Manairons: a review of the platformer with a fairytale touch

Have you ever heard of the Manairons? Probably not, unless you're a fan of legends belonging to that wonderful natural border known to us as the Pyrenees. In any case, Manairons are small, industrious elves who lived underground and were highly sought after by lumberjacks, farmers, and mushroom pickers to ask for help with their troubles. Once found, they are locked inside special cases to be released at the opportune moment.

According to legend, these little beings are said to live inside canut, ancient magical artifacts that can be released by whoever possesses them. And from this comes the stroke of genius from the folks at JanduSoft, a folkloric inspiration that shines for its originality.

We will thus take on the role of Nai, a sprite who is freed by a mysterious witch after awakening from centuries of imprisonment. The mission entrusted to us is very simple and noble at the same time: retrieve the artifact and stop the chaos in the village of Vilamont.

A Harmonious Melody with Occasional Limitations

Every respectable story features a villain, in this case, a mayor who wants to abuse the power of the Manairons for his own gain. And without any scruples, he has used the power of the sprites to industrialize Vilamont. Llorenç cares nothing for legends, and so it will be up to us to free our companions and restore the lost normality.

From this moment on, the adventure will begin, a journey that will take us to highly inspired places, where even a pat of butter can become a platform to cling to and reach previously inaccessible areas. But let's proceed in order: Manairons is a 3D platform adventure like those of old, where you make your way using magical melodies. So forget about RPG-style progression, with skill trees and power-ups of any kind: here you'll have to jump between platforms, climb ropes larger than expected (after all, we're the tiny ones), and give a good beating with our flute to those Manairons who block our path against their will.

Nai (who can be chosen as either a male or female version) is one of those stubborn, determined sprites, capable of overcoming every obstacle that stands in their way, which, let's face it, will happen sequentially. All thanks to a flute, an instrument capable of performing high-level magical feats: our protagonist will be able to learn new melodies taught by the various inhabitants tired of the "supremacy" enacted by the wicked Llorenç.

These musical notes will allow us to create footholds of musical notes suspended in the void to make wider jumps, move impossible objects, and even activate switches to open locked doors. But don't think it ends there; the flute can also be used as a melee weapon to strike down our kin who are, against their will, on the wrong side.

And it is precisely in the combat system that Manairons' limitations are immediately apparent; it seemed to us to be ineffective in both offensive and defensive phases. To defeat an opponent, you'll need to combine attacks, which is nothing more than repeatedly pressing the action button without any further flair. Everything appears very clumsy, static, and we never managed to feel the impact of the blows: to be clear, the combat system feels mechanical and not very fun.

Even ranged attacks, which are musical shots fired with the flute, are crude: the flying notes often miss even when aiming at the person in front of you, and the lack of a manual reticle certainly doesn't help. Not to mention that Nai cannot dodge at any time, and, let us say, this absence is keenly felt in this production. We certainly didn't expect a deep and heart-pounding combat system, where every counter-offensive would give the player satisfaction, but we would have appreciated more attention in this regard.

As for the environmental puzzles, another focal characteristic of the experience, we cannot complain, even if the variety was not very great. Nai, in most cases, will have to place batteries on switches to power them, move inkwells onto platforms, and activate levers with his flute. Everything is very easy and almost never frustrating, although this latter feeling is sometimes felt in certain parts of the adventure, when the sprite fails to grab a rope or a jump is not enough to reach the next platform.

Manairons is a linear platformer, easy to play, and one that will almost never truly challenge the player, not even in the boss battles, despite them being decidedly inspired. Yet, in such an accessible formula, some jumping sessions reminded us of the nightmare of the first Crash Bandicoot, where precise movement was required to overcome the platforming phases.

Has the Manairons Fairytale Succeeded?

Folklore, music, and a fairytale atmosphere manage to make this production quite enjoyable, where what strikes most is not the gameplay, which seemed quite basic to us, but rather a truly interesting artistic direction. The visual identity of this production is noteworthy, thanks to unique and emotionally evocative atmospheres. Every texture in the game seems hand-painted, and the feeling of walking inside animated frescoes is undeniable.

The sound design also plays a key role, not only in animating the events but especially as a means to make the overall formula more interesting. All very nice, but we are still talking about a video game, and even if we were captivated by the artistic side, the same cannot be said for the aforementioned gameplay. It's not wrong in 2026 not to hybridize the action platformer formula, but this must be supported by a more incisive gameplay system that satisfies the player more.

We are of the opinion that Manairons, despite its good intentions and the inclusion of some stealth sections, needed more care in certain aspects. In any case, we managed to complete the adventure without too much trouble in about 6 hours and collected several collectibles scattered throughout the levels.

Another aspect that we Italians are accustomed to when it comes to independent productions is the lack of localization in our language. This could cause some problems for those who don't have a good grasp of English, risking missing small portions of a fairytale that, all in all, manages to transport you.