In "El Hijo," the collectibles are orphaned children. The protagonist, an unnamed six-year-old boy, approaches them and gradually expands their world by teaching them how to juggle and fold paper airplanes. The previously disheartened children glow with joy when the pop-up box informs the player that he has "inspired" one of the four children on this level.

El Hijo's sepia-toned Wild West has many other fascinating moments: a boy hangs from a cow's butt to avoid detection, jumps on a minecart for a Donkey Kong Country-style rail race, defends himself from an intruding sheriff or hide under a giant sombrero to protect yourself from an intruding sheriff. Although it fell short as a stealth game, this game has heart and makes you want to cheer.

El Hijo consists of 29 levels that follow a simple, wordless story of a boy reuniting with his mother after the family farm is raided by bandits. The journey takes them through a majestic monastery, arid desert wastelands, and a gunfight in a tavern. Danger is everywhere, and calamity can only be avoided by staying out of sight. So the boy is provided with Sam Fisher's usual abilities. He is almost invisible in the shadows, and can slink along over crates, rocks, and leaves with his head down.

He quickly gets a sling shot, which he can use to distract the guards to clear them from the pesky patrol route. Later, the boy can get his hands on smoke bombs, karakuri toys, and fireworks to further enhance his diversionary abilities; a large part of El Hijo's gameplay hinges on delving into the toolbox. The game's main character says, "Let's use the last of the firecrackers here. I'm sure we'll get a reward for saving it later."

All of this is played from a locked isometric perspective; El Hijo is not Metal Gear Solid, Splinter Cell, or Mark of the Ninja. It is a series of puzzles, without the anything-goes dynamism or improvisation that characterizes most other modern stealth games. There is one clear solution to avoiding many of the enemies that block your way. There is a guard dog sitting at the exit. The only way to get him off the spot is to hit the scarecrow with a slingshot ball and send a flock of crows heading in his direction. He chases the crows away and opens a short window to paydirt. In another instance, I hid in a wooden barrel and made my way through a raging party. A drunken cowboy rolled me to the promised land, and far from the branching paths and vast inventories of Punished Snake, El Hijo is a game where there is often only one right answer.

And that's not a problem. Not necessarily. The puzzles are generally clever and carefully constructed. I enjoyed figuring out the exact combination of levers to pull, an important feeling in many adventure games. There were times, however, when I wished El Hijo were more lively. Everything about stealth is mechanical. There is the ability to see the enemy's exact line of sight, which completely eliminates any unsettling guesswork. As long as he is in the shade, the boy can stand literally inches in front of the enemy without being apprehended. At the same time, I found some of El Hijo's rigidity to be inconsistent and frustrating. In particular, it was not at all clear what was in or out of range of the slingshot, or whether the slingshot could distract the enemy. I think part of it is an indication of El Hijo's desire to steer the player toward the intended solution, but what doesn't work is off-putting.

El Hijo makes up for its shortcomings with beauty; Honig Studios has created a beautifully pristine Remington Old West. Whether you are in a church basement or moving down a steep cliff slope, the game pops off the screen. As mentioned earlier, the story is told primarily through the environment, and to be honest, I didn't get much out of the main plot. If I had to say, I was surprised by some surprisingly grim depictions in the second half, especially of children in chains being sold off as slaves. I won't say that Hoenig was operating in an unpleasant way, but the content seemed out of place given the hilarity of the setting.

All in all, I wish El Hicho had been a little more racy. I kept thinking about "Hitman Go" while playing this game. In that game, a hybrid of regular, unvarying stealth and smart puzzle solving was pursued. This is the element that "El Hijo" lacks, the decisiveness of the action that makes you feel you've outplayed the AI. This is the feeling I always get from international assassins and paramilitary super-spies, and I wish I had gotten more of it from a six-year-old boy.