I’m always on the lookout for simple multiplayer games that I can join in on with a bunch of buddies — and, as has been evidenced by classics like Fun Run — the sillier, the better. That’s why I was excited to check out the latest title from Pragmatix, a new turn-based tactical battle that lets you blow up your mates with a variety of weapons in beautifully strange environs. And boy, did Wormix ever deliver.
Wormix puts you in the shoes of one of its colorful characters, arms you with deadly artillery like bazookas, gravity guns, cannons and flamethrowers and sets you loose on a crazy level out of your dreams, to destroy your opponent, one turn at a time. There’s no storyline to bother with, just wacky weaponry and an aiming system that will take some getting used to.
The game features a fun and well executed art style that even a AAA casual studio would be proud of – every level, weapon, gadget and persona look great, and will have you wishing there was more of a story to it all. You can play one-on-one against an AI enemy, against a friend on the same device or against remote friends and other players in the Wormix universe. While I’m glad there are all these ways to play, I really wish the single-player vs. AI mode worked offline — yup, it’s an online-only game for some reason.
Each battle takes about two minutes, and requires you to not only think carefully about where to position yourself, which weapon to use, and how much damage you can take, but you’ll also have to aim your fire so as to avoid obstacles, kind of like in Angry Bird — but without the helpful trajectory guide. This means you’ll have to practice landing your bazooka rounds and grenades for a bit before you can rule the roost.
There are lots of upgrades and new toys you can buy with the coins you earn winning bouts, and while they can be purchased with IAPs, you don’t really need to shell out any money for a while — Wormix is reasonably generous with currency and even occasionally drops new weapons to play with during games at no charge. Even if this free game cost a couple of dollars, I’d still go ahead and recommend it to any turn-based battle fan.
