The Argentine studio Lambda Forge blends the nostalgia of table tejo with roguelike strategy. A smooth mobile game that combines tactics and skill, with no ads or in-app purchases—perfect for getting hooked.
Whenever I’m about to play arcade games, whether on vacation at the beach or in the old porteño stronghold, two games stand out: Pump It Up and air hockey. For me, the latter is the best competitive game in the arcade scene.
The rules are pretty simple; it rewards both physical and mental skill. Every mistake from your opponent is an opportunity, every attack can turn into the best defense, and vice versa. It’s a game with a very straightforward learning curve: after just a few rounds, you’ll get the hang of it.
This is Hokus, the new game developed by the Argentine studio Lambda Forge.
With a mix of elements from army building/unit positioning, a system of “runs” or self-contained games, and air hockey, Hokus is possibly the most enjoyable mobile gaming experience I’ve had since playing Final Fantasy on a Game Boy Advance emulator on my old Samsung i5500 Galaxy 5.
Like in air hockey, the basic rules are simple: hit the puck with your piece and make it bounce to hit your opponent’s side. What you don’t want is for the puck to hit your side, and if it does, you hope it doesn’t take away all your lives. That’s where the fun begins.
In addition to the classic air hockey dynamics, Hokus adds the ability to summon units on the table to block incoming shots from your opponent. As the game progresses, you gather mana that allows you to deploy your little warriors. What’s even better? Besides just deflecting the projectile, your units often have extra effects, like restoring mana or even health (super important).
Hokus is possibly the most enjoyable mobile gaming experience I’ve had since playing Final Fantasy on a Game Boy Advance emulator on my old Samsung i5500 Galaxy 5.
The progression within a game of Hokus follows the classic roguelike formula. You start from the first square, navigating a path filled with forks and choices: regular enemies, shops to buy units, camps to rest and recover health, or even bosses that drop nice artifacts.
And as you progress, the difficulty and quality of the units you can recruit (and those used by opponents) also increase.
At first, my runs lasted no longer than 10 minutes. Getting used to the touch controls of the phone with an almost immediate response level is tricky at first. But then, the learning curve worked its magic: soon my runs were consistently 20 minutes long. The much-praised “gratification” kicked in.
Besides the gameplay, Hokus also appeals to those with a taste for collecting: the Collection part allows you to fill a sort of Pokédex with the units you encounter, along with the artifacts you gather. Oh, and yes, once you obtain artifacts, you can reuse them at the start of each new run to give yourself a little edge. The perks of addiction.
There are no timers limiting your action or benefits, no monetized upgrades, no ads. A breath of fresh air in a mobile gaming scene that is more than welcome.
One detail I notice, which generally doesn’t need to be highlighted on consoles or computers (unless there’s a glaring issue), but I find relevant here, is how smoothly the game runs. It’s pleasantly well optimized: it doesn’t overheat the phone, it doesn’t suffer from frame drops (which would be frankly deadly), it doesn’t drain the battery like Arthas consumes souls, and it’s not bogged down with heavy animations or unnecessary graphics. In a world where mobile games usually want to make you spend more money, Hokus is a solid game.
Its full release is imminent, and honestly, I think Hokus has come to reshape how we understand gaming from the micro-computers we carry in our pockets. There are no timers limiting your action or benefits, no monetized upgrades, no ads. A breath of fresh air in a mobile gaming scene that is more than welcome.
The game offers versatility: it can be super casual and relaxing, just bouncing a little puck and placing a few miniatures on the table, while at the same time allowing you to go mega-tryhard and want to crush the machine. For this, I always recommend buying units that restore health.
So, without realizing it, you can easily spend 20 minutes playing in the bathroom. Which, in my opinion, is much better than spending 20 minutes watching reels of who knows what.
Hokus is available to play in its browser version on the Lambda Forge site, although it’s highly recommended to play it in its mobile version, which is what it was designed for, available on the App Stores for Mac and Android.
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