Rival consoles - this week’s top games
The Witness
PlayStation, Xbox, PC From £29.99
Nearing its sixth birthday, for many The Witness remains the gold standard in puzzles. With its serene and mysterious island setting, and with enemies or peril non-existent and time restraints minimal. The only stress comes from the ever-evolving puzzles themselves – simple in essence, the elegant genius comes in how you learn their rules only by playing them. The rules then become multi-layered, allowing the puzzles to become ever more complex, challenging and satisfying to crack.
Untitled Goose Game
PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, PC £7.99
This indie hit sees you as a mischievous goose, honking your way round an idyllic English village and irritating residents by stealing their hats, hiding their keys and indulging in other anti-social behaviour. The puzzles are clever but approachable, the design is beautiful, and there’s a winning streak of cheeky humour that runs through the whole thing. Even better, the game has been updated with a two-player option, so you can get honking with a pal.
LEGO games Various Platforms
LEGO games are known for their trademark humour, which will be very welcome to anyone suffering from a touch of January blues. Peril is at a minimum, given the very worst-case scenario sees characters explode into a shower of bricks. And best of all, there’s a title for everyone – from the amiable madness of the LEGO Movie Videogame, to the behemoth franchises such as Harry Potter, Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Jurassic World rendered in brick form. The quality rarely drops so take your pick – you’ll have a simply lovely time.
Overcooked & Overcooked 2
PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, PC
It would be a stretch to say playing Overcooked is a stress-free experience – it is after all set in a kitchen, not the most pressure-free environment. But it’s just such a joyful experience, that the stress seems sort of fun. There is a plot – something to do with a threat to Onion Kingdom – but that’s very much besides the point. The gameplay sees you whipping up increasingly complex meals in increasingly unlikely scenarios toad in in groom of demanding customers. It is play able as a one-player experience, but best enjoyed with friends.