Hugo and Hugo 2 (PlayStation)
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NoW! LeT's Go TImBeR JuMpING!
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Hugo and Hugo 2 are action games developed and published by ITE Media. Two Hugo games for the PlayStation are compilation console remakes of six games released on Commodore 64 (only the first game), Amiga (only the first two games), MS-DOS, Macintosh and Microsoft Windows.
Hugo started out as a Danish game show created by ITE Media, where the player would call the show's Hotline, and if they were chosen, they would play the selected minigame by using the digit buttons on the phone while looking on their TV screen, like a video game. The series became really successful, managing to be aired in over 40 countries during its lifespan, and getting merchandise and games.
Why They Suck
- Generic stories. Mainly based on the vicissitudes of the family, where soon our antagonist, or more precisely the witch called Scylla kidnaps the family. The second game is practically the same. Apparently, ITE Media put together a quickly undemanding story to release production as quick as possible.
- Lazily made game covers.
- The first one only offers the silly face of a hero who escapes from an alternative world, destroying the large white screen/wall.
- And the second one depicts a hero again with a silly expression on his face who escapes from cave along with the accompanying wagon and bags with diamonds.
- Annoying voice acting. Hugo sounds like a bum, while sitting with a beer in a village grocery store, pretending to be autistic (it is even considered offensive to pretend to be autistic, as NOT ALL AUTISTS HAVE SERIOUS PROBLEMS).
- Abysmal graphics, especially in the "three-dimensional" levels.
- On a level in the mountains, from time to time you can see inefficient 3D elements that look terrible.
- Terrible looking sprites that might cause strong vomiting.
- Hugo looks like he was fried in a frying pan, put in the fridge, and spent several days in the river.
- Music is a feast for your ears (and not in a positive sense). You will only hear a cacophony compilation that you will forget faster than you're thinking.
- Ear-bleeding and cringe-worthy sound effects.
- Every time when you screw anything, you are rewarded with a cutscene where Hugo usually says something like "Something went wrong, better try again!".
- The cutscenes are terribly poor. You have the opportunity to see the artistry of graphic designers who have tried to combine several artistic styles, especially at the beginning:
- The trees, backgrounds and a house are two-dimensional.
- The trolls are three-dimensional models, which they try to combine with a cartoon-ish style.
- Unfunny cutscenes when the player screws up with something.
- The mini-games are boring and repetitive, which are randomly selected.
- The endings are unsatisfactory. In the first game, after you manage to finish all mini-games and reach into the Rope End, you have to choose which rope to pull (by pressing Square, Triangle, or Circle) in order to save Hugo's family.
- The best outcome is the ending where Scylla gets tied up, launched away from the cave via a springboard and the family is free from the cage. Afterwards, a cutscene of Hugo will plays, where he speaks to the player and congratulate them for saving the family and getting all Bonus Items (if the player did so, otherwise that cutscene won't play), and ending with the family sitting near a bonfire while Hugo tells them about his adventures in order to save them. Getting this ending will double (or even triple) the points you had, and an extra mini-game on the main menu, Magic Hands (if the player collected all Bonus Items).
- The neutral outcome is essentially the same like with the best outcome, though the differences are that Scylla escapes, you will get no point multiplier (or at least have your points doubled), and regardless if you got the Bonus Items, the bonus mini-game won't be unlocked.
- The worst outcome is Hugo getting caught in the trap, by also getting tied up, and saying "I'll be back!" before he gets launched away from the cave the same just like in the best outcome. This will cause you to lose half of the points you got, and worse, it returns you back to the start of the island. Even worse, the outcome is randomly choosen, regardless of which rope you pulled, so you might not get the one you expected, and if you're unlucky enough, you may even get the worst outcome twice, wasting even more time from you!
- The second game's ending is more unsatisfactory, as it's just Hugo escorting Hugolina. That's it. Nothing else.
- The games are extremely short. The first game can be completed in less than an hour if you manage to get the neutral or best outcome, and the second even less than half an hour.
The Only Redeeming Quality
- The games support Dutch, Portuguese and Nordic languages which is extremely rare for the PS1 standards.
Reception
The PlayStation remake of Hugo games received negative reviews. Thunderbolt gave for Hugo 2 a 1/10, summarizing: "Hugo 2 is an embarrassment. It appears that the production company was aiming for a very child friendly experience but even if I was eight years old, I definitely wouldn’t want to play this crap. It’s void of any kind of fun and will most likely leave you with a bitter taste in your mouth rather than any sense of satisfaction. If Atari decided it was best to bury all unsold copies of E.T in the Nevada desert, then by all means Hugo 2 should be cast into a volcano. Do the decent thing as a gamer and avoid this game at all costs, but if you do see it make sure you dispose of it in the nearest receptical". British YouTuber Pixel Pursuit gave for both games a 1/10, calling the first one worse PlayStation game than Bubsy 3D and the 2nd one probably the worst game he had ever played.
Videos
References
https://www.mobygames.com/game/playstation/hugo-2_/mobyrank
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