Crossbow Warrior – The Legend of William Tell Review

William Tell. The guy who shot that apple off of his son’s head. Astounding beard. That’s the one. In Crossbow Warrior, the Swiss legend is put through a series of challenges that borrow from an array of gameplay types. From a side-scrolling platformer in which threats come from all angles, to endless runner-inspired running and boating levels, to shooting sections, Crossbow Warrior covers a lot of ground. But does it do it well?

Unfortunately, the platforming and running stages feel particularly clumsy. The bow is slow to equip and fire when shooting, and as a result confrontations feel a bit stagnant and drawn out. Getting around can also be problematic. Due to some clunky, sluggish controls, trying to balance William Tell on a tiny platform, catching a ledge, or just clearing a gap can often be difficult and frustrating and leads to countless easy deaths.

Then there are the running sections that are too freeform in nature, allowing players to strafe at their leisure – and often to their detriment – as they bound around with no clear route. In both game modes the chocolate bar speed boost power-up only serves as way to get into more trouble, sending William headfirst into danger. The boat levels are straightforward and relatively easy-going in comparison, but don’t offer much of a challenge or excitement on the whole.

The pleasant visuals (although why there are black bars on the iPad version I’ll never know), diverse level design, and fairy tale narrative give Crossbow Warrior a certain charm, but the gameplay simply isn’t up to scratch. It’s tried to do too much at once but nothing feels fully-realized, which ultimately reduces it to being a disappointing jack of all trades.