL#NiQ never seems to quite capitalize on them. There is this beautiful, distinct art style that immediately evokes a sort of fairy tale whimsy and the mechanic of swapping between light and dark worlds would seemingly lead to some really interesting and clever puzzles. It does, however, give you the satisfaction of being able to beat one tough game.HtoL#NiQ: The Firefly Diary is brought to us by NISA and at first glance seems to have all the ingredients for something amazing.

Mion’s controls, while simple, leave you dying over and over again. The game had some great ideas, but it doesn’t leave you feeling like you want to go back and try that challenge again. HtoL#NiQ: The Firefly Diary is a fun little game but suffers from a few problems that can lead to lots of frustrations. The further you progress the darker things become. You have to avoid enemies and traps, but the game adds little elements to keep it interesting as you delve deeper into the dungeons. One boss I found myself dying a few dozens times was when I was trying to get off a box which felt like an eternity to finally complete. Bosses in the game can be tedious, thanks to Mion’s slow walk speed, or lack of response when you give her a command.
#Firefly diarly trial#
The puzzles in the game can be quite challenging and require a lot of patience and trial and error. Luckily the game also allows you to swap the controls to let you use the directional pad and buttons to do the game thing, which made the game a lot easier to play and enjoy. At first it was simple enough, but touching the rear screen for any reason would trigger the switch and made it very annoying. The rear touchscreen swaps into shadow mode where you can control the dark firefly, which allows you to traverse in the shadows. By tapping on an item, you can interact with it. The front screen of the Vita controls your main firefly which Mion follows. The original Japanese release of the game featured touch controls only.

You are treated to some of Mion’s memories and of her family. The story of htoL#NiQ: The Firefly Diary is told without words and instead is told by finding small sprouts. She is soon introduced to two fireflies who will help her survive this unknown deathtrap. Young Mion awakens alone with no memories. Behind the shadows the game has a very dark side which you must survive and solve while having patience.Īt the start of the game you awaken in a dark and desolate area. It’s a very odd but challenging puzzle game that at first glance looks cute and fun, featuring picture book-esque art style. HtoL#NiQ: The Firefly Diary (also known as Hotaru no Nikki: The Firefly Diary) is Nippon Ichi’s latest entry to the PlayStation Vita.
