Hirogami: The Origami Platformer That Fights Digital Blight

In Hirogami, a digital game about the ancient art of paper folding, you fight off a swarm of digital creatures. The irony? Hirogami proudly proclaims the beauty of paper in a medium that exists entirely in pixels. If you really wanted to save the art of print, Hirogami, shouldn’t you be printed on actual paper instead of running on the very tech you're critiquing? But, I can’t stay mad—especially not when you let me transform into an origami armadillo that rolls around like a pinball.

Paper Vs. Digital: A 3D Action Adventure

In this upcoming 3D action platformer, you play as Hiro, a valiant sheet of paper who can transform into various creatures and objects—an armadillo, a frog, an ape, and even a paper plane. Your mission? To cleanse a world whose delicate balance has been thrown off by a digital "Blight." You’ll use your origami skills to solve puzzles, fight enemies, and uncover the world’s hidden secrets, all while navigating this fragile paper-crafted landscape.

According to the Steam page, everything in Hirogami has been meticulously designed to capture the essence of paper’s fragile beauty. Whether you’re riding fiery updrafts in sheet form or sliding under deadly traps, the world of origami is front and center. Plus, there’s a delightful array of papery powers at your disposal—use Hiro’s fan to blow away enemies or pound, pummel, and poison them using your various forms.

The Irony of the Digital World Celebrating Paper

The central theme of Hirogami—a paper hero fighting digital enemies—gives me flashbacks to the days when people claimed print was dying and the internet was taking over. If only we journalists had papery powers to fend off the rise of broadband and social media! Just imagine: a platformer set in a dystopian future where you play as Masthead, an ancient relic of the print era, tasked with defending the world from digital threats. You could transform into an Official Xbox Magazine (combat mode, naturally) or an Edge (debuff mode—because every other mag’s 10/10 is an Edge 6/10).

But, I digress. While Hirogami has its tongue firmly in cheek when it comes to celebrating the fragility of paper, there’s something oddly fitting about it. After all, the video game magazine may be dead, but games like Hirogami keep that print nostalgia alive, even if the medium delivering it is the very thing that brought it down in the first place.

Traditional Soundtrack and Paper Charm

The game is being developed by Bandai Namco’s Singapore team and published by Kakehashi Games. With a traditional instrumental soundtrack to set the tone, the visuals are lush, fully embracing the paper aesthetic. Sure, the “game made of paper” idea has been done before, but Hirogami still manages to capture a unique charm with its rich art direction.

One missed opportunity, though: wouldn’t it be fun if the game featured a minigame where you had to simulate the folding sequences for each of Hiro’s transformations? Instead of instantly turning into a frog or a plane, you’d have to go through the actual origami steps. It would add a nice touch to the theme of honoring tradition, rather than just putting it on autopilot.

Coming in 2025

Hirogami promises to be a playful and visually stunning platformer that balances whimsy with a dash of nostalgia for simpler, papery times. It’s set to release in 2025, and while it may be a digital product, it reminds us that print and paper still hold a certain magic—even if the internet said they were dead.