The developers of Hohokum have brought the former PlayStation exclusive to Steam

One of the surprise reveals at last week’s Annapurna Interactive Showcase was the release of Hohokum for PC. GamesBeat spoke with game creators Richard Hogg and Ricky Haggett about reviving the game on Steam after so many years.

Previously released in 2014 for PlayStation systems, Hohokum is a puzzle game in which players control a colorful snake-like character that explores various scenarios. In our review, Evan Killham called it a “weird combination of things that shouldn’t work but totally do.” It joined other PlayStation-based artistic indie titles such as Journey and Flower. Now, several years later, it’s getting a breath of new life as a Steam release, not the first Sony exclusive to take this journey.

In an interview with GamesBeat, Hogg and Haggett talked about reviving their former console exclusive after eight years. Haggett said this will serve the game’s legacy: “It will live on for a long, long time on PC. Whereas on PlayStation, you might not be able to play it at some point, but hopefully you’ll be able to play it for a long time on the computer

Hogg told GamesBeat that Hohokum fans have wanted a PC port for years. “I know that there are many people who will be very excited, because people have been asking for years. There are always people asking when it’s coming out on PC.”

Hohokum and the indie scene

When called upon to describe his rather nondescript game, Hogg said, “Hohokam felt like a game that might appeal to a lot of people who aren’t really that into video games.” He added that one difference between the two releases is that PC audiences might be more receptive to Hohokum’s curious nature. “Indie games have changed, and the way people perceive these kinds of weird ideas in games has definitely changed. So I think it’s going to be met with less confusion than when it came out. Maybe.”

Hohokum is about exploration and the thrill of finding your own way; doesn’t give much guidance to the player. Haggett says the PC indie scene has seen several games similar to Hohokum. “At the time, there weren’t many parties that did that. I think people are going to be a little bit more open to things like that… We need to do less ‘What the hell is this crazy?’” explanations.

The mechanics of the change, both added, were simple. Added mouse and keyboard support only. There are very few differences between the original version of the game and the PC version, although they were tempted to tweak it before the new version.

Find the PC audience

Adding to the above about the nature of Hohokum as an art-led game, Hogg said that console exclusivity felt like a barrier. “The kind of people who would casually buy Hohokum on a PC and play it, they’re not big gamers. They’re not the kind of people who would buy a PlayStation, but Hohokum might resonate with them. It was always something I regretted , and I hope now is an opportunity for those people to pick up the game.”

Haggett added that the real thrill was expanding Hohokum’s potential audience: “It’s going to be really exciting to get a bunch of people who never played it the first time around to play it this time.” Hohokum is currently available on Steam.

The two also mentioned their new game Flock, which was also revealed at the Annapurna show. Flock has several similarities to Hohokum, but unlike the latter game, it won’t be console exclusive. It’s coming to Xbox and PlayStation and is available as a wishlist on Steam.