Review: Worms Rumble

If you’re looking for a fast-paced action game, then get ready to join the battle in Worms Rumble as you blast your way to victory.

Gameplay:

Released June 23rd, 2021, for Nintendo Switch, Worms Rumble is a spin-off featuring real-time action gameplay versus the Worms series usual turn-based combat.

There are four primary game modes: Team Deathmatch, Deathmatch, Last Squad Standing, and Last Worm Standing. The controls take a minute to get used to, but there is also a training mode available where you can test out all of the weapons and do a simple practice run.

First off, in each match, you start with basic weapons, and each stage has crates scattered around the map with various zany weapons and items. Plus, the levels are large, and moving around is really fluid. For example, I liked how you could fast travel using zip-lines and elevators, sometimes saving you from getting blasted off the map. With that said, each battle feels very fast with lots of fun chaos.

Outside of the main gameplay, you can also customize your character and weapons. As you level up, you are rewarded with costumes and coins for various accessories giving a great range to choose from for your little wormy friend. DLC costume sets are also available, but I think the in-game content is more than enough where it doesn’t feel like you’re being forced to buy extra stuff.

Pros:

• Fast-paced gameplay

• Fun arsenal of weapons and nice customization 

Cons:

• Can’t play offline

• Takes too long to find a match

• Lack of game modes

Although I found the worms to be pretty lovable, I did have several issues with this game. Sadly, Worms Rumble is only playable online. I think there should be at least one offline mode available to play. Another frustrating thing about this game is the loading times to find a match take too long. Even with cross-play enabled, it can still take five minutes or more before you can play the game. Apart from this, I encountered network issues where now I can’t even get past the title screen and play the game.

Like many online multiplayer games, Worms Rumble failed to compensate gameplay for their newcomer gamers. They recommend that you reach a certain level before trying other modes, but even in the team deathmatch, you are likely to keep getting obliterated by high-tier players. While it may be fun for a while, the combination of a lack of game modes, having no offline content, long loading times, and the frustrating level gaps made me eventually lose interest in the game.

Conclusion:

Above all, Worms Rumble is a reasonably fun game, but I feel like it just missed the mark. If the technical issues are addressed, and offline game modes are added, I think Worms Rumble would make a decent online multiplayer action game to add to your Switch library.

Entertainment: 5/10

Replay value: 4/10

Graphics: 6/10

Sound: 5/10

Kid Friendly: Yes