Hangry is an action RPG, hack and slash set in a world where it’s eat or be eaten. As the titular character, players set out into the food-influenced levels to find ingredients and slay the snack-based wildlife. Its premise, while not original, is still enough to stop you in your tracks to give it a look, especially the first time you come across one of the game’s horrendous creatures. With no release date on the horizon, the demo proved to me the concept has legs, but much work is needed before the 1.0 release ever sees the light of day.
Hangry is a beastly mercenary on the hunt for ingredients for underworld Cook, Goutra. That’s about the extent of the story in the demo. An opening cutscene (it’s more like a trailer) reveals some of the seedy customers you’ll be taking orders from throughout your adventure, but the demo instead focuses most of its time on the hunt. The game opens in a mishmash forest of taffy, large bananas, and basketball-sized strawberries. Hangry is tasked with collecting three needed ingredients from some of the wildlife in this opening area.
The snack-based monsters are easily the stars of the show. Their designs are a creative combination of food and animal. Some even evoke a sense of fear. The Nana Shark (one part half-peeled banana, one part land-walking shark) is daunting, both visually and in a fight. The smaller Taco Hound (no explanation needed) attacks in packs and drops gourmet black beans upon their defeat. I found myself in awe with each monster and look forward to seeing what the full roster looks like upon release. I was a little less excited by the bounty hunters sprinkled throughout the map who seemed to all follow a similar script of, “Only I can’t hunt here,” and attack with laser pistols. Making matters worse, they only seem to attack when you’re already in a fight for your life.
The demo does a good job of introducing players to the different abilities at their disposal. Hunter Sense reveals all nearby monsters and their tracks, making the hunt a bit easier on players. Once the hunt ends and the fight begins, the game leans heavier on the hack and slash side of things. Players have a light and heavy attack but can also take a bite out of enemies to rejuvenate health and stamina mid-fight. Which is great, because some of these fights can’t get out of hand pretty quickly. Once charged up, Hangry can go into Hangry Mode and unleash a burst of power that gives him some attack or defense buffs. While not available in my time with the demo, players will be able to upgrade Hangry through an upgrade tree. The dodge is also going to be your best friend here. I found myself having to roll out of fights numerous times to run, hide, and lick my battle wounds before giving a fight another go. The game definitely needs some balancing, but I can’t help but think they’ve captured the level of difficulty they’re going for in the final game.
The demo ends with Hangry returning to Goutra’s diner kitchen to mix and cook up his newly obtained ingredients. There’s only one cooking segment in the demo, but these seem like they’ll play out as a quick time event mini-game. The meal I prepared had me adding ingredients while maintaining a certain heat on the stove. After an occasional stir and peppering in some spices, I completed my first meal bounty and received some experience points. I do hope there’s some variety in meal prep come release. The trailer at the end of the demo hints at some things to come with a glimpse of new monsters and some story beats. The dynamic between Hangry and Goutra seems central to the overall plot, and I’d be interested to see how that relationship plays out across a campaign.
Hangry is still some time away from its full release. While the narrative vibes and the monster design are already in a great place, I hope the rest of the game gets enough time on the stove before being plated and served.
