King's Quest: A Knight to Remember; Badland; Baffles, gaming review
King's Quest has made a stunning episodic return, with a host of eccentric characters, jokes and heart
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****
PS4, Xbox One, PS3, Xbox 360, PC (£7.99)
Since 1998, when the last instalment of King's Quest split opinion by adding combat and RPG to an adventure series used to point-and-click, there have been numerous aborted attempts at a ninth game. While this isn't officially IX, it has made a stunning episodic return, with a host of eccentric characters, jokes and heart. Packed with puzzles for which there is usually more than one solution, it is beautifully presented and invites deep exploration over the course of five or so hours. Annoyingly, cutscenes can't be skipped, but it's a modern-day adventure you won't want to miss.
Dave Crookes
Badland
***
Wii U (£10.79)
After enjoying significant success in its original tablet incarnation, Frogmind bring Badland to the Wii U with a host of improvements including smoother frame-rates and four-way local multiplayer. Set in a mysterious forest with beautifully hand-painted backgrounds, players control Clony, a flying fur-ball who must navigate various physics-based puzzles, avoiding traps and obstacles. Collecting orbs allows players to shrink or grow, and picking up clones enables players to trigger weight-based platforms. The day and night cycle provides pleasing visual variety as you float through the side-scrolling levels.
Sam Gill
Baffles
***
iOS (Free)
This puzzle compendium looks simple to begin with, but after spending 20 minutes fiddling with a picture of a horse, you'll realise it's a lot trickier than the images suggest. There's a great variation of 100 puzzles, and completing one gives you chickens to unlock more, which open in threes – ideal when you're stuck. You can watch videos to gain more (to avoid spending real money), but having to watch 50 videos to get enough to move on is more frustrating than the puzzles.
Laura Davis
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