Round-up of this week’s top games... REVIEWS CORNER
EVERHOOD PLATFORM: SWITCH PRICE: £13.49
The developers of Everhood were not kidding when they described it as an unconventional adventure RPG – from the offset, you would be forgiven for wondering what they were on when they made it. Fusing genres can be messy business, but to its credit, Everhood does so fearlessly. In essence, you play a wooden doll who is trying to get their stolen arm back, chasing your assailant through a bewildering retro arcadelike world. Obstacles can vary from weird creatures, to an ATM machine – yes, you read that correctly – that confront you with rhythm action battles where you must dodge visual beats to survive, all to the tune of catchy tracks. The sheer absurdity is what makes Everhood so alluring, you just have no idea what wacky task will come next.
KILL IT WITH FIRE
PLATFORM: XBOX, PLAYSTATION, SWITCH, ANDROID, IOS
PRICE: FROM £11.99
While we do not encourage violence against spiders (grab a glass and set them free), Kill It With Fire is your chance to virtually smack and explode creepy-crawlies in a series of unrealistic, extreme but amusing ways. Depending on how you feel about spiders, this is either incredibly satisfying, or just too much for those with arachnophobia. First you must hunt them down in a series of rooms and environ
ments, which is actually a bit tense at times. Then when the moment comes, kill them using one of the many weapons at your disposal. Watch out, some critters will jump and can even explode themselves. It is not overly challenging but serves as some chaotic, light-hearted fun. Just leave the real spiders out of it…
SIR LOVELOT
PLATFORM: XBOX, PLAYSTATION, SWITCH PRICE: FROM £7.99
Finding Mr or Mrs Right is one of life’s toughest challenges – and
Sir Lovelot is on a quest to find his number one. This beautiful 2D pixel art title plays out like many other platformers, forcing you to jump, climb, dodge and shoot obstacles
across various environments. Controls are very responsive, which is key for such a game to be a success. There are plenty of collectibles along the way, especially gifts which you ultimately require to have a shot with the princesses Sir Lovelot encounters – eventually climbing their hair to the top of the castle like Rapunzel. Each stage has enough challenge and variation to keep you satisfied, plus there are timed options for those who want to add a bit of adrenaline.
SP!NG
PLATFORM: IOS
PRICE: FROM £4.99 PER MONTH WITH APPLE ARCADE
There are loads of physics-based swinging object games for mobile, but few are as refined as Sp!ng. It is hard not to compare it with the most successful of them all, Cut The Rope – but Sp!ng offers something more mature, less chaotic, while still being enjoyable. It looks great too, with its futuristic visuals and techy music tracks. The idea is simple to understand from the get-go – swing your star through each level, tapping to attach and detach from certain points, collecting diamonds along the way to proceed. The difficulty progression is smoothly intensified as you go along. And with new themes and characters to unlock, as well as daily challenges, there is plenty to keep you hooked. Plus there are plans to add more levels.