Airhead Review (PS5)

Life without a head can be challenging, but as the strange hero of Airhead will find out, life with a head can be even harder. With its instantly recognizable visual style, puzzle platforming gameplay and light Metroidvania elements, the game developed by Ocato should be a breath of fresh air for the fans of puzzle games.

The game begins in an alien environment without too many explanations. Things will not get clearer, since instead of telling a comprehensive story, Airhead focuses on the symbiosis of two different creatures, that discover that their only chance for survival is through an unusual symbiosis.

You will start out as a headless body, wandering around a map that immediately makes you think about a Metroidvania game. After the first few minutes when you learn the basic controls, you will stumble upon a head and your true journey will begin.

Without any precaution as you stumble upon the alien head, you will put it on, and your life will instantly become more complicated. While the body does not need any maintenance and can exist on its own, the head needs a constant supply of air. As such your movement will be limited between tanks filled with various gases that will feel the literally empty head.

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While oxygen is needed for survival, a helium like gas will help you float to platforms situated at greater heights. The gas recipients also serve as auto save points. If you run out of oxygen or fail, you will respawn at the last tank you have activated. Alternatively, if you feel like you messed up you can manually choose to restart from the last checkpoint.

Since there is no manual save/load option so you will have to carefully explore the map and solve various puzzles in order to advance. Most of these brain teasers involve manipulating correctly your head: detaching it in order to explore underwater areas, inflate it with the correct gas to flow, or just putting it down so you can access areas with low ceilings.

Next to the verticality this mechanism adds to the game it also imprints a sense of urgency, since you will constantly lose air and you will always work against the clock to figure out puzzles and get to the next air supply in time. It is ironic how your life was easier alone, but you cannot escape the alien caves without the symbiosis between the two.

Along the way puzzles will become more complex and will involve other creatures such as the Airhunters and manipulating other objects than just your head. Also, while solving many platformer sections you will have to take into consideration physics. For example, a wedge-shaped boulder when placed at an angle will slowly slide down adding another time constraining criteria to the equation.

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Airhead will challenge your creativity and your reflexes, often forcing you to think outside the box. You will also have to explore the map thoroughly, discovering gradually new routes even in areas previously visited. Also, there are hidden nooks and crannies that force you to take a detour from the obvious path if you want to discover them.

If you get lost or stuck, there is a hint system in place to help you out. Some of the puzzles will feel fiendish due to the airtight coordination you have to pull off, at the same time racing against the clock to not lose your air supply. The length of the game is skill dependent, but once you figure out what needs to be done Airhead is actually shorter than a couple of hours.

In case you missed some collectibles or hidden elements, there might be a bit of a reason to replay, but since solving the puzzles is the main motivation, the replay value of Airhead is quite limited. Another problem is the hint system that actually is not really useful when it comes to more complex puzzles in the game.

The visual style is peculiar and although is not very complex, it is easily recognizable and creates the perfect alien atmosphere. The contrasting colors and the use of simple shapes create a unique world, in which the alien creatures fit perfectly. There are no dialogues, and the soundtrack is nothing to phone home about.

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The Good

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