Games of the week – Ori and the Will of the Wisps, Murder By Numbers, Crossy Road Castle and Butter Royale
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Ori and the Will of the Wisps
Platform: Xbox One, PC
Genre: Platform adventure
Price: £24.99
Ori, the white guardian spirit, is back after five years away
Ori and the Will of the Wisps is gaming at its most beautiful, coupling mesmerising visuals with a soothing soundtrack which take away the usual urgency you expect from an adventure game – but it's by no means lacking in excitement. Players can choose between three tiers of difficulty – we opted for medium – putting you through a world full of tasks, such as items to collect to move forward and challenging boss fights. Finding your way around is no simple feat, it takes some trial and error, as well as some frustration at times. It is worth noting, reviewers issued the pre-release by Microsoft were warned about some performance bugs which they intend to fix when released to the public. While we did notice some issues, we hope they have been ironed out to give Ori and the Will of the Wisps its full potential.
Skip to the end: Beautiful visuals, compelling story with varying difficulty levels make this an accessible all-rounder.
Score: 7/10
Murder By Numbers
Platform: Nintendo Switch
Genre: Puzzle
Price: £11.99
A place where mathematicians and detectives meet
Who would have thought mathematics could help solve a murder? Well, that's certainly the case in Murder By Numbers, which tasks players with puzzles to find clues. It's a bizarre hybrid of visual novels and nonogram-esque logic puzzles – but it works. The story is even stranger, featuring a robot and a TV actress who becomes the prime suspect in the murder of her boss who has just sacked her. But again, it works – if you put aside the annoying music and lack of touchscreen support on the Switch.
Skip to the end: Perfect for puzzle lovers who want a bit of a story along the way.
Score: 6/10
Crossy Road Castle
Platform: iOS
Genre: Co-op platform
Price: £4.99 per month on Apple Arcade
Moving on up
Crossy Road Castle fills the void of addictive 2D platformers, that see you jump on the heads of enemies as you encounter them, just like Mario. Solo is a bit lonely and samey but this game excels when played with others – you can invite three other players to join, though the only downside is they all need to have their own Apple Arcade subscription too. It all becomes a bit chaotic as you all hop across the screen, but that's what makes it so good.
Skip to the end: Great if you're playing with others but a little too similar to existing stuff if you're just playing alone.
Score: 7/10
Butter Royale
Platform: iOS
Genre: Battle royale
Price: £4.99 per month on Apple Arcade
Watch your cholesterol...
If a battle royale game akin to Fortnite is your thing, as well as food, then Butter Royale is probably right up your street. You play against a number of other gamers online, with the aim of being the last person standing – think more food-fight than match to the death, with the likes of popcorn and hot dogs among the items you'll find yourself flinging across a suburban cityscape. It's good, silly fun, which totally takes the violence out of the ever-popular battle royale genre, making it suitable for any age. Controls are simple enough and graphics are basic but easy on the eye.
Skip to the end: Easy-going Fortnite-esque fun without any hint of violence, Butter Royale is a gaming/foodie bliss.
Score: 7/10
