Gnomes Vs. Fairies: Greckel's Quest

If you like the feel of those old trashy PC games you would randomly find that ended up being fun but obviously cheap or those WTF N64 games you would rent at Blockbuster or wherever then you would like this. It really does have charm to it and isn't a waste of time. A child would definitely enjoy it. I have to many other games to get through and this isn't good enough to keep any more of my attention but it is definitely worth giving a try if it looks like something you would enjoy. Don't judge it immediately; get through a few levels then make a decision.

Nice game i really enjoyed.
Great to play over a weekend (finding everything except one fairy took me ca. 10 hours and I´m a slow player).
Movement and jumping felt not clunky (other reviews mentioned this, maybe this got fixed since the review).
The levels were designed nicely and really reminded me of Spyro etc.

It seems to be a one person project and i expected loads of bugs but was positively surprised to find hardly any.
The in game menu offers a "back" button that brings you back from the levels to the hub world - i didnt manage to get stuck anywhere in the levels, but having that option was reassuring and made me explore every nook and cranny without worrying to get stuck.
And it was helpful when i gathered the last things in levels and could just teleport to the hub without playing the level to its end.

Every gnome freed and fairy captured gets saved instantely - even when you die/teleport to the hub.

I did manage to completely bug my first save file - it was right after the tutorial and my second save did not have the problem when i tried it again.

Overall this is a fun little platformer. Definitely for older kids and up, as there are a lot of floating islands (so dying is easy). To learn the controls, press Esc and go to Options (Btw to open inventory it's Tab, not "F").

Pros:
-Cute design
-Simple level layouts
-Easy learning curve for kids
-Small variety of weapons

Cons:
-Bugs (can be minor to moderate)
-Character movement can be sluggish
-Window Mode (NOT RECOMMENDED)

This is a hidden gem. The developer seems to have done a great job with doling out improvements and updates to this while working on the sequel and their work has paid off.

Gnomes Vs. Fairies is fantastic. A fun, polished, original action adventure platformer that elicits the same feelings I had when playing Mario, Zelda, Crash Bandicoot, or Spyro as a kid. At first glance, I thought it was more simplistic than it actually is but learning different movement combos to enhance speed and mobility combined with the permanent game-changing powerups really makes this a wonderful experience. The soundtrack is awesome, the level design is as open as you'd want and engaging, and VR camera makes you feel like you're a part of the world in a way non-VR third-person platformers just can't. It's kinda like playing with toys as a kid, only the toys are alive.

The only real criticism I have is that the HUD UI, which you don't actually ever really want/need, is a bit buggy in that UI elements seem to spawn and hangout well below the play area, out of sight unless you duck through objects. Really not a big deal at all. The combat could be a bit more involved in that it leans more towards action-platformer style instead of adventure-style, which is a bit at odds with the Zelda-style collectible powerup/upgrade system, but it doesn't detract from the experience.

Overall, I can't recommend this game enough and I'm looking forward to the sequel.

Me and a friend bought this to play together and we both been trying for almost an hour to type our names in and click connect..... doesn't work with keyboard, xbox 360 controller or rift controllers, is there something we are missing? Also launching with oculus VR doesn't work only steam VR "works". First negative review I've ever left, hoping for help or requesting refund....

Gnomes Vs Fairies is a throwback to Zelda and Mario games of the past.

VR specific features?

I love to play classic games and this one was just perfect. It offered me content that is so familiar and great. Funny/cute looking characters, engaging right off the bat graphics, content and more. I am still playing it, but so far so good! There are a few glitches, but so tiny that they don't even mess with the fun at all. There was a bug that stopped me from continuing the game - so I was frustrated that I will have to wait a while...BUT I was really, really wrong. The Developer swooped down and fixed it right away. It is wonderful to see when games are cared for, as much as the community. Thank you so much! Keep 'em coming and we shall keep on playin'!

This a very charming game, take you right back the Adventures of a famous plumber when he landed in 3D for the first time! When i first got the game.... i got a serious game breaking condition (camera control), But the Dev(s) actually listen! it is now fixed ((in just a fews days!) ) and now the game is a greate platformer with way better camera control. Playing in VR is really immersive 3D. Load of fun for everyone and ideal game to introduce young kid to VR (and 3D ). When you get a Indi game and you think there is something wrong. A bad review is not the solution. Talking it out with the dev is way better.

So, despite my limited time with this game, I should have left this review months ago.

The developer of this game is a hero. I was nervous someday, decided to play this game, something wouldn't work, I complained (in a less than diplomatic way) here on Steam and he ended up patching the thing in a matter of hours. He really deserves every cent he gets.

The game is fun. With keyboard it works really well, with controller it works better.

I play this game on Linux Mint 18 KDE, with nvidia-375 proprietary driver. The GPU is 750M and it works well enough, so don't be afraid to buy this game so you can play on the go. 750M really is not the strongest kind of card.

I also use a desktop with open-source RadeonSI driver, R9 285 card and 2560*1080 21:9 monitor. I think I've only launched this game once on that desktop, but as far as I can remember, the game supports ultrawide resolutions natively, even on linux (for those of you interested). I have to re-check this though.

The game is, well, relaxing and fun. Look at some gameplay video on YouTube and if you like the gameplay, you will definetely like the game and the developer behind it.

EDIT: I have re-checked performance on my desktop. 21:9 resolutions definetely work out of the box, but there seems to be some performance issues with RadeonSI drivers (Mesa 11.2 stack). I will update the drivers and try again. The card R9 285 is, with RAdeonSI drivers in its' current state not capable of running resolutions aka 2560*1080.

I really wanted to like this game, but unfortunately, I can't.

The controls make the game unplayable, I couldn't get passed the first level.

The default mouse sensitivity is way too sensitive, yet it shows it on the "low" end of the spectrum. However, what's worse is that YOU CANNOT LOWER IT. There is a meter to lower it, but you cannot move it. You can move the sound volume meters, but not the sensitivty. It makes the game unplayable, as the camera whips around with slight movments, which does not pair well with the thin, corridor-ish level design.

Speaking of not paring well with the level design, melee combat. The melee "combos" (you mash one button to do them) fling your character around the stage uncontrollably, causing you to tumble off the stage frequently when you are attempting to kill basic enemies. This is just bad game design; the controls and movement should mesh well with the level design, not blantantly clash with it.

There's no tutorial level either, teaching you the controls, the combat, and the type of level design. You start out with grapes as your starting weapon (?), which is a projectile weapon. Later in the first stage you gain a sword. This just doesn't make sense; you'd think the melee weapon would be your starting weapon, and you later earn the consumable, projectile weapon.

Overall, the base of the game seems poorly designed, as the basic melee combat clashes with the level design, the controls for PC are wonky, and the insane mouse sensitivity cannot be changed.

This is very unfortunate, as when I read the description of N64/PS1 hack-n-slash, I got excited, but if the basic controls and design are poor, it makes the entire game fail.

Edit: Oh, and there's some jump lag, which for a platformer, is a horrible sin, especially with these levels having small thin islands hanging in the sky. Every implementation and design I saw in the first level just seemed bad.

Also, for settings (besides the broken sensitivity button) it shows options for Anti-aliasing, Inverted Mouse Controls, etc., but they don't bring you to a different menu, nor do they have a checkmark/box showing that it's selected or not. Makes it hard to tell if you'e actually changed something or not.

HOW COULD I FORGET the camera is horrible. Not just the sensitivity, but it will automatically move around, zoom in, and zoom out without your control. At the BEGINNING OF THE GAME I moved towards the next area, from the starting platform, and the camera rushes until the only thing I can see is my Gnome, then it rotates and zooms way out. I can't figure out why it moves the way it does, but it too, among all these other things, makes this game hard and unfun to play. This is just bad camerawork. Whenever you hear about games having bad cameras, this is it. It impedes the player.

Everything about the mechanics impedes the player, which again, for a platformer that needs to shine in the gameplay department, defeats the game in the most basic sense. The simplest fun you can get out of a platformer, good & responsive controls with good level design and level interaction, is not present in this game, so if you want to enjoy a good 3D platformer or hack & slash, this game is not for you.


I'd say its a bit of a misdirect to compare this to Mario 64 & OoT, as it is designed much more linearly (more similar to, say, Crash Bandicoot or Super Mario 3D World than the more open levels of 64) with series of connected islands, and is much more hack n slash than the Zelda combat with flashier, momentum-fueled combos. However, if you like hack n slash platformers, this is probably a solid choice, as it mixes up the combat with various items you can combo with.

The base melee combat could be improved upon, however, as it merely relies on a single button (though as stated above, you can mix it up with attacks from other weapons).


Also, be wary, as spamming the melee combos can be more fatal to you than to the enemies, as they will swing you around, which may swing you off of the island-esque platforms.


Personally not my cup of tea, though for others who prefer this genre, I'm sure this would satisfy.

**I've played the game almost exclusively in VR**

This game is a buggy mess... and I LOVE it!

It basically plays like Zelda 64, but you're a cute Gnome. The game is a one-man project, which explains the "rough edges", but is also incredible considering the length of the game (I heard it's 2/3 of Mario 64's length), the beauty of its levels, and its amazingo-awesomastic soundtrack.

Pros:
+ feels like a N64 game
+ awesome soundtrack
+ long
+ charming (my girlfriend loves it)
+ its developer is dedicated to the community

Cons:
- still many visual bugs (but the VR port is quite recent, so it will definitely improve overtime)
- not sure what else to say. I just want to go back to playing the game. See yah!

It's a buggy mess in its current state.

Had an itch for a good collectathon platformer game after seeing some vids on Yooka Laylee, bought this because it fit the bill. Unfortunately, it's in rough shape at the current time. The dev is pretty active about fixing issues that people report, and that's good on him. However, The sheer number of bugs and issues in the game is staggering. I've reported quite a few myself, but every time I open the game I find more and more.

Let's talk about the gameplay, as bugs can be fixed. You've got a pretty standard collectathon platformer here. There's lots of different objects to find in the levels, with varying levels of difficulty required to collect them. It's all pretty standard, there's nothing that I've seen that introduces anything new to the genre. Combat feels pretty fluid, you'll be weaving in and out of battle with the various creatures. You'll often times find yourself getting hit without much warning though, which can be frustrating. The platforming is hit or miss. Vertical climbing feels the most challenging, you can clip on the edge of platforms and have to repeat jumps often. Precision jumps to specific points, such as a pole, are difficult at times as well. The level design is alright, there's decent variation in how the levels are arranged. There's a lot of reused assets for every theme (ice, fire, etc) world though.

The music for the game is probably my favorite part, he did a very good job with the sound track.

Even ignoring the bugs, it's a very generic platformer. You can find better, or wait for Yooka Laylee.

Early impressions:

I really enjoyed what i've played so far, the way it plays reminds me of Spyro or Banjo Kazooie. Neat looking game, interesting lay out and very pretty for it's genre. It's simple and rewarding at the beginning, the directions are pretty clear on what to do. Combat is button mashy, which is great. Jumping is a little floaty and unpredictable, especially in precise jumps. The camera I actually like, excluding the random moments where it zooms up my gnomes butt hole. Honestly for $5 (current week only), why not? I had fun and i'll play more.

A fun game in a genre that's not seen much these days. It really does have an old school "classic platformer" feel to it. Even more impressive, it was made (mostly) by just one person.

With that said, it's also buggy. Some glitches are fun -- speed runners would love this game -- while others can detract from the experience. And while the artistic style is great, most of the levels (within a world) share the same assets and lack a unique theme. Gnomes vs Fairies doesn't compare to big budget games but, then again, it wouldn't be fair to do so.

If you're a fan of the genre and interested in indie games then you'll enjoy Gnomes vs Fairies.

I've been having an absolute blast playing Gnomes vs. Fairies. It's a fully fledged 3D platformer in the tradition of Mario 64, but it's got lots of RPG elements and hack 'n' slash combat.

My experience has been very smooth and I haven't encountered a single obvious bug yet, I can't say for sure because I haven't finished the game, but at this point it seems like all the bugs others mentioned are fixed.

The platforming feels solid, combat is simple but it doesn't get boring because there are so many items like grappling hooks and bombs you can use on your enemies. The environments and the Gnomes are cute but there's an overall eerie atmosphere and music. The coolest thing though is every level there are new items to play with, like triple jump boots, shield, fairy wings you can fly with, etc. I haven't found them yet but the trailer even shows airships!

The music creator level is worth the price of the game all by itself, to be honest! Really fun!!!

It's fairly well optimized and runs with no hitches on my desktop and even runs pretty well on my surface pro 3. It also supported my xbox one controller out of the box!!!

The bloom and shader effects might be a bit much, but you can turn them off in the menu if you don't like them.

I absolutely recommend this game, and at $9.99 it's a total bargain. It's got a big hub world that connects to multiple subworlds, and it seems like there will be a lot of levels. Some of the reviewers here have more than 20 hours of gameplay so there's a lot of content!

Pros:
*Nostalgic
*Funny
*Fast gameplay
*Good music
*Great level design
*Not too hard, not too easy
*Many items = many play modes
*Developer is all over the community forums answering questions and fixing bugs

Cons
*No multiplayer yet - has it now
*No online play yet - has it now
*Lighting is a little harsh on some levels - seems fixed

Since the only other negative review has no information at all I thought I'd write one. As others have said it is a platformer comparable to Mario 64 and other n64 games. The game has potential but it's still very clunky and buggy, even though it is no longer in early access. Sometimes your character won't respond, sometimes irrelevant messages will pop up for no reason, and earlier my gnome was surfing upside down before he decided to take a swim on the land.

Apart from that, the combat is just not very interesting. You can swing your sword and sometimes you'll spin around but other then that not much happens. You can also throw stones but they are very short range, about the length of a gnome.

Other people are really excited about the music, for me it was hit and miss. Some good songs, some bad ones. The story seems pretty boring but I guess that's no big deal since people don't play platformers for the story.

Things I did like:
Some creative ways to make the levels interesting.
Difficulty should be good for most people. Not too hard, not too easy.

I don't recommend the game but as I said the game has potential. I wouldn't buy the game now but you can always check back in a few months and see if the bugs are fixed.

13-12-16 update:

Most of the bugs I mentioned earlier have been fixed by now but there are still some other ones, including one where I had to redo a level because I couldn't get a key. There are new attacks and weapons that can make the combat more fun but you don't really need to use them. I was still able to kill everything by spamming regular attacks and even the bosses died rather quickly. For this reason I still can't recommend it.

Note that I haven't tried the VR or the multiplayer so this review doesn't apply that.

While yes, the game is buggy and full of glitches, I was actually able to still enjoy the game and enjoy the time I've spent with it so far. Once they finish working out the bugs, this will be a fantastic little gem that I hope doesn't stay hidden!

Critique Excerpt:

"The gameplay is pretty standard fare. You have a weapon and a secondary piece of equipment that can be cycled out. Your weapons consist of a variety of ranged and hand-weapon attacks. And yes, this game DOES do a fair amount of platforming, which is done for the most part rather well. In addition to that once you get past the tutorial levels you are introduced to the Gnome’s city which serves as a safe hub where you can speak with NPC’s, explore shops and purchase equipment. However, this game touts controller support and will push it in your face at every possible opportunity. Even to the point where they have an NPC telling you about how the game supports controllers. I have no idea whether they were being serious or telling a joke, but I thought it was funny as hell."

See my full critique here:
https://youtu.be/9XO-HDKtvYA

If you're a Gnome lover like me, you'll probably purchase game with the word "Gnome" slapped in the title. If you're also like me, you're stuck in a nostalgia timewarp: any game that is reminescent of those from your childhood must automatically be played. I didn't even hear about Gnome vs. Fairies until the 2016 Steam Summer Sale, which, due to it's low price, I immediately purchased on the spot.

The story is pretty decent, the gnomes had some sort of four crystals that were destroyed which unleashed fairies into the world and almost every Gnome was taken prisoner except the protagonist. The opening cutscene is paired with some awesome accordian music which soon turned into a rock and roll fest.

The soundtrack is pretty good, definitely gives off the atmosphere depending on what region you are in.

Combat is pretty fun, although there are some glitches where attacks don't hit properly, or the enemy seems immune. The death animation could use some work, it looks as though your character is just frozen in spot and then you automatically teleport to the beginning of the level.

It's fun collecting things such as fairies, berries, and coins. Being able to customize your character with weapons and whatnot is pretty neat.

One of my favorite features is the fact there's a hub world where, outside the levels, you can kick back and relax and explore. The shop in the main hub reminds me so much of The Legend of Zelda.

All in all "Gnomes vs. Fairies" is a very fun, nostalgic expierence, albeit a tad tacky and right now somewhat broken but the developer will probably fix that in due time.

This game is really cool. You should give it a try if you like old school 3D platformers like Mario64, Banjo, Crash Bandicoot or even games like Medievil. Or if you're a fan of gnomes and Faeries. It really feel like this game has a soul, its not derivative or trashware. And it got treasure chest with cool new toys in most levels.

I really enjoyed my playthrough and plan to play again to save all the gnomes and catch all the Faeries.

I give it a 7/10

It has a lot of potential but a long way to go. Mechanically the game is sound but there is a plethora of small bugs that I'm sure will be resolved before the game is released.

Gameplay video of first level
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHeTuZvPG80
Note: Opening sequence was not laggy at all in game, not sure why screen capture had issues with it.

WHAT A GREAT GAME! I saw this had come out of early access, and im usually hesitant about e.a. but this was cheap and reminded me of SuperMario64 or Zelda64. It plays well, works on my desktop and chromebook (which is amazing) and is great on Linux. I do expect more levels and some more polish in the graphics/texture area however.

Still, it works on a chromebook Intel Celeron 2955U Dual-core 1.40 GHz Perfectly.

Intel CPU Specs:
Graphics Base Frequency 200 MHz
Graphics Max Dynamic Frequency 1 GHz

*EDIT: I also appreciate that the Dev is responding to customers here and on reddit. Keep it up!