Hamstory Review: Love It, Hate It, Love It, Hate It!

Hamstory is a tiny delight that somehow manages to make climbing perilous platforms feel cozy. I picked it up on Steam, and from the very first leap, I was smitten with its flailing hamster protagonist and the little world full of secrets waiting to be explored.

The game works with a keyboard, but I tried it with a controller and it feels more intuitive that way. It doesn’t really change the gameplay or difficulty, it’s just about what you’re comfortable with. Honestly, this is the kind of game that feels tailor-made for the Switch. A little world you can sink into, hopping between platforms, uncovering tiny secrets, and losing yourself in its pastel charm for hours on end.

Gameplay & Control: Why Am I Falling Again?

You control a tiny hamster (yes, a hamster!!!), and the controls are super simple. You move left and right, press X to interact with NPCs, or A to jump. When you hold the jump button, a little gauge pops up with up to five bars, and each bar changes how high and far you leap. It’s such a small mechanic, but it makes every jump feel intentional.

The goal is to climb all the way to the top, and the platforms are all different. Some are longer and wider, some are short and terrifyingly tiny. Sometimes they’re packed so closely together that if you mistime your jump, you bonk into one and rebound in the most dramatic way possible.

The stakes are pretty clear: if you fall, you’re climbing again. It’s a really tall area, and one wrong move can mean redoing a huge section. But it’s not as cruel as playing Getting Over It nor as thematic as Replicomica. If you’re careful and actually thinking about your jumps, the game is surprisingly kind. Sometimes when you slip, you’ll land on a platform just below and only lose a little bit of progress. But if you panic-jump without thinking, which I absolutely did, you might miss everything and drop from a very low point… or all the way to the ground.

Don’t worry. The fall won’t hurt your hamster, it hurts you emotionally instead.

The platform placement is so smart. It feels like the game can tell the difference between a ‘smart’ mistake and a reckless one. When I fell and thought, “Nooo, I calculated that so well,” I usually landed somewhere not too far below. But when I fell and immediately went, “I knew it! I rushed that,” that’s when I plummeted straight down. It almost feels intentional, like the developers carefully tuned the layout to reward patience and punish carelessness. And I kind of love that.

Who Even Asked Me to Climb This Thing?

There are also NPCs scattered around the map, which makes everything feel more alive. Press X to talk to them, and they’ll share their little problems and most likely give you a task. At one point, a bird tasked me to fetch a scarf from someone living in a house at the top of a tree. The tree is all the way on the far east side of the map, while my main objective pushes me toward the west. So I had to detour for this sweet little side quest, then backtrack to deliver the scarf before continuing my climb.

There isn’t really a meaningful reward for finishing the sub-quest. Honestly, there isn’t even a clear reason for climbing toward the main objective. When you first start the game, a hedgehog NPC just tells you to reach the Haessin Star somewhere high above, without really explaining why. And you just… go.

From what I’ve observed and experienced, the joy isn’t about the objective at all. It’s about failing, learning, and finally landing that jump you’ve messed up ten times before. Especially those awkward, tricky placements that look impossible at first. It feels so good when you finally make it.

The art style is also completely my weakness. It’s cozy, pixelated, and full of soft pastel colors. The whole thing plays out in a 2D side-scrolling view, which makes it feel classic but still charming. The NPC animations are adorable, and even the way the hamster flails when it falls is weirdly cute. I know that sounds dramatic, but the aesthetic alone makes the experience feel rewarding.

Just When You Thought You Had This, the Game Betrays You

The learning curve is pretty gentle. After a few minutes, you start to understand which jump gauge level matches which height and distance. But just when you think you’ve mastered it, the game throws in these oddly placed, slightly bizarre platform setups that completely mess with your confidence. Even in the demo version, if you want to check it our first, there’s always something new to test you.

But since it is a demo, though, it ends fairly quickly once you reach the top of the first map. It just stops there, which could leave you wanting more. Beyond the demo, there are snow-covered platforms that make you slide when you land on them. You can imagine the heartbreak of falling, thinking you’re safe on the level below, only to slowly slide off because of the snow.

There’s also another interesting platform type. Instead of the usual floating dirt blocks, there’s a water platform shaped like a right-angle triangle. From what I can tell (I haven’t reach there yet), you’ll need to angle your jump just right to bounce higher using it. I’m equal parts excited and terrified to try.

Final Verdict: Great

Overall, I just adore this little hamster-climbing adventure! It’s cozy, charming, and full of those tiny moments that make you go “awww” while also keeping you on your toes. Every jump feels satisfying, every fall feels like a tiny lesson (even if it hurts your soul a little), and the pixelated pastel world is just so warm and inviting. The demo is short, sure, but it leaves you bouncing with excitement for the full game.

If you love games that make you smile while also making you think just a tiny bit, this is definitely your jam. Perfect for anyone who enjoys cozy, cute platformers, learning from adorable mistakes, and soaking up a world full of pastel colors, flailing hamsters, and charming NPCs.

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