Worms Battlegrounds

Worms Battlegrounds brought the series of turn-based battles between armed worms back to the scene as the first entry developed directly for PlayStation 4. Studio Team17 used the power of the new console generation to make terrain destruction, explosions, and physics effects appear more three-dimensional and convincing than ever before. Every bazooka crater or dynamite charge is faithfully rendered and affects opponents' subsequent turns, something earlier entries handled in a more simplified way due to the limitations of the older console generation. The graphical style remained the typical cartoonish, colorful look, but the environments are now considerably more detailed, with layered backgrounds and animations that earlier entries could not offer.

The game keeps the series' proven turn-based system: four players take turns controlling teams of worms armed with bazookas, sheep, holy hand grenades, and dozens of other absurd weapons, with the goal of eliminating all enemy units. Battlegrounds added several new weapons and tools specific to this generation, reworked controls adapted to the DualShock 4, and online multiplayer for up to four players with a noticeably more stable connection than the older PS3 version. Players can also customize the appearance of their team from a wider range of cosmetic items, something that became a standard part of the series' online offering only from this generation onward.

The single-player campaign takes the player through a series of missions of increasing difficulty and teaches the basics of tactics - from judging wind strength and direction to planning chain explosions and using terrain for cover. But the greatest fun here, too, remains in local and online multiplayer, where the physics' unpredictability and the series' typical black humor shine brightest and where the best in-game stories are born. Over time, the game was also supplemented with paid packs of cosmetic items and themes, which helped Team17 keep the player community active for months after release.

Why play it: Worms Battlegrounds will be appreciated by anyone who wants to experience the series in its smoothest form available on eighth-generation consoles - ideal for regular couch evenings with friends as well as for more relaxed online turn-based skirmishes with strangers.