Game Review: Jello

By Al

Players: 1
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC

I don't know how it is that I seem to always end up reviewing the precision platformers that come our way, but I guess I'm back with another one! Adding in physics-based gameplay into the mix, Jello is a game that recently released on the Nintendo Switch following a Steam release last year. We're going to be taking a look at the Switch version today, and see if this is a game that is frustratingly hard in all the right ways. Maybe also figure out how the game managed to get away with using the "Jello" name. Anyhow, there's no point dragging out the intro any more than that, let's get right into it!

Even though I don't think I'm going to rate Jello as far as story goes, it does have an outline of one in a way. You're a cute little slime thing, I guess called a "jello", and there's a strange lemur who is showing you how to get through the game's world. Not just your guide, you're also helping the lemur by collecting crystals and caterpillars. I guess there's also something involving stars and constellations, but it's not really important in the grand scheme of things. I think you'll all forgive me if I just drop the explanation there. This is a platformer that leans heavily on its own brand of tough-as-nails gameplay, so it goes without saying that one doesn't need a lot of reason to persist at clearing an impossibly hard set of levels. Speaking of which, there are five sets of levels to explore, with about 60+ stages to conquer in total. Each of those zones have their own characteristics such as a cave, jungle, an icy area, and so on. Each of the zones also ends with a boss encounter, though I have yet to be able to clear those. Actually, I've only managed to clear about 3/4 of the game in spite of my many attempts. While I'm not exactly a tried and true precision platformer player, I promise you that I'm no slouch. There's a reason as to why I pretty much gave up and began writing the review, and we're going to have to move on to looking at the gameplay of Jello to understand why.

In my first hour of playing Jello, I figured I'd give it a scathing review on account of it not being at all beginner or casual friendly. It's hard from the very beginning, and it's a challenge just to clear the tutorial sections. I ultimately decided against that as I noticed that the game actually doesn't lie about what it is. It states right in its eShop description that it's not for the casual gamer, and I have to commend the developers for being honest. What exactly makes it hard though? Well, Jello is an odd mix of a precision platformer and a physics-based one. That may not sound like much on paper, but these two gameplay types clash in execution. It's hard to say a game requires precision when you're forced to make quick leaps that often have results that vary from one attempt to the next. I'm probably getting too abstract there though, so let's start by talking about controls.

Even though I accidentally try to do so at least once in every one, Jello doesn't let you control your slime directly. You can move the slime slowly either left or right with the shoulder buttons, but most of your movement will come in the form of jumping. Jumping isn't done with a button press though, instead you hold back the d-pad or analog stick in the opposite direction you want to go, check your trajectory, and release to jump. Hopefully you didn't over or under shoot your landing, and you then repeat until you clear the level. Everything requires jumping as even the crystals you collect to end a stage are floating off the floor. It only takes one hit to kill your slime, and your biggest dangers will be pink foliage, open pits, disappearing platforms, and even other local wildlife. You do have infinite lives though, so you're bound to clear any area if you don't give up. Those are the basics of the game, but there is a bit more to it than just that of course.

There are a lot of advanced tactics to take into consideration when playing a game of Jello. First off is the fact that there are a lot of factors that can alter one's jump. Missing doesn't have to mean death, as you can sometimes shimmy your way to safety with the shoulder buttons, and taking little hops might be way easier than going for insane leaps of faith. There's are also techniques like wall jumping, sliding down carefully, and even a grappling maneuver that all need to be mastered in order to properly play the game. I'm dancing around the main point a bit, as mastering the controls is absolutely necessary if you want to get anywhere in the game. I know that can be said about just about any platformer, but it is 100% the case in Jello. There is nothing at all intuitive about the "press in the opposite direction you want to go" jumping mechanic, and that's not even the half of it. Every single aspect of the level design seems mean spirited, and you have only the smallest windows of success. It's amazing how many ways you can die in each level, and even more amazing that you can sometimes get through a stage by sheer luck. It makes for a rather uneven experience that I'm not really sure I ever really liked.

Even though I'll admit that I started to have a lot more fun after I resigned myself to dying dozens of times before beating most stages, I'm not sure if that will be the case for all players. Jello does have some very detailed leaderboards, and it's there that I started to notice some of the problems with the game. I sort of mentioned this earlier, but the first eight stages or so act like a tutorial before the game actually opens up. From there you get to play any of the five worlds at any time, but must complete each of their stages in order. While the leaderboards paint a picture of a community of players excelling at the game, it's not the only picture one gets from them. The reason I said that I don't think many players got too far into the game is simply due to the fact that I placed very high on the leaderboards for some of the later levels. I know that the game is still new, but I was placing in the 400s on those tutorial stages, only to suddenly be consistently placing in the 20s at least. There were even several stages where I hit the top ten. I did get better at the game over time, but the numbers still feel very off. The ease of getting onto the later leaderboards implies that a couple hundred players simply gave up on the game during or after the tutorial, and probably moved on to something more inviting. I may be wrong on that, but I have no other idea why that would be the case.

Even though I still don't think Jello is by any means a perfect game, it does have a charm to it that kept me around for a long time. The graphics and music are both decent, and the slime and lemur are each cool in their own ways. There's even a level editor that I have yet to try out since it requires defeating at least one world, a task I'm not sure I can ever do on account of those boss battles. Though there aren't a whole lot of stages, their difficulty will keep you around for a while. There are also several collectables in the form of caterpillars, but I rarely bothered with those since they require some of the most insane platforming I've ever seen in my life. One of my biggest issues with the game, and probably the biggest barrier to entry in my opinion, has to be its current price. I hate to pick on the pricing for small indie titles, but $13.99 feels far too high of a price point for this type of game. I've played several precision platformers that come in at the $4.99 mark, and paying anything over $9.99 for one just feels wrong. I know it's just a few dollars, but that can mean a lot to some players. It also doesn't help that the game is rather light on content, outside of the level editor I guess, once you realize that much of the time spent in-game is just replaying the same levels over and over again.

When it comes to recommending Jello, I have a few caveats I have to address before doing so. First of all there's the price thing that I just went over, but I also think that it's worth reminding everyone that this is not a casual-friendly game in any way. If you're someone who played Super Meat Boy or Celeste and felt that they were far too hard for you, then you're going to want to stay away from Jello. On the other hand, if you're one of those gamers who look for the hardest platformers to hone your skills with, then you're definitely going to have fun here. As long as you adjust your expectations accordingly, you'll be fine. See you in the next one!

Oh, and I guess they were able to use the name "Jello" because the gelatin dessert brand is actually named "Jell-O". Bet you thought I was going to forget that bit at the start of the review, didn't you?

Check Out Jello on Nintendo Switch:
https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/jello-switch/

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Story: N/A
Gameplay: B
Graphics: B
Music/Sound: B
Value: C

Overall: B-

Pros:
+ A tight precision platformer that is sure to appease fans of the genre.
+ The precision-based gameplay adds a lot of depth to what would've been a very simple game otherwise.
+ Quick respawns get you back in the action quickly, and short levels mean you can beat most all of them with repeated trial and error.
+ The graphics and music are both great, and most players will grow to love the slime and lemur main characters.
+ Very detailed leaderboards, and even a level editor, means that you can get lost in the competitive aspect of the game.

Cons:
- This is not a casual-friendly game at all, and that's by its own admission.
- Even though the controls are very responsive and tight, there's nothing at all intuitive about them. They'll take a while to learn, and even longer to master.
- The fact that I got into the later leaderboards very easily implies that a good chunk of gamers stop playing at some point during the tutorial, and that's not a thing to be proud of.
- Beating levels might be possible if you keep at it, but good luck getting all those caterpillars.
- It's current $13.99 price tag feels far too high for this type of game.

A copy of this game was provided to us free-of-charge by the publisher for the purpose of this review. This did not affect our review in any way.

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#Jello