Ophelia Payne

Manairons is a game that immediately caught my attention with its beautiful graphic design. I was captivated by its charming looks, and when watching the trailer, the feeling of a dark fairy tale came to life. Developed by JanduSoft and 3Cat, Manairons is an action-adventure 3D platformer game that should definitely be applauded for its originality. It’s a debut indie, and if you know nothing else about me, know I have a soft spot for those games. Passion projects coming to life, and I will forgive a multitude of issues if the game appeals to me.

I was unfamiliar with the Pyrenean fable of the Manairons, and once I learned it was based on real folklore, I did a little research and was surprised at how similar it is to fables from other cultures. I love games that bring folktales to the forefront and introduce people to other cultures. In general, these characters have a similar appearance to other fabled creatures, like Santa’s elves, fairies, goblins, etc.

I love games that zoom in and turn ordinary locations into exciting adventures. Just one of the reasons I loved Grounded and It Takes Two, a real ‘Honey, I Shrunk the Kids’ vibe. You start by choosing your gender (or rather hat and hair colour) of Nai, awoken by a witch, in hopes you will help face off against the landlord of the charming village of Vilamont. Llorenç has captured and enslaved the manairons for his own use and gain in his industrial takeover.

You start out with the basics of crouching and jumping, and will quickly move to adding vaulting and climbing skills. Climbing is one of the issues I had with Manairons. Climbing always felt off, and this could have been due to my largest issue with the game, a fixed camera. Because the camera was fixed, I struggled to line up where I needed to jump and where I needed to climb. The jumping onto moving platforms was more of a struggle than the climbing for me, even though you were presented with a small circle showing where you would land, I found it hard to judge. This resulted in many deaths and respawning at the checkpoints. At least these were spread out enough as to not cause too much backtracking.

Along with those standard platforming mechanics mentioned above, you also have a magical flute. This can be used as a weapon, by swinging it or shooting from it, but you will also eventually learn songs that give you a variety of abilities, like moving giant blocks or grappling musical notes, to navigate the world as well. I did enjoy that you were expected to learn a musical ‘spell’ and recall it when needed, versus just a random quick time event when you wanted to use it. Don’t worry, you can also access any songs learned in your menu should your memory fail you (as mine did from time to time).

While you can use your flute to block in battle, there is no real dodge and no rolling mechanic. Luckily, the combat wasn’t too difficult that this was an issue. There is a basic health bar system, and at the end of each level, Nai will rest on a giant cushion and listen to a gramophone while recovering their full health (and saving the game). On the gramophone, as a delightful touch, you can listen to any albums you collect in the world. You will also find buttons as collectibles.

Along with battling an assortment of ‘evil Nai’ and some unusual bosses (a robotic chef with a mixer for an arm, and a giant mechanical chicken), there are puzzles scattered throughout Manairons. Most of these are fairly simple. Figure out how to find and access an assortment of batteries in assorted colours, place them in the proper locations, pull levers, etc. Don’t forget to look for those buttons and figure out how to reach them, too.

I loved that the story was steeped in Catalan folklore and very anti-industrial. There was a charm that was easy to see and hard to explain. As much as I gushed about how beautiful the design is, this applies to the entire world as well. The music, soundtrack and sound effects also capture moments perfectly. Those large mousetraps made me jump every time.

Despite my few complaints about Manairons, I was completely charmed by the design, story, and music. The multiple deaths were frustrating, but never so much that I wanted to quit. 3Cat is a studio to keep your eye on, and if this debut game is any indication of what they are capable of, I can’t wait to see what’s next from them.

Until next time…be good to yourself and be good to each other.

**Thank you, JanduSoft and PressEngine, for graciously providing the review code. Reviewed on Xbox Series X**