Xel

XEL takes many of its cues from the Zelda franchise, with combat and puzzles that keep things interesting throughout as well as a charming, fun cast of characters. However, technical glitches in the Switch version make it difficult to enjoy at launch. There is the potential for a great game in here, possibly after a hefty patch to fix some of the bugs, but despite its obvious promise it fails to live up to its potential in its current state.

XEL is a highly discouraged title. We are faced with a product that, under "normal" conditions, could have achieved a barely passing grade, and nothing more. In its current state, however, it is a testament to the developers' lack of respect for their audience. It is unacceptable that, in 2023, video games are being released in this condition. We regretfully acknowledge this, but we could not do otherwise.

XEL is a game that understands its genre, but the development team fails to see that solid innovation is required to compete, given how crowded it is. The basic exploration and combat work well and the time stuff is an interesting addition. But much more is needed to get players interested and to keep them playing.

XEL paints a beautiful picture but fails to produce anything notable beyond this. Between one-dimensional characters, uninspired combat, and rampant progression barriers, I found very few things to enjoy here. If you are a starved Zelda fan looking for a sci-fi twist or care little about a story this may be worth your time.

Ultimately, XEL currently has way too many issues for me to seriously consider suggesting it, which is a shame considering the promise it shows. While updates are being made, at the moment it can be an absolute struggle to get through, and even when it isn’t, the little things start wearing on you pretty fast. I highly suggest to wait at least a month for some fixes to the issues before you consider picking up XEL. I really hope the issues get resolved and the developers continue making games, because I’d really like to see more refined titles from them.

XEL isn't a great game. It's not even a mediocre game. It's a half-finished mess that shouldn't have been released in this state.

Xel hasn’t had the best launch on Nintendo Switch. The idea of a new contender to the Zelda like genre with a more futuristic feeling is something I have wanted to see for quite some time. But Xel isn’t quite up to the task, yet. The framework is here for a fun-filled adventure with a unique environment to explore but the bugs, glitches and poor performance are just too loud not to notice. There is hope though. We have seen other examples of games released in a bad state and the developers rolled their sleeves up and fixed them later. Hopefully, Xel will be one of those redemption stories. But it is not this day. I’ll keep an eye on this game for future updates. One day I hope this thumb can be turned the other way around.

At the end of the day, XEL is a game that is competent, has some good ideas, and enough gameplay elements to keep you playing. The sound design is well done and I do enjoy the simplistic art direction and its bright, popping color pallet. Unfortunately, it’s a game that just needed more time in the oven to hammer out the bugs and glitches that really hold this back. There are some good ideas here, but the annoyances almost outweighed what it does do well.

XEL looks great on the surface, but unfortunately it has too many bugs and technical issues to warrant recommending it to anyone. The framerate drops and slow-loading zone transitions alone can cause some frustrations, but add in an uncontrollable camera that is overly distant from the action, difficult to detect enemies, and terrain that is easy to get stuck to - forcing you to reload from your last save point, and you have a game that is near unplayable in its current state. Patches may resolve these issues, but as of right now XEL is too frustrating to fully enjoy.

XEL will keep you entertained for a while, but it’s also a little too clumsy at present. It's an underwhelming adventure game that probably needed more time in development.