Shootings, explosions, horse races on the horizon chasing a moving train; all this is not El Hijo: A Wild West Tale. The new adventure developed by Honig Studios e Quantumfrog to HandyGames, currently available in the PC version (via Steam), and planned - in an unspecified future - on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, is a set production spaghetti westerns with an undoubtedly original isometric view, whose game mechanics are exclusively related to stealth skills of the protagonist (and of the player called to relive his adventures). We have known and played many western titles (and in this special of ours we have listed them all, really all), but you've never seen this yet, guaranteed!
In El Hijo: A Wild West Tale (title that won the award as "Best Indie Game"Below Gamescom 2019) you will take on the role of a 6 year old boy abandoned by his mother (in spite of himself) and entrusted to a monastery, after being attacked by a group of bandits who razed his farm to the ground. The little one then decides to run away and track down his mother, absolutely determined to find her again. Violence, of which the title lacks, is replaced by developers with massive (and practically totalitarian) use of stealth mechanics, that is the art of acting in the shadows to serve the light ... (no, sorry, that's another game!). We said, it stealth it is that peculiar style of play that provides particular skills in moving in the shadows, without being noticed by the enemies, constantly avoiding the clash and, consequently, appearing in the visual field of those who threaten your survival.
El Hijo, a child in a wild world
Although the intent of the guys at Honig Studios is to offer a title with colorful and nice graphics - and in this they have succeeded in the enterprise -, in El Hijo there is a constant feeling of underlying sadness, which gives the game a sense of originality that in our opinion fits with the western setting. The possibility of meeting other kids, unfortunately exploited by perfidious individuals, generates a strong bond with these small and poor souls, trying to survive in a wild (albeit extremely colorful) world, typical of Far West. It therefore gives a great feeling of pleasure to be able to help them and receive small favors from them in return, such as precious objects as gifts (precious to proceed in the adventure, not in an absolute sense). The level of challenge in El Hijo: A Wild West Tale is not determined by the complexity of adrenaline-pumping shooting sequences, where a particular aiming skill is required, but by increasing environmental puzzles, from the growing difficulty, where moving in the shadows is absolutely essential to reach the destination. Basically, in fact, in this game everything boils down to starting from Point A to reach Point B, without being seen, under penalty of immediate mission failure. Original the idea of offering the little protagonist the possibility of using toys and other small items to successfully complete each level.
The settings drawn on the screen are all varied and particularly inspired: from the cold and dark corridors of an ancient monastero in the terrifying heat of the desert, passing through welcoming saloon and dangerous frontier town. Between one stealth session and another there is every now and then some stroke of genius, which tastes like a breath of fresh air. We would not like to reveal them because it would be a shame, but let us at least point out a small portion of the level where we will be asked to run away on board a miner's cart; yes, a classic of the genre, artistically inspired, that will make you fall in love with this little work. The adventures are also accompanied by one successful and engaging soundtrack, often able to optimally accompany the rhythm of the game actions that follow one another on the screen.
Patience, your weapon
You would therefore expect to scroll to the end of the review and read a grade equal to 8, or at least a rating that can approach 7. And instead, unfortunately, we cannot go beyond sufficiency. The playful experience of El Hijo: A Wild West Tale is in fact ruined by a fluctuating technical realization. Anything that is beautiful to the eye is not matched by the robustness of the code, which offers players a surprisingly poorly crafted control system. Too many inaccuracies during the execution of the various requested actions and, above all, the technical realization of the areas of interaction between the game environment and the little protagonist. In a stealth title, where precision and timing in movements are essential, it is unfortunately not something you can turn a blind eye to.
There will be too many times in which you will end up being discovered by performing an action that, in reality, you had thought (and communicated through the commands given) in a completely different way. Starting, incredibly, from the tutorial. This particular play area should actually encourage learning of the mechanics, and instead we managed to get stuck there, wasting an entire day. Understanding the exact point at which to perform certain actions is not always very clear and what's worse, it is not even possible to apply instinctive intuitions to overcome an obstacle.
If the game claims that only in that particular point it is possible to squat, rest assured that there will be no way to continue in any other way. This led us to stay stuck in the tutorial for hours, failing to understand why our little hero just didn't want to crouch down to overcome an obstacle. Well, the command must be pressed at the exact point required (but not indicated) by the game. A useless and incomprehensible angularity that will end up making you lose your temper on more than one occasion, partly ruining the gaming experience. El Hijo: A Wild West Tale is ultimately an original indie game in spaghetti-western sauce, with an isometric view and whose mechanics are exclusively focused on the stealth skills of the little protagonist. The irresistible graphic style is unfortunately not accompanied by a code developed with the same care, and the absurd angles and inaccuracies of the control system spoil the experience. An adventure that is worth living, if armed with a lot of patience.
