WarriOrb Review

A sad tale of loss and desperation, WarriOrb is an action-platformer that sees you playing as a demon trapped in the body of a cute ball-shaped creature. But does this game bring anything new to the platformer genre?

You take the role of the ‘Spirit of the Unknown’, a demon known for punishing the bad. You’ve been accidentally summoned by a man who, mourning the death of his wife, is looking to bring her back from the dead – because that always ends so well, doesn’t it? In order to get back to your real body and out of this mortal realm you must indeed return this man’s wife to him. What can possibly go wrong?

As is the case with most platformers, you are able to run and jump your way through levels whilst avoiding particular enemies or objects that would damage you. To provide a little difference though, WarriOrb allows you to roll into a ball, bounce around to reach higher areas, and perform various attacks to defeat the bad guys. As you progress through the numerous areas, more and more of the environment gets uncovered, allowing you to unlock new skills and tricks to help you progress. The most prominent upgrades are part of the vast spell system.

WarriOrb’s combat is average at best. Attacks feel clunky and heavy and it seems almost impossible to attack an enemy without damaging yourself in some way. The slightest touch of the enemy will hurt you and knock you back which becomes increasingly frustrating when simply trying to defeat an average enemy. I found using the ‘Y’ attack (an attack that dodges) would often get me into more trouble than it was worth as I would end up jumping into an enemy instead.

Manoeuvring around the game’s world was simple enough to begin with. But as I progressed further and further I quickly realised that I was missing a map of some sort. Having to remember which doors would now be accessible due to gaining a new ability was challenging, to say the least.

The puzzles you’ll come across in WarriOrb provide a decent challenge but they’re never so difficult that you won’t be able to figure them out, and they don’t crop up so often that you become fed up of them. There’s a nice balance between puzzles and platforming which is often something I feel that other games of the genre don’t get right.

WarriOrb isn’t going to win any awards for its art-style. Again, it’s average at best. It’s all very doom and gloom with dark tones all the way through the game; it didn’t provide much in the way of variation and that goes for the enemies you encounter too. They’re nothing more than lifeless figures that move and attack in jerky ways which makes them look more unnatural than they already do.

What I did enjoy though is the way the characters interact with each other, in particular the main character. You’re provided with a fun and cheeky narrative that brings a lot more personality to the characters you come across, making for a more enjoyable experience overall. Various dialogue options allow the game to provide you with more backstory whilst also giving you hints on where to go or what to do next. If you don’t want to know any of these you simply walk away from the conversation, so to speak.

It’s worth noting that WarriOrb’s difficulty cannot be changed mid-game which is something to take into consideration as it’s not easy. The majority of your deaths will either be the fault of a battle system that doesn’t really work, finicky controls or rushing through a level. But take your time and the game will certainly reward you.