Review: Jello (Nintendo Switch) – Pure Nintendo
Yes, I’m one of the oddities who likes lime Jell-O. The hero in our next game has one of those things going for it—it is Jello (it looks more like orange, though). We have entered the days where even a blob of Jello can be the hero of its very own video game, so let’s get to splatting.
This is a 2D platformer with a time feature. You don’t have a time limit, per-se, but the faster you finish a level, the better you score. There is also a community leaderboard you can use to compete with other players for points and bragging rights.
The visuals feature a retro, pixelated look. While the game does a fair job of making good use of color and design, the game would look much better on the Switch screen if it had better resolution. The audio is OK and fits with the rest of the game. There is even a mildly satisfying splat sound our hero makes as it plops around the place.
As with real Jell-O, you can’t nail this one to the wall, but you do have about a second of being stuck to the wall that you can execute a jump (or roll—uh, gloop; that is, uh, let’s just call it move, OK?) to a new spot before falling. This momentary stickiness can be just enough to launch yourself to a new spot, but if you don’t make quick use of the moment, you can end up falling off the level and have to start all over.
Moving is, however, a bit of a mixed bag. The left joystick is where most of the action takes place, and it may not work the way you might expect. To launch your little lump of hero into a jump, you have to pull the joystick in the opposite direction you want to jump. It’s a bit like shooting a rubber band, and it can cause some frustration until you get used to it (I’m still not quite used to it).
The other way to move around is the aforementioned roll/move. This one is even wonkier than the jump. Instead of simply using the joystick to indicate which way our hero should go, you have to move the joystick around in a circle. Clockwise will roll/move to the right and anticlockwise will roll/move to the left. Personally, these movement types led me to fall into the chasm a fair number of times.
Quirkiness of movement aside, the game has limited interest due to the platformer nature and very basic goals and mechanics. All you have to do is to finish the round and post a good time. The replayability comes from improving your time and maybe claiming a spot on the leaderboard. Other than this, Jello is not very engaging or compelling.
One other feature we get with our Jello is the ability of the player to create custom levels. You can go from making a pleasant stroll to a level that tortures your gaming friends to the point of madness. Have fun.
Of course, there are some limits with level size and available elements, but creating a new round is about the most fun you can have with this game.
