I consider myself an optimist. Especially regarding the function of the Nintendo Switch. Yes, I’ve been using the system for over 5 years at this point, and looking at the output, it’s amazing that the core hardware has been holding up for a long time. Looking at ports such as Ghostrunner, DOOM Eternal, and especially Nintendo’s first-party output on the system, the switch is more attractive than similar portable handheld devices. That said, the cracks became more apparent, especially last year or so. However, it’s worth noting that XEL is one of the worst performing games I’ve seen on Switch in the last five years. Release the game in this state was really disappointing, with a lot of marketing behind it, and frankly, it shouldn’t have passed the quality assurance.
XEL opens immediately and sees the hero crash landing a spaceship on a mysterious planet. Her unfortunately, due to her crash, she loses her memory of who she is and where she is, and appears to have a rock on her forehead. Accompanied by her strange robot, she explores the planet and sets out to find out exactly what XEL is. From there, you will find strange robots and human colonies fighting mysterious others everywhere. All the while you are looking for a way to repair your ship and save the colony. Presented as clearly inspired by The Legend of Zelda, this game is an action-adventure game.
I may have shortened this explanation a bit, because I found the general idea of XEL to be very boring and boring. You have a sword and shield that can fight your enemies. There are clearly marked dungeons that reward you with important items needed to progress, and there is a roll button with a stamina meter. But while Hyrule’s landscape and design evoke mystery and exploration, XEL sees you walking through many straight corridors, defeating slow enemies and having considerable downtime during play. increase. The search here is rarely rewarding. From “hidden” audio logs to additional components used to improve gear and create items, I quickly realized that I just passed in all the extras to get the game done. Zelda games rarely have “well-written characters”, but XEL really wants you to tell us the mystery and how these people treat their lives with this. I am. Star.
Unfortunately, most of what I can admire about XEL’s world building and gameplay is that the overall aesthetics of the game are pleasing. The Switch version is absolutely terrible, so that’s it. Not only are we talking about horrific frame rates below double digits, pop-in is always part of the journey. Often, during play, the edges of the world simply disappear, pop out, or enter without any kind of transition. In the colonized regions of the world, not only do frame rates and pop-ins slow down, but controls become unresponsive, making the game almost unplayable. Going to the quest and talking to the villagers became a literal chore, as the game was the hardest to catch up. What do you think of other malicious switch ports like the first release of Cloudpunk? It was running at least semi-consistently, as much as the game fell to the visual side. With XEL, there is a risk that you will not be able to play without notice. All the while, games rarely come across as a graphical requirement for hardware. Why is XEL struggling to reach even half of those numbers while other hard-working indie games can run at consistent 1080 and 30fps?
And in the end, it’s where XEL fails the most. From a gameplay perspective, it’s not well distinguished from other indie games like the Indie Da available on the Switch. Titles such as Death’s Door, Cross Code, and Blossom Tales are famous for Zelda and offer a much more sophisticated and unique take to carry out great ideas on Switch. XEL has few characters to enjoy, no story to stay fully engaged, and the gameplay feels unnatural and repetitive. And that was before we reached a frankly terrible state that this game was released. I’ve postponed this review to see if the game will be updated before it’s released, but frankly, updating and tweaking the XEL seems like an effort, personally that’s it. I don’t think it’s worth it.
