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After Moving Houses, I thought I was done with horror games for a while. But, Hannah is a haunting retro world that I needed to explore. It’s filled with challenging puzzles and surreal environments, where childhood memories and adult fears clash in unsettling ways. You take on the role of young Hannah. After losing her doll, she begins a quest through an abandoned world in search of her toy and, ultimately, herself. Released fittingly on Halloween, this is a gem of an indie game, and a Hannah review needed to be written.

Story – Being Followed by the Shadows of the Past

From the moment you’re dropped into Hannah, the story grips you with a sense of unease. Our young protagonist is thrust into a peculiar world where everything from her surroundings to her memories feels slightly “off”. It’s a place where memories manifest in strange ways, with objects from the past scattered throughout.

These aren’t just nostalgic throwbacks; they’re carefully chosen to convey a creeping sense of decay and loss. I want to make that as clear as possible in this Hannah review. Every inch of this game feels like the devs made purposeful decisions. Every clock, every piece of furniture, every broken floorboard.

As you progress, bits and pieces of Hannah’s backstory begin to unfold. They hint at something dark and unresolved in her past. However, the game doesn’t spoon-feed you information. Instead, it lets you draw your own conclusions through environmental storytelling, eerie video sequences, and interactions with objects that Hannah recalls from her childhood.

The story feels both personal and universal. It tackles themes like fear, memory, and self-discovery in a way that keeps you invested. It would have benefited from a more fleshed-out introduction, though, as the story’s premise feels elusive until you’ve uncovered a few clues.

Gameplay – Platforming with a Dark Twist

Playing as Hannah, you’ll need to rely on agility, puzzle-solving skills, and quick thinking to explore this strange world. The game is a 3D puzzle platformer, with much of the challenge rooted in using your surroundings effectively. There are plenty of platformer games, but I’ve never played anything quite like Hannah

You can climb ropes, swing across gaps, and solve various puzzles to advance through the game. You’ll often need to reassemble gadgets or use nearby objects as cover while playing. The puzzles themselves are tough in a satisfying way. There’s something genuinely rewarding about cracking one after wrestling with it.

Although I was playing for my Hannah review, I quickly realised that I needed more brainpower than I had available at the time of night I was playing. I struggled with a lot of the puzzles, but that was because I wasn’t thinking like Hannah. Remember to use your environment, and keep an eye out for levers and blocks.

The controls can be a bit clunky on the keyboard. While the standard WASD keys work well, the other keys feel unintuitive. Switching to a controller greatly improves the experience, but it would be helpful if the default key mappings were more intuitive for keyboard players.

The tutorial is very focused on the different features of the gameplay, instead of introducing you to the game. You’ll find yourself guessing how to handle some encounters (the bugs, for instance). Overall, the gameplay is rewarding but could benefit from a few tweaks to improve accessibility.

Audio and Visuals – A Full-Sensory Descent into Mystery

Hannah achieves its haunting vibe not only through gameplay but also through its striking audio-visual presentation. The game’s retro aesthetic does a brilliant job of merging nostalgic items with an unsettling, decayed quality. It certainly keeps players on edge. The use of uncanny visuals injects a lingering unease into each scene, and every object feels purposefully placed.

While the mountains of what remained from some unknown person’s life piled up on the edges of the screen and beckoned me to explore… The music certainly had me on edge. I keep hearing creaks from the game, even though I’ve long turned it off.

Audio – Haunting Melodies That You’ll Keep Hearing

The audio in Hannah is as haunting as its visuals. It creates a soundscape that lingers in the back of your mind. The creators have obviously put care into the audio. Each note and ambient sound enhances the eerie atmosphere, and they ensure the music is far from background filler. The music seems to actively follow Hannah, intensifying as she uncovers pieces of her childhood. The soundtrack combines unsettling melodies with whispers of tension, matching the darker twists in the story.

At times, the music immerses you so deeply that you forget it’s playing. But you’ll be jolted by a sudden, ominous tone that makes you pause, adding to the game’s tension. To slip a personal anecdote into my Hannah review, I found myself startled when I accidentally left the game running. I didn’t realise it was the audio overlapping the series I was watching, and I had to spend a few moments looking through my open tabs. It was 3am.

Visuals – A World Built to Unsettle

The visual design in Hannah is both unsettling and nostalgic, pulling players into an abandoned world that feels like a twisted reflection of childhood memories. The game uses retro elements to great effect. Think floppy disks, VHS tapes, and bulky televisions. Each give the game’s levels the vibe of an old, half-forgotten horror movie.

The muted colours, along with shadows and dim lighting, warp. They make even familiar objects feel eerie, creating an atmosphere that remains tense without overwhelming the player. Every corner and item intensifies this uneasy atmosphere, from scattered books and stacked crates to shadowy corridors. Everything evokes a sense of forgotten memories and an uneasy past that has lingered too long.

One of the centrepieces of the game is the robot with human hands, which unsettles me in a way that’s hard to shake. The juxtaposition of retro aesthetics with this unnatural figure taps into the uncanny valley, striking a chord with anyone who’s uncomfortable around near-human features on inhuman beings. These kinds of chilling details contribute significantly to the game’s nightmarish tone. Paired with Hannah’s small stature and vulnerable look, the visuals emphasise her sense of being out of place. She’s in danger, even within her own memories.

Verdict – A Nostalgic Nightmare Worth Uncovering

Developers crafted Hannah as a beautifully designed puzzle platformer that uniquely explores both childhood and psychological tension. Its retro design, eerie atmosphere, and unsettling audio take you on a journey that feels both familiar and disturbingly surreal. The game’s ability to evoke a sense of protectiveness over Hannah while keeping you on edge with haunting visuals and complex puzzles is a rare feat. This isn’t a game that simply wants to be “creepy”; it aims to immerse you in a haunting exploration of Hannah’s inner world.

The gameplay isn’t without its challenges, but even the rough edges add to the experience. Hannah requires persistence, particularly with the lack of direction in certain areas may frustrate some players. However, once you become accustomed to the game’s rhythm, it’s hard not to appreciate the intentionality behind every detail, from the dark, antique décor to the nostalgic yet unsettling soundtrack. The minimal guidance and reliance on exploration feel purposeful, letting players experience the puzzles, horrors, and mysteries as Hannah might: a bit lost, but always pushing forward.

Despite its underwhelming reception on launch, Hannah deserves a larger audience. This game will resonate with players who appreciate dark, narrative-driven, atmospheric experiences that explore themes of memory and fear. For my Hannah review, I have to give this game a solid 8.5/10. Hannah is available on Steam and Xbox One|Series X|Series S.

Want to play other dark narrative games? Check out my list of the Top 10 Dark Cosy Games on Nintendo Switch for games like What Remains of Edith Finch and Gris. I’d recommend those two in particular if you enjoy playing Hannah.

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