Henry Halfhead Review
They may just be half a head, but Henry is ALL heart.
Sometimes a game announcement comes along that tickles your brain in just the right way that you just can’t stop thinking about it. The Henry Halfhead trailer in the 2023 Wholesome Direct did just that for me. Something about the inexplicable fact that Henry truly is just half a head bopping through a colorful sandbox of household objects really spoke to me. With their latest title, Lululu Entertainment made magic out of the mundane, by showing us the world through Henry’s eyes.
Henry Halfhead walks you through the life of a very special little lad. They enter the world as a curious and creative youngster with the amazing ability to possess any object they see. In the game, you can possess just about every single object you encounter throughout each stage of Henry’s life, totalling 300 objects all together. Fans of Super Mario Odyssey will find this mechanic very familiar, as it functions much like throwing Mario’s hat to temporarily control an object or another character. While they inhabit the form of household objects, toys, and appliances, Henry also takes on the abilities of these objects. This game is all about playful exploration and I had a delightful time discovering the fun shenanigans that Henry could get into as a birthday candle, a paper airplane, a coffee maker and more.
Henry Halfhead in Action
The team at Lululu Entertainment absolutely deserves kudos for designing such a straightforward set of controls for a game where you can be anything. You would think it could get tricky to adapt a control scheme for the moments when you’re an oven to the moments when you’re a pair of scissors and the time when you’re a gameboy, but everything feels seamless. My one small complaint is that, as they move about, Henry and everything in the world that they can become feel fairly wobbly. Stacking books or blocks (which the game asks you to do several times) feels particularly precarious. It adds to the whimsy but occasionally verged into frustration as Tomato Henry and Kitchen Knife Henry and Pot of Water Henry were falling all over themselves in the kitchen.
I suspect that this game will receive a lot of comparisons to Untitled Goose Game which, much like Henry’s head, feels only half accurate. Guided by the voice of a calm-but-quirky narrator, the gameplay offers players plenty of experiences to create chaos and make surprising discoveries. But if we look at the two games in terms of their alignment, Henry Halfhead sits solidly in the realm of Chaotic Good, in contrast to Untitled Goose Game’s Chaotic Neutral stance (let’s be real, though, Goose is actually Chaotic Evil). Henry sees the potential for good in every situation. Potential for fun and connection, potential for innovation and beauty, and always potential for growth.
Henry sees the potential for good in every situation. Potential for fun and connection, potential for innovation and beauty, and always potential for growth.
Half-headed and clear minded about life
To be completely honest, I didn’t expect Henry Halfhead to deliver as profound and nuanced a narrative as it did. I played and was delighted by the demo when it launched on Steam earlier this year, but it seemed to confirm my expectations that this was a lighthearted but simple sandbox experience. I won’t spoil anything, since the game clocks in at a two-hour playtime, but I was surprised to feel really seen by Henry’s little life. This tale reminded me that play occupies a powerful role in the human experience.
While there are many charming aspects to the game, one key fact stole my heart well before the game was released: the Henry Halfhead soundtrack is undeniable. In fact, Lululu’s presentation during the 2024 Save & Sound showcase intensified my hype for the game and helped to extend my excitement through to launch. The music is as charming, peppy and quirky as the rest of the game, and imbues the whole experience with playfulness.
Henry Halfhead Trailer
When the nuance of the storyline started to hit me, I did worry a bit that the soundtrack would feel out of touch with some of the more serious aspects of Henry’s internal life. But I was very pleased to find that the music maintained its voice and identity, while supporting the emotional range of the narrative. As a side note, I would also like to shout out the Save & Sound showcase as one of the best in 2024. It was a beautiful celebration of video game music and sound design and I sincerely hope to hear it will return in 2025.
It delights me to say that Henry Halfhead lived up to my already high expectations. Our disarmingly odd and surprisingly relatable main character took me on an unexpected journey. While I wouldn’t go as far as saying it offered any earth-shattering revelations, seeing the world through Henry’s perspective gave me a richer view of my own.
Get to the point, girl
Emily’s Score: 7.5/10
Emily was provided with a review key of Henry Halfhead by popagenda
About No Small Games
No Small Games is an indie game recap and review podcast brought to you by hosts Kate and Emily! They became friends while streaming on Twitch and bonded over their love of indie video games. In each episode of No Small Games, the two will discuss an indie game they both played independently. They’ll compare their experiences: the good, the bad, their most memorable moments of their playthroughs.
Learn more about the podcast and its hosts on the About page.