XBOX REVIEW | Manairons

There’s a certain charm to Manairons that hits you before you even take your first step.  

Manairons wastes no time pulling you into its mix of Pyrenean folklore and playful chaos. You wake up as Nai, a tiny and slightly irritable manairó, a mischievous little forest spirit from local legend, who has spent centuries trapped inside a magical canut, only to step into a village that has been industrialised into silence. Shops are shut, manairons are overworked and the whole place feels like it has forgotten what magic is supposed to look like.

Your task is simple on paper. With a flute, a handful of magical melodies and a lot of improvisation, you set out to restore some balance. You explore Vilamont’s businesses, solve puzzles that twist your brain in just the right way and face off against your own kind who have been pulled into factory duty. It is a quirky setup filled with folklore, mischief and stressed little creatures, and after watching the trailer I was curious to see how all of this would play out.

Things I liked!

• Visuals and Art Style | Manairons won me over almost immediately with its presentation. The art direction has a handcrafted, storybook charm that fits its folklore roots. Each level is themed around one of the village’s shops, and the environmental design is colourful, readable and full of personality. Whether you are weaving between oversized tools in the cobbler’s workshop or dodging bursts of heat inside the bakery’s ovens, the game nails that sense of place.
  
  I have always loved games that shrink you down and let you explore the world from a tiny perspective, and Manairons captures that scale beautifully. Everyday objects become set pieces, obstacles and landmarks, and the world feels playful without tipping into clutter. The 2.5D presentation works in its favour too. The 3D models layered over a mostly side-on plane give the game a nostalgic flavour without feeling dated.
  
  There is also a lovely nod to classic adventure games in the way Manairons uses music. Learning short melodies to interact with the environment adds a splash of whimsy, and the animations that accompany these moments are simple but charming. It all comes together to create a visual identity that is cohesive, inviting and surprisingly memorable.

• Gameplay and Level Design:
  
  – Core Mechanics | Manairons keeps things simple. You start with a basic jump, which improves later in the game, and you gradually learn new melodies for your flute. These tunes can slightly change the environment, such as creating hooks you can leap from or moving larger objects to open new paths. Combat is also very straightforward: you press a single button to attack, and most encounters come down to timing your swings as enemies approach. It is not a deep system, but it adds enough variety to keep each stage feeling fresh.
  
  – Controls | For the most part, the controls feel tight and responsive, which helps the platforming stay accessible for younger players and newcomers. Throughout each level you will find prompts where you can play your flute, and while there are only a handful of melodies to learn, it is not always obvious which one you need in the moment. This often leads to a bit of trial and error, although playing each tune is simple enough since you only need to match the button sequence shown in your melody list. You can view every melody at the press of a button, so even if you forget the order it never slows you down for long.
  
  – Puzzles | Some of the early puzzles stand out in particular. A few require you to climb across multiple floors and line up the flow of energy that powers a door, with only one correct route among several tempting options. These were clever, satisfying to solve and made great use of the game’s vertical spaces. I found them fun and wished the game had included a few more puzzles in this style, since they added a welcome layer of complexity without ever feeling overwhelming.
  
  – Enemies and Hazards | There are a small number of enemy types scattered throughout the levels. Most walk along simple paths until they spot you, then they head straight for you. The flying enemies were the trickiest for me, as they hover just above the ground and can be awkward to hit cleanly. Some enemies also throw honey that slows you down if you step in it, which adds a bit of pressure during certain encounters.
  
  – Checkpoints and Difficulty | Checkpoints are placed fairly throughout each stage. Falling off a ledge sends you back to the previous checkpoint and costs a small amount of health. Losing all your health returns you to the start of the stage, but any puzzles you have already solved stay solved, which helps keep frustration down. Enemies do respawn, though, so you still need to fight your way back through.
  
  – The Town of Vilamont | Between stages you return to the local town of Vilamont. Here the camera switches to an aerial isometric view, and you can wander around, talk to a few villagers and replay any stages you have already completed. You can even fast travel to different parts of each stage, which makes hunting for missed collectibles much easier.
  
  – Boss Fights | Each stage ends with a boss fight, and these were one of my favourite parts of Manairons. They are fun, varied and often more imaginative than the regular platforming sections, giving each level a satisfying final moment. The pacing felt just right too, with new ideas being introduced regularly. Even the final boss adds a new mechanic, which was a nice surprise.
  
  – Collectibles | There are plenty of collectibles to find, from vinyl records and stamps to coins and other little surprises. Some are easy to spot, while others are tucked away in clever hiding places. There were a few moments where, after several failed jumps, I just wanted to reach the next checkpoint and skipped a collectible or two, but completionists will enjoy the hunt.
  
  
• Sound and Music | The audio work in Manairons is surprisingly charming. The sound effects are crisp and satisfying, whether you’re whacking enemies, opening creaky doors or simply walking across different surfaces. You can clearly hear the change between metal, wood and other materials, which adds a nice layer of texture to each area. Even jumping on enemies triggers a little flute note, giving the action a playful touch. The flute itself sounds lovely. There are only a handful of melodies to learn, but each one has a soft, pleasant tone that fits the fairy-tale atmosphere. They’re simple, but they blend nicely with the world and never overstay their welcome.
  
  The voice acting is a real standout. Every character sounds like they’ve stepped straight out of a Disney fairy-tale, with warm, expressive performances that bring a lot of personality to the story. Even the smaller side characters feel thoughtfully cast, adding to the game’s cosy charm. The soundtrack supports the adventure well too. Most areas feature gentle, relaxing music, but the tone shifts during boss fights, picking up the pace and adding a little more energy. It’s a subtle change, but it helps those moments feel more exciting without overwhelming the player.
  
  
• Replayability | Trying to reach 100 percent completion adds some welcome replayability. You can fast travel to certain checkpoints in any stage, which makes it easy to jump back in and search for any collectibles you missed the first time. Some of these collectibles are tucked away in very well hidden spots, so tracking them down can be surprisingly challenging. Even though many levels run close to an hour, returning to them still feels rewarding thanks to the extra secrets and the satisfaction of filling out your collection.
  

Mixed & disliked!

• Jump Readability | One thing that caused me some frustration was judging where I would land during certain jumps. Because the camera is fixed, platforms sometimes look like they line up when they actually sit slightly in front or behind each other. More than once I jumped towards a ledge that seemed perfectly aligned, only to miss and fall. You do unlock a double jump later on, and this adds a helpful white landing marker for bigger leaps, but the issue still lingers on smaller jumps where the marker doesn’t appear.
  
  
• Combat | The fighting mechanics are very basic, often boiling down to walking up to an enemy and pressing attack until it goes down. Some enemies drop items you need to progress, such as batteries you find earlier in the game, so you will have to defeat those specific ones. Outside of those moments, I usually found it easier to run past most enemies instead of engaging. Combat never feels bad, but it also never adds much excitement, and it sits firmly behind the platforming and puzzles in terms of impact.

• Performance and Stability | For the most part, Manairons runs well, but I did run into a few issues during my playthrough. The most frustrating one happened while climbing ropes. At times my character would get stuck and become completely unresponsive, unable to climb down, jump off or move in any direction. The only solution was to exit the game session and reload, which sent me back to the start of the stage. It didn’t happen often, but when it did, it broke the flow of the level.
  
  I also noticed that the music would occasionally cut out for no clear reason. This only happened a handful of times, and I’m confident it’s something that can be fixed in a future update, but it was still noticeable when it occurred. Loading times were also longer than expected. Entering a stage often took around ten seconds, which isn’t terrible, but it does slow down the pace when you’re retrying levels or hopping between areas.
  
  Outside of these moments, I didn’t run into any slowdown or visual performance issues. The game stayed smooth throughout, even in busier areas.
  
  
• Accessibility Options | Manairons offers a solid set of accessibility options for a smaller platformer. It supports five text languages (English, French, Catalan, Spanish and German) and three audio languages (Spanish, Catalan and English), along with colourblind settings. You also get separate volume sliders, the ability to toggle rumble, adjust control sensitivity and change cursor speed. You can view the full button layout, though you can’t remap individual buttons. The cursor is only used in the pause menu, so this limitation isn’t too disruptive.
  
  There are still a few areas that could be improved. Cutscenes can’t be skipped, which becomes frustrating during boss fights that may take several attempts, as you’re forced to rewatch the intro each time. The game also lacks assist modes, difficulty options and deeper text customisation. Even so, the simple controls and gentle pacing make Manairons approachable for younger players and newcomers, with enough settings to help most people settle in comfortably.

How long did I play the review before publishing? 11 Hours
How long to beat the story? 9 Hours
How many Achievements did I earn before publishing? 12/24 OR 345/1000G
How long to achieve 1000G | 25 Hours + depending on skill
You’ll love this game if you like these | New Super Lucky’s Tale and A Hat in Time

CONCLUSION

Score: 73/100

A charming folklore adventure with heart, colour and creativity, held back only by a few rough edges.

Manairons is a charming 2.5D adventure with lovely art, creative puzzles and a cosy folklore setting. The town of Vilamont is fun to explore, the bosses stand out and the flute melodies add personality. Some rough edges hold it back, like basic combat, tricky jump readability and a few performance issues, but it remains an enjoyable and imaginative little journey.