Hookpoint

HOOKPOINTS
GreenBlueYellow
Appearances
4-4 5-1, 5-2, 5-4 6-1, 6-2 7-1, 7-2, 7-3, 7-4, 7-S 1-E P-2

Hookpoints are entities that interact with the Whiplash, and act as movement tools or as a trigger for certain level objects or events. They have no collision with anything but the Whiplash's spear. They are first introduced in 4-4: CLAIR DE SOLEIL, as floating, glowing, and spinning orbs surrounded by two rings moving in opposite directions. Hookpoints also constantly emit a hum similar to Soul Orbs. The orb shrinks and the hum decreases in pitch when the player is close to the Hookpoint, and the player is unable to hook on to it in this state. Hookpoints being pulled by the Whiplash spin faster and glow brighter, while their hum increases in pitch. Hookpoints also rotate to constantly face the player.

The color and shape of the orb, as well as the behavior of the rings varies depending on the type of Hookpoint. Inactive Hookpoints have grey orbs and frozen, aligned rings. Green Hookpoints contain spheres and are orbited by rings rotating side-to-side, relative to the player's point of view. Blue Hookpoints contain square pyramids and have rings which roll around each other. Yellow Hookpoints contain cubes and have rings which rotate from up-to-down. When activated, they loose the orb around the cube and emit ticking noises while their parts click along with the timer.

Only Green and Blue Hookpoints can be spawned in the Sandbox. Blue Hookpoints have a Force setting which can be changed with the Spawner Arm.

Mechanics

Using the Whiplash on a Green Hookpoint will pull the player towards the Hookpoint, similar to if it were a Medium- or Heavy-weight enemy. However, unlike when pulling towards enemies, the player will not accumulate Hard Damage during this action. Upon reaching the Green Hookpoint, the player will lose all previous momentum and be very lightly pushed upwards.

First introduced in 5-1: IN THE WAKE OF POSEIDON, Blue Hookpoints act the same as Green Hookpoints, but will not reset the player's momentum upon reaching the Hookpoint, effectively flinging them through it like a slingshot. The player's trajectory will follow the same direction they were moving in when pulling towards the Hookpoint.

Yellow Hookpoints are first seen in 7-2: LIGHT UP THE NIGHT and are unique from other Hookpoints. When using the Whiplash on them, the player will immediately lose all momentum and be very lightly pushed upwards, like a Green Hookpoint. However, the player will not be pulled towards a Yellow Hookpoint. Once hit with the Whiplash, the Yellow Hookpoint may trigger one or more events, most commonly opening gates, activating platforms, or otherwise allowing the player to progress through the level. In some cases, multiple Yellow Hookpoints must be activated simultaneously to trigger the linked event.

After activating, the Yellow Hookpoint's orb will become gray and stop emitting light, and the rings surrounding it will stop in place. During this time, the Hookpoint cannot be interacted with. A hidden timer will count down, indicated by a ticking noise emitting from the Yellow Hookpoint. When this timer reaches 0, the Yellow Hookpoint will reactivate, becoming hookable again, regaining its glow and yellow tint, and resume spinning. This will cause any action triggered by the Hookpoint to reverse, such as gates closing or platforms retracting; these actions can then be triggered again by using the Hookpoint.