Guayota Review (Nintendo Switch OLED)

Rating: 7
Author: Jim Smale

by Jim Smale · August 23, 2024

Guayota Review, Inspired by legends related to the Canary Islands and the Guanches mythology, Guayota depicts the story of a group of explorers, sent by the Spanish Kingdom to find the legendary Saint Brendan’s Island. As the protagonist, you will soon understand that this island said to be paradise on Earth, might actually hide darker secrets.

Guayota Review Pros:

Lovely hand-drawn graphics.
3.7GB download size.
Game settings – show interactive button prompts and brightness slider.
The game is inspired by the mythology of the ancient people living in Tenerife.
Beautiful hand-drawn cutscenes, and character portraits.
Excellent voice work.
Puzzle adventure gameplay.
Basic tutorial pop-ups as you play.
Multiple choice encounters and questioning.
3D game World with the camera panning in and out as you travel around, usually to show off points of interest.
Puzzles play a huge part in the game.
Good lighting is mostly emphasized as there are puzzles that use light for the solving of it.
You can skip the cutscenes and fast-forward text conversations.
Markings on the walls give the story and sometimes help with puzzles.
I must say though, the puzzles are great fun and very satisfying.
Rooms may have alternate puzzles when you enter them but the game tells you beforehand. It turns the game from the real world to the darker more supernatural world.
Some of the rooms will allow basic camera movement, or should I say camera panning as the camera always snaps back.
Great Dungeon design.
It’s a good brain workout.

Guayota Review Cons:

You cannot remap the controls.
It would have been good to have a basic breakdown of what the game entails, especially the first dungeon as you are left wondering what the game wants from you.
Loading times are inconsistent and not always great for a handheld game.
There is no real tutorial and instead, it’s just a few pop-ups.
No actual game settings.
Slow delay in menus loading up.
The overall performance is choppy, not smooth with slow down in parts.
For all the good voice work, it all disappears in the game and it’s just walls of text.
You drop items you are holding when leaving a room or area without the game telling you.
The Story feels somewhat disconnected from the gameplay and it makes the game feel like a load of puzzle rooms, not well explained, with a few little drawings.

Related Post: Deathbound Review (Steam)

Guayota:

Official website.

Developer: Team Delusion

Publisher: Dear Villagers

Store Links –

Nintendo

7/10

Graphics - 7/10
7/10

Sound - 7/10
7/10

Accessibility - 7/10
7/10

Length - 7/10
7/10

Fun Factor - 7/10

7/10

Summary

Guayota impresses with its lovely hand-drawn graphics and beautiful cutscenes, which are complemented by excellent voice work. The game, inspired by the mythology of the ancient people of Tenerife, offers a rich visual and auditory experience. The 3D game world features a camera that pans in and out to highlight points of interest, enhancing the immersive experience. Puzzles play a significant role in the gameplay, with good lighting often emphasized to solve them. The game also includes multiple-choice encounters and questioning, adding depth to the puzzle adventure gameplay. Additionally, the dungeon design is commendable, providing a good brain workout with fun and satisfying puzzles.

However, the game has its drawbacks. The 3.7GB download size might be a concern for some players. While the game settings include interactive button prompts and a brightness slider, there is no option to remap controls, which can be frustrating. The lack of a comprehensive tutorial is another issue, as players are left with only basic pop-ups and no real breakdown of what the game entails, especially in the first dungeon. Loading times are inconsistent, and the overall performance is choppy, with slowdowns in parts. The menus also suffer from slow delays, and the voice work, despite being excellent, often disappears, leaving players with walls of text. Additionally, items are dropped when leaving a room or area without any notification, and the story feels somewhat disconnected from the gameplay, making it seem like a series of puzzle rooms with little explanation.

In summary, Guayota offers a visually and auditorily pleasing experience with its hand-drawn graphics, cutscenes, and voice work. The puzzles are engaging and satisfying, and the dungeon design is well-executed. However, the game is marred by performance issues, a lack of comprehensive tutorials, and some frustrating gameplay mechanics. Despite these flaws, it remains a good brain workout and an enjoyable puzzle adventure for those willing to overlook its shortcomings.