REVIEW : XEL (PC)
Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s influence continues to permeate gaming, transcending genres and permanently altering our perception of games as a whole. Companies have attempted, with varying degrees of success, to mimic the tremendously successful formula by developing Breath of the Wild-like games. XEL, which was recently published on PC and Nintendo Switch, continues this trend in a lovely way.
Some games try to put you right into the action, handing you a rifle or a sword to start fighting your way through foes. I enjoy games in which not a single second of my time is wasted. XEL takes a different approach, throwing you into a perplexing predicament and refusing to hold your hand the whole time. I don’t recall seeing a single tutorial in this game other than the game informing me which button to push. This has both positive and negative implications.
This is nice because you can tell the developers don’t want you to rush through the game; instead, they want you to take your time, gather yourself, and start learning the game’s fundamentals naturally. XEL remains approachable and isn’t as perplexing as it may appear at first, despite not holding your hand for a single second.
This is also undesirable for the same reason. Some gamers don’t have the time to hang around and try to figure out how Desmond wound up in a different zone because you elected to converse with the locals. Desmond will not appear on your map, nor will your destination; that is up to you to figure out. It can be both rewarding and irritating at times.
So it was with XEL while I was playing it. Both were astounded by how skillfully the game presented itself as they were by how we arrived at our destination.
A beautiful game world
XEL appears to be gorgeous at first glance, with its Zelda-like visuals and zonal gameplay. I was quickly drawn in and eager to discover more of what the world has to offer.
If XEL did one thing well, it was to introduce the main protagonist as a captivating figure whose backstory you want to learn more about right away. The voice acting in the game was surprisingly good for an indie release, and while the “I’ve lost my memory and have no idea who I am” theme is common in many games, I didn’t find it overused here.
XEL starts with your spaceship collapsing on a strange planet. You have no idea where you are, what your name is, or why you’re even there. Chap, a robot, explains what happened to your ship and tells you that you must find XEL. Your character, who has no name initially but will eventually be known as Reid, has no idea who or what XEL is. That one has my vote.
While meandering around the game’s first zone, you’ll solve riddles and gradually come to understand how XEL operates. Throughout this, you will get a trash sword and junk shield as your primary means of warfare.
After completing the zone, you meet a man named Desmond, who takes you to his home village. As you learn more, you discover that XEL isn’t a person, but rather a terraformed spacecraft lost in space, and you’re on it (if this sounds a lot like that one Star Trek episode to you, I thought the same thing). The ship is on life support and about to explode inside, and it’s up to you and your new companion Desmond to rescue the day.
Tutorial? I barely know her.
I’ve been gaming for almost a decade and have seen many games that refuse to hold your hand. XEL will not teach you how to utilise that new tool you discovered, nor will it provide you with a plethora of tips and techniques for surviving combat. You’re on your own in this situation. That isn’t necessarily a negative thing in the instance of XEL, where the game remains simple to learn even without a small text bubble outlining the following actions.
The game’s most essential lesson is that it does not autosave; instead, you must discover chronal pillars scattered across the region to save your progress.
But you’re on your own not only in terms of how you play the game but also in terms of where you’re going. I went in the opposite direction early on in my time with the game, just to wonder where I was. It wasn’t until I observed the small arrows on the map’s edges that I realised there was a new area beyond that point.
I’d also advise against exploring until you’ve finished following Desmond. I strolled out, talking to residents and generally getting lost the moment we arrived in his settlement. Remember that your destination will not appear on your map; it is up to you to figure out where it is.
There’s a lot of trial and error here, and if you’re a gamer with limited time, you might find XEL less accessible than you’d like. However, for gamers who enjoy a learning curve, XEL will undoubtedly give one, but it is not as severe as it appears.
A strong mix of combat, puzzles, and platforming
XEL excels at all three of the aforementioned activities, particularly the puzzles. I was never stumped by a task, but they weren’t simple puzzles either. I frequently had to drive to a remote section of the zone merely to get a battery that would allow me to access a door on the opposite side of the map. Slashing my way through foes and utilising Reid’s abilities to bend time and space.
When you finish one puzzle, you’re anxious to start the next. And don’t expect to just cut your way through that swarm of adversaries; you’ll need to use any skills you have at the time. And XEL does a fantastic job at balancing this. I never saw a significant increase in enemy difficulty, merely nudges that my tactic for the prior region wouldn’t work in this one.
This type of dynamic fighting provides a gratifying experience while also keeping the user guessing. While some puzzles appear to be the same, each region has its collection of problems and platforms for you to work your way through. Perhaps Reid could have moved a little faster and it would have felt less like a burden.
A solid game, riddled with bugs
Without the flaws, XEL would easily be one of the best independent games on the Nintendo Switch, and at $15, it would be a guaranteed “bargain.” Even if you’re buying an inexpensive automobile, you should make sure everything works properly beneath the hood before you buy. You can also live with the “you get what you pay for” approach.
These aren’t minor glitches to be tolerated while playing a game; they’re immersion-breaking. While searching for an item in the Wilds, I kept hearing Reid exclaim, “Are those plants whipping me?” even though there were no plants to be discovered.
These issues make for a frustrating experience on an otherwise phenomenal indie title. If 3D platforming, action-adventure, and puzzle games are your thing, XEL is going to fulfil your needs and then some. It comes with a compelling story, solid gameplay mechanics, and a beautiful world that is yours to explore freely.
REVIEW : Legends of Kingdom Rush (PC)
