Game: Ultra Hat Dimension!
Genre: Puzzle, Adventure
System: Nintendo Switch (also on PC, PS4 and Xbox One)
Developer|Publisher: Kitsune Games | Ratalaika Games
Age Rating: EU 7+ | US Everyone
Price: UK £4.99 | EU € 4,99 | AU $7.99 | CA $6.29 | US $4.99
Release Date: July 17rd 2020
Review code provided with many thanks to Ratalaika Games
Grab your Hat
Times are a bit tough right now in the world and I think it really helps to be able to step back from all the stress and just escape into something entertaining. Video games certainly have that magical ability to whisk you away to fantasy worlds for a short spell and just give you a well earned break. Ultra Hat Dimension is a game that looks to put a smile on your face, while also providing some casual puzzle entertainment. So grab your finest hat because its time to smile.

The Spluff Kingdom
You play as Bea a girl that has been invited to Spluff Palace. A place filled with these cute looking marshmallow creatures with smiles on their faces and propellers on their bottoms. Yeah the design of these things are weird but I guess their cheery smiles welcomed me in and I was just totally fine with it. Well all seems to be cute and happy but just like in every society there’s a Spluff that’s a little unhappy and just has to ruin everything for everyone else. When the bad Spluff steals a hat it causes all the other Spluffs get a little angry and start attacking each other. It’s up to Bea to work her way through the palace and return peace to the Spluff Kingdom. The story is delivered in an adorable animated cut scene.

Puzzle and Punch
The game plays as a top down puzzle game. The goal of each level is simple. Get the key and get to the locked door. The only trouble is, all the Spluffs really want to punch you and stop you from progressing. When you pass a Spluff a little boxing glove will project out knocking you back a space. Unfortunately getting punched is a certainty and can also be needed in order for you solve the puzzles. It’s rare to play a game where you can’t fight back. All is not lost though as you can collect a variety of hats. If you wear the correct hat that matches the hat on the Spluff they wont attack you. It is here where the puzzle elements start to come alive.

If you wear a matching hat you can push the Spluff once before your hat disappears. If the Spluff comes into contact with another Spluff with a different hat on it will either punch it out the way, cause it to pause for a fixed time or turn both Spluffs red which stops either from attacking permanently. The game provides a handy grid you can access at the press of the button informing you of the effect Spluffs have on each other.
While this may sound complicated the game does keep things quite casual. There’s often more than one way to solve a puzzle and the game allows you to undo moves at a push of a button or just reset the level entirely. This all loads instantly and is very welcome when you’re having those head scratching moments.

Game Boy Color Graphics
The graphics feel like something that should have been on the Game Boy Color. The colours are limited but the developers have made great use of the limited palette. Everything in this game is just so happy and warm, even if you are getting punched about a lot by the weird Spluff creatures. In the options you also have the ability to zoom the game map in or out. Allowing you to zoom in on the action as you please. Unfortunately this can only be accessed in the main menu and not while playing the game so I mostly left it on its default setting.
It’s also worth mentioning I love the graphics of the Game Boy Color so I have no issue with the graphical design of this game. There’s also this lovely happy go lucky soundtrack playing in the background at you try to solve over 60 puzzle rooms.

Casual Experience
While there are many puzzles, each one only takes minutes to solve. You’ll probably finish the whole game in under 4 hours. I enjoyed playing this game in small bite sized segments during breaks. It often just gave the little positive lift I needed during days of stress.
The game may not have a lot of replay value but I think I can see myself revisiting in when I want to play something casual and nice. I never felt stressed playing the game. It felt like just the right balance of challenge for a relaxing gaming session.

Something Good
Sometimes you just need a game that’s casual, simple and makes you smile. Ultra Hat Dimension easily fits that bill. The cute graphics and sounds are a very original concept for a puzzle game. The lesson I learned is no matter how many times I got punched, I could still make it through. Maybe a life lesson we all need sometimes.
Final Verdict: I liked it a lot