At a quick glance of the upcoming title, Hoa, you’d never know you weren’t actually looking at a Studio Ghibli movie. That, however, is no doubt intentional.
Inspired by the hand-painted style of Studio Ghibli, Hoa - from Skrollcat Studio - features absolutely gorgeous environments and art design, at least from the brief amount of footage we’ve been able to see so far.
A 30-second clip of the game was originally posted to YouTube, showing off an enchanting forest from what looks like the perspective of a small woodland creature. This makes sense given the playable character - presumably the titular Hoa - is about the same size as a ladybug; small enough to jump from leaf to leaf in a whimsical, floaty sort of way.
More footage of the game was featured on the Wholesome Direct - Indie Game Showcase, showcasing Hoa resting atop a leaf floating on some water before reaching a beach and hopping out onto the land.
The game is a side-scrolling adventure platformer with a relaxing atmosphere and soundtrack, but we don’t have much else to go on at this point other than its planned release is sometime in late 2020 for PC and Nintendo Switch.
Ghibli-inspired anything is always alright with us. Given what we’ve already seen, we’ll be watching for more Hoa updates with great interest.
