Anyone who was a fan of Flash games on Newgrounds in around 2010 is likely to remember Mako Pudding's Gretel & Hansel Part 1 and Part 2. The games were inspired by the Brothers Grimm fairytale Hansel and Gretel, but they made Gretel the hero.
But the real star was the games' art style, with watercolour-painted art perfectly capturing the twisted magic and beauty of the fairytale inspiration – and for depicting the games' macabre humor (see our guide to the best watercolour paints if you want to pair these with the best game development software).
Coming from indie developer Spider House, the new Gretel & Hansel takes up the handcrafted approach of the original games and runs with it.
It's being created using hundreds of original watercolor paintings, with every character, tree, shadow, and magic spell meticulously painted on paper using watercolours and then brought to life in a 2.5D world. The result is as an exploration adventure that looks as beautiful as it is menacing.
Like in the originals, you play as Gretel and must guide her brother home while evading deadly traps, solving puzzles and escaping from a ravenous witch.
This time, the world is highly interactive: you can break windows, hassle the animals and annoy your brother. The game is much expanded too: there are over 50 costumes, more than 20 types of slingshots (fire, ice, fireworks and more) and over 50 uniquely animated deaths, ranging from the absurd to the possibly traumatising.
Dying isn’t failure, the developer says. It’s part of the fun and can even unlock treasures or open new paths. And with death scenes this good, we'll go along with it.
Spider House's handcrafted approach should make Gretel & Hansel much more than a remake for nostalgia's stake, building on everything that made the original so popular and taking it further. It looks both cosy and haunting, just like a good fairytale should be.
You can wishlist the game or download a playable demo from Steam.
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