Hue is an indie Puzzle Platformer developed by Fiddlesticks Games and published by Curve Digital. It features the story of the titular protagonist, a young boy living in a monochromatic grey world. He awakens in his house one day to find his mother missing. While he searches for her, he learns about some research she was doing at a university, that would let her see the world in colors. All the while watched by a mysterious person who always seems just out of reach.
Hue's unique mechanic is the Annular Spectrum, a ring that contains eight colors (red, orange, yellow, green, aqua, blue, purple, and pink). On command, Hue can change the background color to any of the colors he possesses, causing blocks, boulders, traps, and anything of that color to disappear into the background. This is necessary to move and build platforms, avoid hazards, and more as Hue journeys on his quest to find his mother, all the while learning just what the Spectrum is, and how his mother created it.
Hue was released in August 2016 on PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4, with a Play Station Vita version released later. It would release on Nintendo Switch in August 2019.
Hue provides examples of the following tropes:
- 100% Completion: The elixirs, which usually have to be collected going through the world again, when the player has more colors to work with.
- 2-D Space: Played for laughs. Hue's mother discovered color, and she realizes that there might be more things out there that no one has ever seen. There might even be a third dimension! She laughs it off as something ridiculous.
- Anti-Frustration Features: Time slows down while the Spectrum selector ring is open, which is very helpful on occasions when the player has to switch colors in mid-jump or while hazards are bearing down on them.
- Apocalyptic Log: Hue finds messages from his mother as he continues on his journey. They get progressively grimmer over time, going from the thrill of research to exile and possibly vanishing into "impossible" colours. The last message, however, is from Hue's father, Doctor Grey.
- Big Good: Hue's mother seems to be this for her child. Doctor Grey's situation is different, but he is trying to do what he thought was right to protect his love.
- Birds of a Feather: Their shared love of research brought Hue's mother and Doctor Grey together.
- Determinator: Nothing stops Hue from his mission. He gets it from his parents.
- Evil Overlooker: The hooded man with distended eyes is seen, but never reached. The evil part is ambiguous, as he doesn't do much other than look; acting in a matter that is neither malevolent or evil. After all, he is Hue's father.
- The Exile: Doctor Gray exiled Hue's mother from the University. He figured that the world was not ready for her findings.
- Kid Hero: Hue's age is not stated, but he is much younger and smaller than the other characters seen in game, so his age is probably around 10. His parents also look quite young.
- Lighter and Softer: The monochromatic color palette and platforming bring to mind games like Limbo and INSIDE (2016), but Hue changes to have vibrant color as its game mechanic, and its soft relaxing music paints it as much more serene.
- Limited Wardrobe: Hue wears the same suit and short pants that he wore on his adventure when he goes to sleep.
- Minimalist Cast: There are a total of about nine characters in Hue: Hue; his mother; the onlooker, Hue's father; the fisherman; the miner; a woman with an amphora; the janitor at the University; the lighthouse keeper; and the talking skeletons.
- My Greatest Failure: Hue's mother regrets that Hue has been put in danger to find the Spectrum and continue her research. She chides herself in her letters, saying that she fully understands if Hue thinks she's selfish. In the end, though, she hopes he finds the experience of a world with color to be worth it.
- New Game Plus: Of a sort. After completing the game, Hue can begin again at his home with the Spectrum fully realized, and the ability to warp to any section of map he chooses and replay it. He also has found his mother, she'll be at home.
- Poor Communication Kills: Hue's mother and Doctor Grey had trouble communicating, and it ended their relationship, culminating in Doctor Grey destroying the Spectrum. He actually did it to protect Hue's mother, as the world wasn't ready to accept her findings.
- Protagonist Title: The main character's name, Hue, is also the game's title.
- Shout-Out: The achievements for unlocking the colors orange and pink are called "Like Clockwork" and "Back to the Fuchsia", in reference to A Clockwork Orange and Back to the Future.
- Silent Protagonist: Hue doesn't utter a word, although many of the other cast talk as though he does.
- Theme Naming: The only characters whose names we learn are Hue and Doctor Grey, both of whom have names related to colors.
