I am not going to talk badly about ‘Untitled Hand Game’ for trying to mimic something bigger and falling short. However, if the thing that inspires you about an olympic athlete is that they know how to tie their shoes, then you are either hurt in the head… or a child.
Developed and Published by OtterSea Studio, Untitled Hand Game: Titled Edition, is a Physics Based hidden object Claw Machine Simulator.
If you ever want an example of what the term Cargo Cult really means, I would like to introduce you to Untitled Hand Game. This low effort claw machine simulator is the product of failing to understand. You’ll get what I mean in a second but first…
Hand-y work
The goal is simple. You are a hand that resembles the movement of a claw machine, and you must gather required items from a bin in the order the game requests. There is a timer constantly ticking down to add to the stakes.
Although, I would not call it high stakes as more time wastes….(I’ll see myself out)
The hand is controlled with the mouse and acts as a stand-in for the cursor as well. If you are in the main menu or options, you will be dragging this large hand to click on things.
This is where the biggest problem I had with Untitled Hand Game, shows its ugly face.
The hand cursor always controls like you are trying to use your mouse on a shaggy carpet. It hangs, slows down, or speeds up without much logic, and it gets very frustrating.
You could argue that this is on purpose, that it is supposed to create a challenge. That’s the thing… It does not!
Untitled Hand Game itself is very easy and you never feel the pressure of the mouse or the timer. It only makes you angry. Not, Bennet Foddy, angry, annoying cousin not leaving the house long after the party is over, angry.
Untitled Goose Hand Dilemma
My main annoyance came from the game’s title as it shows a real lack of understanding. Naming yourself as a direct reference to another game is understandable, especially in the comic sense but when you do it because you think that the name is the reason behind the other games success, you are stuck somewhere wrong, my friend.
Untitled Goose Game was a great game because it boasted a fun gameplay involving a list of tasks and NPCs to mess around with. There were even interesting stealth mechanics at play. It was the cherry on top that you were a Goose and the game was called Untitled Goose Game.
Untitled Hand Game is sadly just a cherry on top of something that was probably Cake in the Recipe Book, but came out as bland bread.
Hand, Don’t Touch
Untitled Hand Game: Titled Edition is the kind of game that makes you appreciate polish through its absence. It tries to be quirky, tries to be challenging, and tries to ride the coattails of a far more successful title, but trying isn’t the same as understanding.
There’s no real bite to the gameplay loop, no tension from the timer, and no joy in the clunky controls. The charm it aims for ends up feeling like noise over silence.
To ask if ‘Untitled Hand Game: Titled Edition’ is worth your money? This hand’s empty!
