The story begins as simple as a tale of revenge can be. After their house is burned, the mom leaves the kid in the care of some priests in a monastery nearby and goes alone to the bandits’ lair, finding a lot of dynamite and blowing it up. But it’s after the kid sets on his journey to reunite with the mom when the plot thickens. A really dark story full of sinister folks, shootouts, and child slavery unfolds as the kid’s story does, and it’s within that violent conspiracy where El Hijo operates, harmlessly trying to save the person that he loves the most.
Although a simpler, but very fun hybrid puzzle and stealth game, which caresses the soul with visuals and constantly surprises with new elements. [Issue#309]
El Hijo is a simply yet entertaining game, thanks to its clever level design and a fine aesthetic. On the other hand, the IA is insufficient and occasionally the input lag can ruin the situation.
El Hijo is certainly a lovely experience. It has gorgeous visuals, as much storytelling as a player wishes to see, smart puzzles, and some of the more frustrating aspects of stealth games are given features to make it more palatable to a larger audience. Sadly, though, these features dumb down the stealthing side to an extent and take away the dynamic feeling of many others of the genre, leaving players coming for a stealth heavy game wanting more.
El Hijo is not terrific, no question about it. The gameplay is too repetitive for that, the AI is sometimes forbidden stupidly and the story is simply not exciting enough. Nevertheless, the Western adventure can convince thanks to a beautiful graphic style and a nice sneak mechanic. El Hijo is definitely a successful game, especially for young gamers - and completely free of violence.
El Hijo - A Wild West Tale is the perfect stealth game for those who are looking for an experience that is not too complex but still able to whet the intelligence, thanks to a mix of excellent level design, well-calibrated puzzle sections and many solutions offered in sandbox environments, all immersed in a spaghetti western atmosphere.