It’s a lovely day at the Halfhead family. Mom and dad love each other so much, they decide to have a baby. The stork arrives with their little miracle, a kid named Henry. What a lovely child, full of hope and curiosity! Mom and dad decide to go to sleep, leaving baby Henry to his own, in his crib. Henry is a curious child, who wants to explore the world, so that’s what he decides to do. And this is how the story of his life begins in his own “biographical” game, Henry Halfhead. Oh, I forgot to mention two things about Henry. First of all, he has the “power” to possess any object in front of him, poltergeist-style. The second thing… he is just half of a head, from the nose up.

Bro. I’m sorry. But this is just way too suggestive.

If there’s anything that can’t be said about Henry Halfhead, it’s that its premise isn’t creative. This is the reason I wanted to give this little indie a go – it just sounded different from anything else out there. I expected a more sandboxy and kooky take on the possession mechanics seen in Super Mario Odyssey, but with the focus on becoming objects and solving whatever kinds of puzzles the game would throw at me with their unique properties. In theory, that is kind of what this game has to offer. You can, indeed, possess pretty much anything onscreen, and try to use them in some way to progress the plot further. The thing is… well, the execution isn’t as sound as the elevator pitch. Maybe I expected too much from a small game from an indie studio? Maybe this is on me?

I was told to draw whatever came into my mind to complete this mission. So I did just that.

Henry Halfhead basically tells the entire life story of our titular body-deprived hero. You start off as a baby, then get into school, then start a job, and so on. The game isn’t exactly about puzzle-solving, but more about following a story casually narrated by a wholesome fella, basically telling us about Henry’s time as a curious baby, a mischievous student, a competent worker. Henry Halfhead is a “cozy”, “casual” game, so it never truly succeeds at using its interesting gimmick to come up with something more creative. You are usually relegated to doing banal stuff such as piling up furniture to make a tower, possessing a pair of scissors to open up a present, or becoming a pencil so you can solve a school assignment. The amount of optional things you can do isn’t insignifcant, but again, never complex or thought-provoking.

They let me be a knife. And I can’t stab a damn thing.

This could have been an interesting title if there were actually puzzles, goals, and something else of substance for you to do. Instead, what we have here is something that feels more like a tech demo. Minimalist in design; mechanics that are sound and work well, but are never realized to their full potential; a really short duration that, still, somehow, manages to overstay its welcome after a short while. It’s a concept I wish to see a bit more of in the future, but with actual meat and content to back its premise up.

Henry Halfhead is available now on PS5, Switch and PC.

Reviewed on PS5.

A copy of Henry Halfhead was provided by the publisher.