My first time seeing this title was during a Nindies presentation. I saw a cute elephant with an isometric camera and at one point a chicken riding on his back. While I loved the look of the game, the chicken is what did me in. The game had me on charm alone – but could the rest of it hold up to that initial awe?

Starting Yono and the Celestial Elephants, you’ll come to realize that this is a game that wants to tackle the adventure genre that Zelda defined. However, it’s more along the lines of Oceanhorn, both in appearance and simplicity. Playing for an hour, I turned to my wife and said “you know who would love this game? Our kid.” This is a game that an adult can enjoy, but I think a younger audience would appreciate it much more.

Aside from the picture book visuals which are an absolute joy, the game’s music is very cheery, and the gameplay itself is easy to pick up. You’ll head-butt enemies to death, break blocks, and knock things over with one button, while blowing dandelions and spraying water you sucked up out of your trunk with another. The action button will allow you to talk with citizens, but it’s also how you’ll put items/animals on your back and use/throw them depending on the situation. That’s essentially it control wise, other than a lock-on. You’ll come across some other things that serve as “power ups” for puzzles outside of water, one of which is peanuts.

Speaking of puzzles, that is the bulk of the game. Whether it be moving blocks or figuring out who lost their top hat at the top of a column, there are a lot of puzzles to solve. And in the event you need to fast travel to complete one, each city has a train station allowing you to traverse to any town you’ve already discovered. It’s also here that I thought of my unborn child though. Maybe it’s because I’ve been playing puzzle games for years, but everything seemed so simple. I didn’t have to sit and think about anything I came across – even the bosses, which were the only ones with any sort of urgency for completion. Not a bad thing by any means, but something to consider if you’re hoping to wrack your brain for hours on one puzzle.

There are lots of collectibles to be found while on your adventure, which includes letters to unlock pages of lore, heart pieces to increase your life, and coins to purchase new skins. If you’re a fan of lore, you are in for a treat with this, as the game has much more depth than you might think at a glance. Learning about the elephants and their purpose of keeping the peace on the planet every so many centuries at a time is quite fascinating. The extra hearts will help in making you a tank, but much like the skins, are completely unnecessary. However, if you’re a fan of skins, this game has a TON, and they are really cool if you get all the things they reference. If you can’t be bothered though, you can bypass all of this and just continue with the game’s main path.

The story itself is a bit convoluted, and while there are some plot twists, everything seems very predictable. From the opening of the game, you’ll probably know what role the girl you’re introduced to plays. Going along with the lore though, there are some interesting societies you’ll come across, and some pretty deep thoughts that go along with them. I’ll admit that some of the dialogue would definitely go over the heads of younger audiences, but I don’t think it would make it any less enjoyable. Think of it like adult humor in children movies – it makes it fun for everyone.

While the game’s music is upbeat and well produced, the other sounds in the game are less so. Each character has a type of noise they make when you start talking to them, and some of these can be grating after the first couple of times hearing them. Some sound effects also sound a bit crushed – by that I mean they sound like they weren’t optimized and were recorded through a Styrofoam cup phone. Hopefully this is something that can be patched, as it constantly pulled me from the experience. The fighting is also very lackluster, as you’ll head-butt your enemies until they die without regard for your own life. With how easy it is to come across hearts, there’s really no reason to do anything but hit attack until you win. It would’ve been nice to see a bit of variation in battles, like a dodge being necessary before attacking, or needing to do more with your trunk abilities. It may even be better without the basic combat at all. More bosses would’ve definitely been preferred over any amount of regular combat.

If you are looking for an entry level puzzle adventure for your kids, I highly recommend Yono and the Celestial Elephants. With the stunning aesthetic and simple game design, they should have no problem becoming immersed. If you’re looking for something along the lines of a new Zelda, you’ll likely be disappointed in the fighting that’s offered. If you just want to relax with some puzzles and beautiful visuals though, with a chicken in tow, you’ve found the game for that. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention this was created by a single person.

7 out of 10

Pros

• Picture Book Come to Life
• Deep Lore
• Music

Cons

• Sound Effects
• Combat
• Plot

Yono and the Celestial Elephants was developed by Neckbolt and published by Plug In Digital. It was released on PC and NS on October 12th, 2017 for $14.99. The game was provided to us for review on NS. For more on Yono and the Celestial Elephants, visit its official site.

 

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