Hohokum

The player-character is a multicolored serpent creature called the "Long Mover" who glides through whimsical game worlds with loose objectives. There is no correct way to play the game, which was designed to be enjoyed without necessarily pursuing objectives. It is non-linear and has no score, time limit, or tutorial. The developer described the game as about "relaxing in a space and just enjoying the experience and the music, instead of trying to complete it to make progress", and an IGN preview said it is "simply about the beauty of exploring".

USgamer's Jeremy Parish wrote that the game's challenges were in distinguishing the interactive objects from the environment and then figuring out the function of those interactive objects. For example, a ball resembling a dandelion releases its spores when circled, but the player has to follow the floating spores to realize that other villagers use the spores as a vehicle. The game communicates with visual and audial cues, and uses few of the standard controller buttons: two buttons slow or accelerate the Long Mover, and the triggers make it wiggle for a boost. The Long Mover changes in color based on the direction it faces and the DualShock 4's light bar matches the color.

Hohokum is an art game developed by British game developer Honeyslug in collaboration with artist Richard Hogg and Santa Monica Studio beginning in 2008. Hogg and Honeyslug's Ricky Haggett knew each other through a music connection. The two discussed making a game and began to collaborate when Hogg sent images to Haggett, who was experimenting with Adobe Flash. They prototyped a top-down game similar to Flow as well as a platformer with a jetpack, and a mini-golf game.

Their first formal collaboration was an entry for Kokoromi's Gamma event in Montreal. The team's first game ideas for Hohokum were about racing, which grew into the idea of a "stunt kite". They wanted to make a game with the limitations and satisfaction of flying a kite where the conventional aims of video games were absent: no being commanded, avoiding failure, or being challenged to advance. The gameplay was designed to encourage expressive play and experimentation as "a playground, a place to wander about".

Destructoid's Jordan Devore called Hohokum the "most relaxing game" of E3 2013, and one of his favorites of the show. Polygon selected the game as an E3 2013 Editor's Choice. Jeremy Parish of USgamer thought the game was the most intriguing PlayStation 4 title at the 2013 Tokyo Game Show and praised Sony for highlighting the "decidedly arty" game alongside the console's blockbuster launch titles. He compared the game to a low-stress puzzle in the same design vein of Flower and PixelJunk. Kotaku called the game both the "most confusing game" at E3 2013 and "the weirdest" on the PlayStation 4.

The game received "generally favorable reviews", according to video game review score aggregator Metacritic. Critics appreciated the game's presentation, including its art and music, but felt that the gameplay turned to drudgery towards its end and that the objectives were too vague. Multiple reviewers also felt the game would make a good screen saver.