Lunacy Studios
The House of Hikmah: When a video game becomes a space for healing
Puzzles, mysticism, and storytelling come together in an experience that treats grief with respect.
When we think of video games, the first thing that usually comes to mind is pure entertainment. Games that aim to sell us innovative gameplay, stunning worlds that push hardware to its limits, or stories designed to surprise us—or even break our hearts. Although not all games live up to that promise, the goal is almost always the same: to entertain. And while we’ve occasionally seen titles that dare to offer something different, few video games truly aim to help us heal. The House of Hikmah is one of those rare exceptions. Developed by Lunacy Studio, a team of industry veterans, this game takes a fresh approach to what we typically expect from an interactive title and offers a much more intimate, reflective, and human experience.
The House of Hikmah is a puzzle game in which we follow Maya, a 14-year-old girl and the daughter of a scholar, who arrives at the House of Wisdom following her father’s sudden death. There, she discovers that in addition to leaving her a mysterious bracelet called The Key, she will be assisting several of the brilliant minds who inhabit the place—minds from the golden age of Islam that converge in this mysterious location, which serves as a gateway to the mystical world. Throughout the game, we’ll help these masters, who, like Maya, grapple with grief in their own way, while we learn to use The Key to solve the mysteries this place holds, all while constantly dealing with the loss and the process of acceptance that comes with it.
An emotional journey through the House of Wisdom
As we get to know each of the scholars in the House of Wisdom—a place inspired by the Grand Library and Scholarly Center of Abbasid-era Baghdad, circa the late 700s to early 800s—we’ll discover the power of The Key, which allows us to transmute some of the elements we find in each of these rooms. The Key allows us to switch between aether, metal, and crystal, each with its own unique properties, which we can use to solve the puzzles we encounter along the way. Switching between these elements is crucial and forms the foundation of the game, as there will be puzzles where, for example, the weight of an object allows us to activate a switch, or the direction in which a beam of light is reflected differs between metal and crystal. Additionally, Maya’s abilities are very limited, though after jumping she can float for a few seconds.
One of the game’s cornerstones is solving these puzzles, which have their own learning curve and difficulty level. Something I noticed is that sometimes these puzzles feel more like a process of trial and error than something that can be easily solved. However, the effort you put into it is rewarding as you continue to make progress. Although the game doesn’t feature enemies, there’s an element you encounter as you move forward: a shadow. It represents all the negativity, sadness, doubts, and fear, making it important to avoid it at certain points; otherwise, the game sends you back to a previous checkpoint to try again.
Visually, ‘The House of Hikmah’ uses a cel-shaded style to immerse us in this world of magical realism. This creates a contrast in detail: while the character models aren’t the most detailed, and Maya’s movements sometimes feel quite outdated, the architecture and level design are stunning. There is a wealth of detail, objects, and elements that serve to embellish a world that perhaps doesn’t require the most complex textures, but rather one that successfully conveys that blend—making us feel grounded while also allowing us to enter a world brimming with alchemy and mysticism.
Another detail worth mentioning is that the visuals make excellent use of lighting and reflections, giving the environments we explore a more ethereal feel. Combined with the game’s smooth performance, this makes for a very fluid experience. In this regard, it’s worth noting that the build I tested was still in the final stages of QA, so I did encounter a couple of instances where the game had some glitches while solving puzzles, but nothing that can’t be fixed.
Grief as Part of a Process
An important aspect—and one that sets this title apart from many others—is that ‘The House of Hikmah’ uses everything as a platform for dealing with grief, not just Maya’s, but also that of the scholars, who are grappling with their own sense of heaviness in the face of death. Some hide in their work, others are afraid to go out; Maya helps them little by little, demonstrating that just as Maya needs these scholars to gain the knowledge her father possessed, so too do they need the young woman to be able to return to the outside world. This entire theme is handled with respect and sensitivity, without trivializing the loss at any point.
As someone who experienced a loss at a young age and went through a healing process with psychologists, many of the moments and phrases in the game resonated with me throughout my time playing. One of them comes from Ibn Sina, one of the pioneers of modern medicine, who says: “That ache is a mark of love, not weakness.” And while it is no substitute for what therapy can do for you in terms of mental health, it is undoubtedly a first step that can help.
The House of Hikmah is the kind of video game we rarely see. At first glance, it may seem simple, but its ambition goes far beyond entertainment. It is a hug for the soul, a band-aid on an open wound, an experience that can accompany us in difficult times. Even so, it doesn’t shy away from the challenge or from a narrative that, though it sometimes tugs at the heartstrings, leaves a clear message: even after loss, it is possible to move forward.
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