The Nardio Review
el could have been so much more.
Is el worth your time?
No, not really. It feels disjointed.
What should I play el on?
I’d only play this on a tablet. A lot happens on screen and you don’t want your fingers getting in the way of any of it.
What did we think without spoiling it?
A surprisingly bleak and dark game. Not for kids.
el has you using an umbrella to fly from point A to B while dodging oncoming obstacles and grabbing energy boosts to make it to the end of the level. The art is pretty and the music is downright beautiful. Unfortunately the gameplay is punishing. What starts off as easy and doable soon has you shutting off your device on multiple occasions out of frustration. The only reason I pushed on and finished el was because the game seemed short. Also the story being told, while sort of vague, was pretty nice. You fly around and help people. The small story cut scenes were really well done. Until the end. The harsh, harsh end.
I almost feel like two different people made this game. One did the music, art, and most of the cut scenes. Then someone else came along after getting screwed over royally in life and handled the games difficulty and ending. It’s shocking and doesn’t seem to fit the tone of the game at all.
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This better be worth it mister.
How it plays & why it fails:
The controls consist of tapping to stay afloat and fly higher and swiping to move around. While el didn’t feel perfect it worked until mid way through the game where the levels just get incredibly cheap. el gets so bad that you never want to go back and replay levels. Instead you are just happy you are done with it.
You go into el’s game happy and hopeful. You feel like el is a game of hope, as you watch your character mysteriously rescued and then pays it forward by saving a bunch of people. It’s nice, the music is beautiful and the art is interesting. Then you find yourself flying into warzones and having to deal with heavier and heavier fire. Weird and cheap enemy fire that quickly goes from doable to OMFG cheap. Then you get to another positive and hopeful cut scene and you aren’t feeling happy anymore because the following levels only get more punishing. And yet the seeming theme of hope is still there and the great music. So you want to move forward. It also really helps that the art is so quirky. You want to love this game. You want to see where the story is going. Until you actually play the levels and all of those good feelings just get overwhelmed by your frustration. OMG Now I have to carry that guy?!?! He’s huge! And you keep trying and trying even after rage quitting several times. Then finally, finally you reach the end and…
What the hell?
Life’s a bitch and then you die?
Never help the homeless?
Don’t try to help people?
Can’t save everyone?
Womp Womp?
It’s literally the very worst possible turn of events and there goes all that hope. And all of that time you spent trying to get there almost feels like a huge waste. Like, what was the point? It’s as if you are the protagonist in el and the second angry game dev shows up and blatantly does what he has been trying to do throughout the last few levels.. He kills you in a cheap way, looks down on you and spits on your corpse…
I was shocked… Then angry… Then let down.
Avoid this…
Die, hope, die.
Like?
The art, music and the beginning portion of the story were great. It’s really what kept me pushing forward because I wanted to see how it worked out for el. And well, I kind of wish I hadn’t spent that time finishing it.
Agree? Disagree? Write your comments below.
Basic Info:
- Free
- 64.3 MB
- Universal app
