One Hand Clapping Review

One Hand Clapping is a pacifistic 2D puzzle platformer developed by indie studio Bad Dream Games and published by HandyGames, a THQ Nordic subsidiary. The main draw to One Hand Clapping is its use of the microphone, having players sing in order to solve small puzzles littered throughout the game that are needed to progress. While incredibly unique and promising in concept, the game unfortunately falls flat in execution.

Despite that perfect set-up to talk about how and where this game fails, I was always taught to give the negative alongside the positive. Here are some things One Hand Clapping does well.

The game is absolutely gorgeous. This colourful and simplistic art style matches the music perfectly and adds to the experience. The area that benefitted from the art the most was Duet Desert, which featured various shades of oranges, pinks, and teals alongside music that somehow perfectly capture those colours in sound. Unfortunately, that is the second level of the game, which currently stands at four levels in Early Access.

The other level that stands out style-wise is the first level of the game, Silent City, which is the opposite of the colourful Duet Desert and features harsh, dark colours and an extremely dreadful aura. This area has interesting horror-like elements and I honestly wish that we saw more of that throughout the game. I was literally scared towards the end of Silent City and there is something so powerful about only having your voice to protect you, but the game fails to capture that moment twice.

The composed music for the game is also beautiful. It always does a great job of enhancing an area’s experience and it’s typically welcoming for the player to sing along with. The puzzles are similar, aside from the rhythm-based ones in Maestro Mountain. Puzzles will range from holding notes for a short amount of time to singing three different harmonizing tunes, however, they almost always leave something to be desired.

It’s time for the negative.

My biggest issue with this game is the potential that it squanders. One Hand Clapping easily has the potential to be a true learning tool but ignores all of that. It can be a helpful tool to those with zero singing experience to its credit, and it probably is. The puzzles do use small techniques to help strengthen the player’s voice and build overall confidence. A person with music experience would most likely be left wanting more, however, and even for the beginner, the game limits itself to only teaching so much.

The game also features an “Educational Mode” option in the accessibility submenu. This adds a small scale at the bottom of the screen and tells the player what note they are singing versus what note they should be singing. This is one of the best and most useful features in the game and it is a shame that it is hidden in a submenu where many will not find it. I honestly think it should be optional but on by default, as letting the player see and hear what note they are singing would benefit them more than only letting them play by ear and not learning the notes themselves.

My next issue is the difficulty. The game is just too easy. I understand that it is a pacifistic game and I don’t expect action at all. I do, however, expect more than simply walking and jumping until I gotta sing for twenty seconds and then walk again. The puzzles are easy and the game itself is easy. The hardest puzzles in the entire game were the rhythm ones in Maestro Mountain, and those were hard, unlike most puzzles. I play bass. I know rhythm. Those puzzles are so difficult towards the end of the mountain. The rhythm sections were the most fun I had in the entire game, and I’m a singer.

Beyond that, the game has a fatal flaw. It’s boring.

I’m a relatively entertained person and I should note that the game did entertain me. But it was only really able to do so for about forty minutes at a time. As mentioned earlier, I expect more than just walking and occasionally singing. There is not more than that, aside from beautiful art. There is no story, none of the characters have names or really personalities, there is no dialogue. There is no actual harm coming for your character, no urgency at all, no steaks. And above all, as mentioned earlier, the puzzles are easy. It’s a game that makes you go “why am I playing this?” and the funny part is that there is no answer. The only objective in the game is literally “progress.” Just keep going forward.

I do want to take this moment to point out an area that I mentioned earlier, Silent City. Though it is the most simple in the entire game, this place is not boring at all. It’s spooky. And towards the end of the level when the scary and silent noise-hating creatures in the town come for you, I was truly anxious. This is what the game should be using to its advantage. Though the game does try to sprinkle in a few more of these bits, nothing is as exciting in this game as the end of Silent City.

In the end, One Hand Clapping is not a bad game at all. In fact, I would say it is a good game for what it sells itself as, a 2D platformer that uses singing to solve puzzles. However, once the player gets past the initial singing gimmick, the game is too simple for its own good.