Jump Into Fun: Our Top Platformers to Play this Weekend

Are you looking for some classic fun-filled gaming this weekend?

Well, aren’t you a lucky duck, for we’ve rounded up a selection of some great platformers that we think are perfect for playing this weekend. With options for both solo explorers and late-night marathons with the squad, there is a platformer on this list for everyone!

Hollow Knight

Get ready to forge your own path in the ultimate platformer, Hollow Knight. Packed full of fast-paced action, this platformer takes you on an epic adventure across a ruined ancient kingdom in search of riches and secrets. Explore forgotten highways, overgrown wilds, and city ruins as you hone your skills. New abilities, such as spells or improvements to speed and strength, will aid you in battle against deadly bosses.

Official PC System Specification

	Minimum	Recommended
OS	Windows 7	Windows 10
Processor	Intel Core 2 Duo E5200 or equivalent	Intel Core i5 or equivalent
Memory	4GB RAM	8GB RAM
Graphics	NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX or equivalent	NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 or equivalent
DirectX	Version 10	Version 11
Storage	9GB available space	9GB available space
Additional	Steam Client now requires Windows 10 or later	–

Ultimate Chicken Horse

In need of a great platformer for your weekend gaming sessions with the squad? Ultimate Chicken Horse combines classic platformer gameplay and crazy animal characters into one. Play with up to four players as you carefully (or chaotically) build each level, by placing deadly traps or hazards to prevent. Reaching the end before your friends will score you points and bragging rights.

Official PC System Specification

	Minimum	Recommended
OS	Windows 7 or later	Windows 7 or later
Processor	1.5GHz CPU or higher	Dual Core 2.3GHz CPU or higher
Memory	2GB RAM	4GB RAM
Graphics	GPU with at least 512MB video memory	GPU with at least 1024MB video memory
DirectX	Version 9	Version 9
Storage	2GB available space	2GB available space
Additional	Broadband Internet Connection required for multiplayer Steam Client now requires Windows 10 or later	Broadband Internet Connection required for multiplayer Steam Client now requires Windows 10 or later

Magical Delicacy

Magical Delicacy is a wholesome platformer and cooking game with a magical twist. Play as budding witch Flora, who has recently moved to a brand-new town. You’ll need to navigate your new life as you create a thriving business and contend with two rival covens. Tangled up in their dispute about magical beings, you’ll need to perfect the art of witchcraft, whilst also pleasing the townsfolk with your tasty dishes and potions. All the great ingredients of a good platformer for your weekend gaming!

Official PC System Specification

	Minimum
OS	Windows 10
Processor	Dual Core 3.0GHz processor or higher
Memory	8GB RAM
Graphics	GPU with at least 16GB video memory
DirectX	Version 11
Storage	3GB available space

Magical Delicacy Review with Emily

With Magical Delicacy launching on Switch on August 15^th 2024, we were lucky enough to get our hands on a review copy. Promising magic, whimsy, and baking, I jumped at the chance!

Magical Delicacy Gameplay

As already stated, Magical Delicacy is a platformer with a wholesome twist. You play as a fledging witch, Flora, who has moved to the intriguing town of Grat to develop her magical skills. As witches are known for their baking, you are given a shop where you can prepare delicious meals for the townsfolk. Over time, you’ll need to add more cooking appliances so you can keep up with the demands of your neighbours. From the humble mortar and pestle to a fully-fledged cauldron, there are many ways to prepare your ingredients.

Now, Magical Delicacy is not a platformer in the traditional sense. It’s not a “progress your way through this complicated level and move onto the next” kind of platformer. The town of Grat, itself, serves as the platforming aspect of this game. Every screen has multiple exits, leading to new parts of the town and secret areas. Not all of the town is accessible from the get-go, you’ll need to gain new witchy abilities like double-jump and shadow manipulation to explore the far reaches. But don’t worry, this game is incredibly more-ish and you’ll soon have yourself a sprawling map chock full of goodies.

A lot of your ingredients can be bought from the local vendors, but there are some which grow in the hidden depths of this layered town. You can even grow up to eight crops in your back garden to boost your supplies! Still, your day will need to be balanced between accepting and fulfilling quests, exploring the town, and selling your wares from your shop window. Plenty to keep a young witch busy!

Magical Delicacy screen grab from press kit

Accessibility

Before I get onto what I thought of Magical Delicacy (spoiler alert, I loved it), I want to take a moment to acknowledge the accessibility features. Upon opening a new game, I was offered to explore the accessibility menu, before even starting my new save. The top option? Make the platforming mechanics easier.

I will be the first to admit, I am terrible at games. (There’s a reason why I tend to stick to farming sims!) Usually, I avoid platformers because I lack the skill to pull off the more tricky manoeuvres, get frustrated, and ultimately abandon my game. As such, I was a little on the fence about whether the baking aspect of Magical Delicacy would be enough for me. Thankfully, this option to make platforms move slower and other tweaks put my fears to rest. I was free to enjoy some magical baking fun.

This accessibility menu is also packed with lots of features to adjust, optimising the gameplay experience for those that need it. I chose to turn off speech animations and dimmed the background, but that was far from the extent of what was available.

What Did We Think?

As I have already alluded to, Magical Delicacy is a delight. It balances accessible gameplay with minimal handholding to create something that is challenging but not overwhelming. The initial concept of the game is easy to grasp – find the people, forage for ingredients, and bake the thing. Where the challenge lies is getting the right combination of ingredients at the correct appliance to craft something tasty! On top of that, your delivery requests will often specify a particular flavour profile or reject certain food types, adding another facet to the puzzle. It’s all about trial and error – but even the errors aren’t the end of the world. You can buy a composter to trash your failed meals and use them to boost crop yield – nothing goes to waste!

On top of satisfying gameplay, Magical Delicacy is just beautiful. The town of Grat has all these layers, which creates such depth on screen. Plus, each area has its own distinct look. When you discover a new screen, it’s often quite easy to tell where it leads thanks to the different area stylings. The overall aesthetic of this game is simply magnificent. Flora’s home is my cottage core dream. (Just with fewer stairs. I don’t need that platformer life IRL.)

With a diverse cast of characters to ply with baked goods and a sprawling map to explore, Magical Delicacy is an easy way to while away the weekend. Trust me, I spent every spare moment of mine discovering hidden secrets, developing my witchy skills, and perfecting those recipes.

Get Game Ready

Whilst platformers don’t demand the latest high-end hardware, we wouldn’t blame you if you’re tempted to spoil yourself with a battle station upgrade. It is the weekend after all...

We’ve highlighted two of our faves below, but if this PC and laptop don’t suit your needs, you can browse the full range instead.

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