Guayota – Review

Time and time again, mythology has proven to be a great source of inspiration for video game developers, whether it’s the likes of Hades being based on the tales told by the ancient Greeks or Okami’s Japanese folklore setting. Still, the vast majority of mythology-based games stick to the same half-dozen-or-so cultures that we’re all familiar with. So when a new game is based on a much lesser-known set of stories, you can be sure it’ll draw our attention. Guayota is such a game, aiming to bring the folklore of the Canary Islands to the public. Is this a tale worth telling, and does it not translate well into a video game?

Story

The title Guayota holds significant meaning, even outside of Team Delusion’s indie game. In the mythology of the original inhabitants of Tenerife, Guayota is the name of the principal malignant deity. Guyaota (the game, not the deity) isn’t set on Tenerife itself, but on the mythical Saint Brendan’s Island instead. However, much of the game’s lore is based on the history and culture of the Canary Islands. Set during the age of conquest, Guayota introduces us to a group of conquistadores looking for the mythical island, about which it is said that the only way to get there is by not looking for it. They successfully end up on the island, where they find several ancient temples. At this point, it warrants mentioning that Saint Brendan’s Island was named after Saint Brendan, and as is typical of saints, they want to introduce Catholicism wherever they go. As such, the ancient culture of the island’s original inhabitants, the Guanche, was all but erased, as was the history of the deity inhabiting the temples.

Among these explorers is our protagonist, an unnamed little guy wearing a distinct red hood. He ends up separated from the others, and when his torch gets blown out while inside one of the temples, he ends up being saved by a spirit. This unlikely new friend grants our hero the ability to see into another dimension. Our buddy must now make his way through all of the temples, and deal with the ancient evil that haunts each of them. As far as story premises go, it’s not the most original but the focus on a completely new mythology keeps things fresh. The story is mostly told in lengthy cutscenes, supplemented with stone carvings that can be found at the end of each temple room, and we really enjoyed our glimpse into the stories and culture of the Guanche.

Graphics

We’d argue that Guayota is a great-looking game, as it definitely has its moments. However, much of the game is steeped in darkness. Too much, in fact, to the point that we feel like a good chunk of the art direction is wasted on the underground temple setting. We got glimpses at the tropical paradise that is Saint Brendan’s Island, and all those did was make us long for an above-ground temple. Admittedly, the lighting in particular was fantastic, but we still felt like Guayota’s visuals didn’t quite live up to their potential.

Sound

There is quite a bit of voice work present in Guayota, with the majority coming from a soft-spoken narrator. Given that there is a lot of information being conveyed to you, especially early on, having a soothing voice explain everything does help with processing it all. Guayota’s soundtrack isn’t particularly remarkable, although it does fit with the game’s overall mysterious atmosphere. The sound effects are good, but not outstandingly so.

Gameplay

You probably wouldn’t have guessed it based on the game’s outward appearance but Guayota is actually a puzzle game, built around very simple core mechanics. There is no combat in the game, nor is there pesky inventory management to deal with. Instead, you’re tasked with making your way through a series of trap-filled temples. These span multiple rooms, and each room holds an environmental puzzle, not unlike something you’d see in an old-school Legend of Zelda game. In fact, when Guayota is at its best, it successfully recreates that “aha”-feeling that you also get when solving a puzzle in a Zelda title. Unfortunately, when Guayota is at its worst, it becomes frustrating, with unexpected traps that feel cheap and unfair when you run into them. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

Let’s focus on the good stuff first: for as simple of a game as Guayota is in terms of mechanics, there is quite a bit of variety here. Puzzles are built around mechanics like figuring out the right order in which you need to light up torches or guiding laser beams from point A to point B. These mechanics are introduced gradually, ensuring that Guayota never feels overwhelming. Subsequent rooms within the same temple stick to their respective core mechanic, building upon it and increasing the difficulty. Each of the first three temples focuses on a different mechanic, ensuring that they all have their own distinctive identity. Once you make it to the fourth temple, mechanics start to be combined, and Guayota really comes into its own in terms of puzzle design. There are also “dark” and “light” versions of each temple, and in order to fully reveal the story of Guayota, you’ll need to complete both versions. The biggest difference is that the “light” versions amp up the difficulty significantly through traps. The “dark” versions remove these traps, offering up a different approach instead, where the danger is replaced by limiting how far you can see.

Our main source of frustration with Guayota lies squarely within these “light” versions, for a myriad of reasons. Our little red-hooded buddy is a relatively fragile character, and there is no way to regenerate his health within a level. He has a dash ability, which is essential to avoiding some of the traps. Said ability needs to be recharged, so a lot of our time was spent moving somewhere safe and then waiting until we could dash again. Even then, the puzzles often felt needlessly punishing, especially since you can only take a limited number of hits before you’re automatically sent to the “dark” version. This wouldn’t bother us if this was optional, but a large number of traps are set up in such a way that you’ll likely take hits on your first few tries. For a puzzle game, this isn’t something you’d want, as trial-and-error is an integral part of these kinds of games. Guayota doesn’t give you any leeway, so you’ll either have to commit and restart over and over again or resort to a guide. The “dark” versions of the puzzles aren’t without fault either, with an over-reliance on invisible walls, but at least they don’t feel as unfair.

Despite the fairly short length of around 8 hours, Guayota still feels like it overstays its welcome somewhat. We would’ve preferred a version of this game that felt more focused on the strength of its puzzles and that relied less on punishing the player with cheap traps. It’s not a terrible game, but there is enough here to detract from the overall experience. The €14.99 price point is more than reasonable for the length and level of quality that you’re getting here, it’s just a shame that the game squanders a lot of gameplay potential through questionable design choices.

Conclusion

We really wanted to love Guayota, because it has so many appealing elements: the lore drew us in, the audiovisual presentation is well above average, and the core puzzle gameplay is simple but effective. It’s a shame that the overall experience is diminished by a handful of odd design choices that feel directly opposite to the philosophies of a puzzle game. Even so, Guayota is by no means a bad game and is worth seeking out for its deep dive into Guanche folklore alone.

SebastiaanRaats

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