Every worm for themselves.
Worms was introduced back in the mid-’90s as a turn-based strategy adventure. As a group of soldier Worms, equipped with a varied arsenal, you would attempt to take out the other side as you would set directional angles to your bullets, hoping to land a hit square on your opponent. Now, had you told me that this series would still be around this many years later, I probably wouldn’t have given it much thought. While I did enjoy my time with the original, the series’ exploration into 3D simply didn’t do the franchise any real justice. Now, back with Worms Rumble, it seems that Team17 is keen on entering the crowded Battle Royal space, and while the game certainly delivers on some enjoyable gameplay, it, like its cast of combatants, lacks the legs to likely remain relevant.
Offered as part of Xbox Game Pass, and previously through PlayStation Plus, Worms Rumble is a real-time multiplayer shooter from a front locked perspective, much like its origins. The battles are often chaotic and fast-paced, allowing for a great deal of agility as you’ll often fire off with a jet pack, slide down a wall to get the jump on your opponent, or rolling away to safety. There are a few modes that range from Battle Royal to standard Deathmatch, each with solo or team play in mind. I have enjoyed my time with Worms Rumble, but I’m not sure I’ll stick with it for too much longer, apart from likely playing with any of my friends that have downloaded it as well.
Apart from the varied arsenal of pistols, automatic rifles, and shotguns, you’ll be able to customize your Worm with hats, glasses, and full costumes; changing up your look, but also making your Worm simply stand out more against the busy backgrounds or the explosions that run rampant. It’s likely my only big gripe as it is all too easy to lose track of yourself amongst all the chaos that can ensue. I also find it disappointing that you cannot equip glasses when wearing a full costume as I’d love to put on a pair while I am in my free Green Xbox Hoodie DLC. I get that they likely don’t want clipping to occur when wearing both, but given my view of them is largely shown as this small little Worm on-screen, I’m not sure it would really matter.
Despite there being Cross-Play. most of my games were largely empty, and my Last Squad Standing entries were often between my group and maybe 2 or 3 others, sometimes just against one single team, and most of my team games in Deathmatch were almost always horrendously unbalanced with the opposing team having maybe a third of the players I’d have on mine. This imbalance of team size happened constantly, making matches either blissfully easy or on the other end simply fighting to stay alive. Within the first few weeks, new games are often at their peak population unless there is a resurgence of some kind, and since PS4 and PC launched back in December, much of that audience is likely gone or at least far less than when it was the new hotness.
What works well in Worms Rumble is the feel of the game and how quick it can be considering you are sludging along with just your little worm body. You can roll to speed along, jump and bounce off walls, and you can have access to a ninja-like grappling hook or a jetpack, should you find them. Weapons range all over the spectrum, and you’ll have grenades, exploding bananas, as well as the Holy Hand Grenade as well, giving you plenty of ways to blow shit up. Weapons feel good to use, and you can swap between two at a time, finding caches that either have items to refill your health, new guns, or those traversal items to fill out your kit. Much like in the original, you’ll use a circle-like aiming system, albeit with the right analog stick, to line up your shot; giving it a nice modern feel when compared to where the series came from. Weapons pack a decent punch, and you can unlock skins by just using them, racking up kills, and gaining experience.
At launch, there are half a dozen maps, and while each of them has various moving parts and paths, a lot of the design in how you’ll navigate them can be a little too samey, despite the change in decor and the odd bit of traversal systems depending on the theme. There are smashable pieces and walls that will unlock hidden paths or shortcuts to other sections, not to mention a green poison gas that will block off certain areas of the map, but from a navigating point of view, there isn’t as much variety here. Still, when the game launched on PS4/5 and PC in December, it only shipped with three maps, so having a few more released in time for the Xbox and Switch versions, does start out a bit sweeter nonetheless. How often we will see new maps or modes added is up in the air, but if they continue to add new options, there could be something here if the community sticks with it.
While the game isn’t graphically demanding, it still offers up a bright and colorful bit of spectacle to the Series X, and frankly, all platforms. The base editions of each console, and that of the Switch, are where it suffers the most running only at 30fps. PC and current-gen offer at least 60fps, with the PC offering uncapped frames. Each of the current-gen consoles offers up 4K as well, making it look considerably crisper and sharper than on previous hardware. Considering cross-play is apparently across all platforms, at least from what the official website says, I can certainly see Switch and last-gen users being held back due to the 30fps lock on those platforms. Thankfully, you can turn crossplay off, especially since the Switch version seems to suffer from several moments of slowdown, making those technical hurdles something everyone you’re playing with has to suffer as well.
As part of Game Pass, I enjoyed Worms Rumble despite the repetition that is starting to sink in. The maps and modes are decent but fairly thin in the grand scheme of things. I think if the game played into its humor a bit more with some of its modes, instead of the tried and true combat offerings on display here, then it could offer something that its competition doesn’t. Still, there is enjoyment to be had here, but I’m not sure for how long. While the progression systems of unlocking items and gun skins are decent to keep that completionist’s itch going, It’s not the best carrot to keep my interest here. If Team17 keeps innovating and adding to this, there could be something here, but until then, it’s decent enough for a spell but lacks that certain something to remain addictive.
Developer - Team17. Publisher - Team17. Released - June 23rd 2021. Available On - Xbox One, Series X/S, PlayStation 4/5, Switch, Windows. Rated - (E 10+) Fantasy Violence, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact.
Platform Reviewed - Xbox Series X. Review Access - Worms Rumble was downloaded off of Game Pass by the reviewer.