Minimalism is something that always interests me; I’m fascinated by the end result of using less elements than the norm, with music, storytelling and video games, to name just three types of media.

Hook is as minimal as they come, even down to its rather generic name. A puzzle title in which you’ll need to clear the screen of lines by pressing a button (or multiple buttons) in the right order, you’ll also need to look out for lines obstructing others, or manipulating different elements on the stage to make sure you’re only moving the line (or lines) that can actually be cleared.

Move a line that is obstructed before it can disappear, and you’ll lose a life; on the earlier stages, this means restarting the stage entirely, but you’ll get more lives as the stages get increasingly layered and complex, with the challenge ramping up steadily, yet eventually becoming maddeningly convoluted in terms of the elements you’ll need to remove or bypass in order to succeed.

With no time limit, a genuinely stripped back aesthetic and the only punishment being to restart the stage you’re currently attempting if you fail, Hook: Complete Edition (which contains Hook and Hook 2, with hundreds of stages included), is a surprisingly relaxing and somewhat therapeutic experience.

Sure, it can sometimes seem like the puzzle you’re attempting is just too convoluted and complex by the time you reach the latter part of each game, but it can be tackled at your own pace, and that unhurried ambience is very welcome.

Hook: Complete Edition is a game that, for want of a better word, totally hooked me, and I didn’t feel any of the usual frustration I get with puzzle games of this nature.

If you give it a shot, no doubt it’ll Hook you too.

Many thanks to Ultimate Games for sending me a code for Hook: Complete Edition on the Xbox Series X for review purposes. It’s now available on Steam, Xbox and Switch, and it’s priced very reasonably indeed.

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