The idea behind the TouchArcade Game of the Week is that every Friday afternoon we post the one game that came out this week that we think is worth giving a special nod to. Now, before anyone goes over-thinking this, it doesn’t necessarily mean our Game of the Week pick is the highest scoring game in a review, the game with the best graphics, or really any other quantifiable “best" thing. Instead, it’s more just us picking out the single game out of the week’s releases that we think is the most noteworthy, surprising, interesting, or really any other hard to describe quality that makes it worth having if you were just going to pick up one.
These picks might be controversial, and that’s OK. If you disagree with what we’ve chosen, let’s try to use the comments of these articles to have conversations about what game is your game of the week and why.
Without further ado…
Sword Of Xolan
I’ve mentioned before that platforming games are probably my favorite genre, and this week we got a real gem of a platformer with Alper Sarikaya’s Sword Of Xolan ($0.99). The story behind Sword Of Xolan is one you’ve likely heard before. Your once peaceful land falls to the treachery of some Bad Dude™ and after your local village wizard confronts him face to face and is unable to defeat him, it’s up to YOU to grab your trusty sword and make things right again. You know, THAT old chestnut.
The funny things is, as cliché as the story may be, it’s totally serviceable, and it sort of sets the tone for the entire game. Sword Of Xolan doesn’t really break any new ground. All this jumping and double-jumping and hacking and slashing is stuff most of us have done before. However, the game executes its ideas at such a high level, and there are so many areas that are just plain well-designed, that it’s hard not to enjoy it immensely for what it is. It doesn’t break any new ground because it doesn’t want to. Sword Of Xolan simply wants to deliver a high quality action platforming adventure, and at this it totally succeeds.
Perhaps most importantly, though, is that Sword Of Xolan actually feels like a mobile game, despite it being a very traditional platformer and utilizing virtual buttons. The controls are large and don’t need to be constantly babysat like in some games, and at no point have I ever felt like I died because they let me down. The levels themselves are also relatively bite-sized and good for mobile, but they’re still really interesting and well-designed with plenty of hidden nooks and crannies and challenging sections to negotiate. This isn’t a “dumbed down for mobile" platformer, it’s a “created with mobile in mind" one.
Finally, Sword Of Xolan really nails the “feel" of a good platformer. The way your character moves and how he jumps through the air are defining points that separate great platformers from mediocre or terrible ones. It’s one of those almost intangible, “special sauce" type of things too, so it’s always exciting to see a developer get it right. Sword Of Xolan is simply fun to play for playing’s sake, and although it’s not a terribly long or challenging game I’ll happily play through it more than once just because I enjoy it so much.
I’ve seen a lot of people comparing Sword Of Xolan to another incredible action platformer called Goblin Sword, and I have to say the comparison is apt. They’re very similar games, though Sword Of Xolan is much lighter in the RPG-ish trappings. However, if you liked Goblin Sword or you just like action platformers in general, then you definitely need to check out Sword Of Xolan. As it just so happens, we even have a full review for you to peruse if you need some more convincing to spend one whole dollar on an amazing game.
