A life of solitude with your pet pig is thrown off course when a magic mushroom crash-lands on Earth. Forager by day, social recluse by night, Hermit and Pig must navigate society and help the townsfolk scrounge up some food, else chaos ensues.
It was an ordinary day for Hermit and Pig, who’d spend every morning scavenging for mushrooms and foraging truffles. That was until Mary showed up. After eating a blue mushroom (because why not?) Hermit and his only friend, Pig, journey into town and into the heart of a conspiracy that’s quickly spiralling out of control. Everything wants to fight and talk to you. How will Hermit cope?
Hermit and Pig is a turn-based RPG focused on delivering a story-rich, compact narrative that is sure to bring a smile to those who journey with these wholesome companions. While the plot is rather generic and rarely expands beyond its surface, its story isn’t the reason to keep playing.
The dialogue makes the game
Off the bat, it’s clear Hermit and Pig has a distinct identity and so much character. Much like Frog Detective, Thank Goodness You’re Here!, and Night in the Woods, Hermit and Pig is quirky, humorous, and packed with funny dialogue that keeps the adventure feeling light. Any form of tension is broken by light-heartedness, where the stakes continuously grow, but settle with comedic relief that tells us to never take what’s happening too seriously. It’s a pleasant reminder for those like myself, who struggle with social anxiety—that life truly isn’t out to get you.
The dialogue and overall vibrant and cute art style immediately invite relaxation. Even without voice acting, every character has a distinct voice that’s silly yet believable, and it strengthens the overarching story. The quirky characters and their interactions bring the otherwise still landscape to life. Quirkiness follows Hermit and Pig’s dream sequences, which also remind me of Night in the Woods.
Keep moving, old friend
Hermit and Pig is very easy to digest with its design and core gameplay mechanics. The pacing and level design are simple but great, and the map is incredibly helpful at pointing out where you need to go without hand-holding. I’m not a huge side-quest fan and find it often breaks the immersion, but Hermit and Pig does a great job at blending quests together that it feels natural, fun, and certainly never tedious. It adds to the story’s flow and makes backtracking engaging.
Hermit and Pig is packed to the brim with tiny details. Hermit holds quest items in front of him, he spreads his arms out to balance across wooden beams, pets Pig’s head for 1HP, and sweats profusely when approaching a conversation. The soundtrack is awesome and very reminiscent of OG Crash Bandicoot. I almost feel tricked into enjoying Hermit and Pig for nostalgia is strong in this one, and I felt transported to my childhood while playing it.
Accessibility in combat
While this RPG lacks in secrets, there are Trinkets to find or barter, Mushrooms to cut, and Truffles to dig up. Speaking of core mechanics, Hermit and Pig has amazing combat options. Being able to simplify controls outside of changing the overall difficulty is an awesome feature I wish more games had. As enemy health bars get higher, the combat expands to give you new ways of fighting back, but it also means fighting gets easier. The UI is clean, and you have everything you could possibly need on the menu, which is super easy to navigate if you ever need a refresher.
I gave myself a disadvantage using a controller where the buttons didn’t line up to what’s shown on-screen, meaning I couldn’t use any Special move at all without failing miserably (this is not a fault of the game). There is a slight learning curve with the arcadey fighting-game-inspired Combos and Specials that makes Hermit and Pig feel more like playing a WarioWare game than a Pokémon title, as reaction time and quick-thinking take precedent in every fight. Of course, you can remove the challenge altogether by either lowering the difficulty or simplifying the combat. Taking me seven hours to beat, I only felt the need to use Specials at the final boss fight, demonstrating Hermit and Pig‘s lacking difficulty.
There’s also the Trinkets, Mushrooms, and Truffles. Trinkets give you combat buffs, Mushrooms act as healing or status effect items, and Truffles revive allies. There is a lot of RNG involved in fighting and logical thinking to figure out what attacks are effective, but I didn’t find combat too much of a challenge, especially since I ignored Special moves (Granted, I did play on Normal difficulty). I’m sure, however, that Hermit the Pig isn’t intended to be a difficult game.
Social anxiety simulator
Interestingly, you cannot outrun a single thing in this game (which is fitting as you’re playing an elderly and anxious man). But Hermit and Pig is very forgiving and wants you to have fun—and fun you shall have. Save stations are found in abundance, meaning it’s rare to go into a new fight with low health. It’s highly unlikely you’ll ever run out of Mushrooms, either, as you can get Pig to forage mid-fight, trade with vendors, or find them as you explore. I will say however, scripted fights should remove the Run feature as there’s a moment in the game where I was meant to fight a bear but ran away, then NPCs immediately praised me for beating up a bear…
The anxiety aspect of this RPG is uniquely done with the socializing mechanic that behaves similarly to fight encounters. It breaks up the chaos of fighting with dialogue, where you must pick the most socially acceptable prompt, and you will lose 1HP for every time Hermit cringes at your words. While it’s entertaining, it’s also incredibly easy to complete these sections without losing any health, and they’re always positioned near save points. I would have loved it if this mechanic had higher stakes, such as losing more HP, which then puts you at a disadvantage going into the next fight.
Though Hermit and Pig wants to deliver a story-rich experience, it is sorely lacking in replayability and is overall an easy game to beat if you disable the Combos mechanic. However, if you’re looking for a cozy turn-based RPG that is a good time, then Hermit and Pig is an authentically entertaining experience from start to finish.
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