Henry Halfhead review: a quirky, reflective journey

Henry Halfhead was not what I expected, entirely by design. This is a game that invites you into a bright, playful, and carefree world of magic – but as its narrative unwinds, you’ll find a much more sincere and grounded tale than you might expect.

This is the story of the titular Henry Halfhead, a being who is literally half a head, who has the magical ability to possess and become any object. You follow Henry from birth, as a narrator guides their growth and play. As a baby, Henry is chaos incarnate. They jump from building blocks to chairs and xylophones, rolling around, creating loud noises, and pushing at the bounds of their world.

As the gentle narrator dictates, Henry won’t let their life be limited to playpen walls. So, you set about making this space bigger, solving tiny little puzzles to ensure Henry’s work goes unheard by their parents, and that they may have peace and space to evolve.

These opening puzzles are small and bright, and portray the freedom of childhood with a real vividness. Henry is bright, bouncy, and creative, and their world feels open and free. This, of course, sets the scene for what comes next – as Henry ages and joins the workforce, and their bounds change.

Henry Halfhead is all about growing old, and changing

Rather than being in a playpen, their world is defined by siloed rooms. The living room is for listening to the radio and relaxing. The bathroom is for cleaning. The kitchen is for cooking. In the garden, you’ll find various plants to water, in meditative fashion.

At work, Henry is in a barren space where there’s little room for play. They pick up boxes and letters to sort them, one after another, and then, they go home.

Henry Halfhead examines this repetition as a form anti-play, with the middle portion of its narrative focussed on how work may dull the mind and senses. This is not an anti-work narrative, but rather an exploration of how we maintain our identity and purpose – and why holding onto a sense of play is essential, no matter your age.

Henry is changed by their job, but even as it grows repetitive and strains their mindset, they find themself again, in the freedom and gratification of play, of becoming other objects, solving puzzles, and sometimes causing a mess. In embracing a balance, of light and dark, Henry is able to grasp at the fuller meaning of life.

The importance of maintaining creative spirit is a core theme in Henry Halfhead, delivered subtly in its narration, and through the passing of each age. While the message is delivered simply, it remains poignant, and retroactively gives more meaning to the game’s quirky, light-hearted transformation mechanics.

On the surface, you might assume Henry Halfhead is simply a funny, quirky game – it is, of course, about a person who’s just half a head. But the game’s overarching mechanics and narrative serve more as metaphor, to soften the gut-wrenching blow of its deeper themes. Distracted by funny, quirky gameplay, you’ll feel the game’s deeper message sink in only when the final blow lands, with devastating impact.

It’s the sort of game you’ll be thinking about long after the credits roll, as new revelations dawn. While it’s only short, its message is resonant – and in era where, globally, work and the need to hustle has become more pervasive in our lives, it delivers a message of resistance that everyone should hear. Play is powerful, and entirely transformative. We only need to remember how to weave it back into our lives.

_{A PlayStation 5 code for Henry Halfhead was provided by the publisher for the purposes of this review.}

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