Today we are going to take a look at Worms Rumble. This newest candidate for your favorite battle royale takes quite a different approach to it’s older siblings by staying in 2D and adding everyone’s favorites Worms. It promises quick action with insane weapons. And whether it can deliver on its promise is the question we will try to answer today. Worms Rumble is available on Steam for 14 Euros and 99 cents or your regional equivalent.
With this review you have a choice of either reading it here in text form or listening to the video review. They both contain the same content.
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We live in trying times. We have to follow restrictions that change seemingly every single day. We communicate with our friends through our smart devices more than we see them in person. What we consider normalcy changes constantly. Sometimes, it might even seem like the world has gone mad. The rules written in stone for generations are gone just like with a wave of a magic wand.
And it seems that the legendary Worms have decided to go through their own magical revolution by making one hell of a change from their traditional gameplay. The Worms series has been out since the mid-nineties but it always was a turn-based action battle of two teams. Yes, Worms has tried many different things over the years, sometimes going backward as in Worms Battlegrounds, sometimes they were a big misstep like the 3D games, and sometimes things got really wild like in Worms Blast. And in 2003 when the Worms first came out in 3D we understood why they had to try. The series needed some spicing up and adding a whole dimension seemed like a great idea. The fact that it didn’t work out cannot be denied – the third dimension took away almost all the ease of knowing what is going on and it just did not work. Even the next 3D try – Worms Forts: Under Siege did not work out and Team17 finally understood that Worms work best with just 2 dimensions. But that doesn’t mean they don’t want more so welcome to the 2D battle royale Worms.
The biggest change from previous Worms games comes in the fact that this is no longer a turn-based game. Welcome to real-time. Up to 32 players will battle to be the last Worm alive. And you know that this won’t be realistic as that would be quite unfeasible in a world where banana bombs exist. And to make things a bit more exciting we do get some new additions to our arsenal such as a Rocket Shield that protects you from rockets and grenades. And yeah, I felt the explosive weapons were a bit too strong but once you get your hands on them, you won’t care and just make sure to wreak absolute havoc. The one thing that made me a bit sad was the number of weapons. Just ten. But they will do the job more than well.
You’ll get to enjoy the destruction in three different modes: Deathmatch, Last Squad Standing, and Last Worm Standing. Just the names of the modes should be enough for you to understand what’s the goal of each of them. But there are a few things you should know about each of them nonetheless.
The first mode you will get to try is deathmatch. Well, apart from training, but I don’t consider that to be a proper mode. And let’s face it, the controls are quite simple as you can only move in one of two directions, jump, and roll instead of sprinting. Add to that jetpacks or hooks that allow you to traverse greater distances quickly and you will quickly realize that this isn’t your father’s slow turn-based gameplay. This is action-packed.
The maps themselves also contribute to action. At the time being, there are four maps available. Not much. Easy to count for sure. One, two, three, four, and you’re done. Team17 plans to add more maps over time, so… that’s a good thing. And all the maps currently available are colorful and varied with lots of ways to use both horizontal and horizontal movement while retaining the ability to abuse all the shortcuts to escape. The ventilation shafts provide you with the excellent opportunity to surprise someone and kill them unexpectedly. Plus the game uses some mechanics that seem really obvious but they will surely catch you with your pants down when you first encounter them. Things like being slowed by the escalators when you enter them from the wrong side, someone hiding in a toilet booth, trampolines, zip-lines. All of this combines into what seems like a parody of action when you realize that you’re just watching two zombies firing at each other with a shotgun while riding a zip-line above a toilet. But it’s also just so much fun.
Interestingly, while the maps certainly are simple to learn it is very hard to survive in them. The quick pace of the battles combined with the need to aim quickly takes a toll on you. And Deathmatch is the perfect training to get a handle on things as it is very simple, you just fight and the person who gets the most kills win. Before you become a fighting machine… well, fighting Worm you will die many, many times. But each game played counts and gets you ready for the other modes.
If I could give you a recommendation then I’d suggest you start with a couple of friends and play Last Squad Standing first. But it’s nothing you wouldn’t expect though. It’s a team-based battle royale mode. But it’s perfect for learning the core gameplay. You should probably spend some time playing with the support from your friends and you won’t feel as if you’re being hunted all the freaking time. And even an average team can succeed with good tactics and the action certainly feels much more reasonably paced.
Once you get adjusted to the light-speed pace then you should get ready to compete in the mode you’ve been anticipating the most. Last Worm Standing. Here, any semblance of team-play is completely gone. You become a lone wolf in a dark forest and every Worm is your enemy. You want… no… need only one single thing. To be the last surviving Worm. And when it comes to achieving this, yeah, this is certainly the hardest thing Worms: Rumble has to offer. To succeed you will need to know all the maps better than your child's face as mindlessly wandering on will quickly kill you, every single shortcut is important as often you will escape with only a sliver of your health remaining, and knowing when to use every weapon… well that is the key towards getting rid of your competition. The fast pace of the action leads to situations where winning or losing is a matter of a few seconds. This also leads to a boon for some and a disadvantage for others. The matches themselves are quite quick compared to other battle royale games.
When considering whether you should buy Worms: Rumble you should also remember that it does include a lot of micro-transactions. Or you can play the patient game and unlock all the different skins by playing and getting experience points. But if you want to do that, get ready for a long grind.
Conclusion
So… in conclusion: Battle royale games are tricky to review. They need a lot of support over time to really have a chance to survive. But Team17 seems to have the right mindset. In the first month since release, the care has been nothing but exemplary. A new map was added, there were some nerfs and buffs to weapons, and bugs were fixed. So, at least for the time being Worms: Rumble is more than worth it. It’s hard for sure to become the best Worm but it is extremely fun.
So, that’s it for today guys. I hope you liked the review and if you did, please up-vote the review, follow my blog, and be sure to share it with your friends. And comment, if you have anything you would like to add. See you guys later with more gaming content.
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