Worms W.M.D Review

I’m going to be completely honest, I’ve never really enjoyed a 3D Worms game.

It’s not that they were all designed badly or they didn’t try new things, I just felt the series peaked when it was side-scrolling shooter. And the arrival of Worms W.M.D has completely reaffirmed my stance.

The franchise is absolutely, 100% back to its best. It captures the essence of the originals, with solid local and online multiplayer, great visuals, smooth gameplay, and various ways to entertain yourself, but also moves the series forward in exciting new ways.

And it feels like Nintendo Switch holds the key to the future of the IP.

Worms W.M.D isn’t massively changed from the release on other formats, but the ability to play this on the go and having immediate access to multiplayer wherever you are is a massive draw. Whether it’s just two of you fighting it out or you’re passing the Joy-Con between six of you, this feels like the way Worms should have always been played.

And it’s always stable and smooth, the game runs effortlessly, even when you’re trudging tanks around or raining bullets down with airstrikes. The performance of Worms W.M.D is genuinely impressive on the go and certainly holds its own with any other system while docked.

But honestly, driving a tank with the system in your hands and HD Rumble buzzing furiously is more fun than it probably should be and adds a cool layer of immersion over the top of the action on screen.

As with every Worms game ever, you have a minimum of two teams of four battling each other in turn-based warfare with the last team standing winning the match. You zoom in and out, scrolling the screen in procedurally generated battlegrounds, blasting each other with everything from bazookas and dynamite to holy hand grenades and concrete donkeys!

With W.M.D, however, vehicles and buildings have also been included. You can either drive a tank, helicopter or Mech to get you around and blast your opponents to smithereens. These can also be used tactically for cover if you want to escape an onslaught or you’re losing quite heavily and need to take a breather to regroup.

There’s also a crafting module where you can dismantle weapons and even build new creations during an opponent’s turn.

Tactically, the addition of these elements makes Worms W.M.D a game changer compared to its predecessors and really changes the overall structure of matches for the better.

Fortunately, with all the changes the game offers a training mode where you can learn more about the changes and get to grips with them. Which is just as well because, even for series pros, this will take some getting used to.

The original game is there, as well as the Liberation and Forts content updates from the All-Star pack with collaborations from major IP. There’s also some timed-exclusive Switch content in here including a new space theme, additional forts, hats, and gravestones.

This is a pretty solid port all things considered, and there’s a large chunk of content to plough through in addition to the online and local multiplayer modes. You can connect multiple consoles together for a hosted local session as well as do some on a single Switch, and the level of customisation is genuinely incredible. Everything from changing the times of your turns, to the types of battlegrounds you compete in, certain weapon-types and set conditions for each worm.

This is, without a doubt, the best Worms since Armageddon. It hits all the highs of the series and even introduces some exciting, essential new ways to play. Worms W.M.D is a charm on Switch and arguably one of the best multiplayer experiences on the platform to date.

Pros
+ As good as Worms has ever been
+ Full of tricky and entertaining content.
+ One of the best multiplayer experiences on Switch
+ So much customisation and HD rumble a charm

Cons
– Loading times are slow
– Connection issues can present some challenges