Worms Rumble

In 2020, Worms Rumble was the most radical departure of the entire series - Team17 abandoned the turn-based system built up over decades and replaced it with pure real-time action. Instead of patiently waiting for an opponent to finish their turn, up to 32 worms meet on a single map at once and fight in real time, similar to a battle-royale arena. Controls shifted to direct movement, jumping, and aiming, so the game emphasizes reflexes and quick decision-making instead of the careful planning of a single move that the series was traditionally built on.

The weapons are traditional - bazookas, shotguns, sheep, and holy hand grenades - but using them is now a matter of a split second, not a careful estimate of angle and wind strength. Maps are full of platforms, ladders, and ropes that worms climb and use to jump between hiding spots, making the game resemble an arena platformer more than classic Worms. Modes are available for teams as well as for everyone against everyone, including variants with a limited number of lives and quick last-one-standing duels, which brings the game closer to the modern multiplayer market full of arena shooters.

The game was released simultaneously on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC, and shortly after launch it became one of the titles in the monthly PlayStation Plus lineup, which brought it a significantly larger player base than the series' entries usually have. Free-to-play weekends and regular seasonal updates with new cosmetic items then kept the game alive further. The Xbox version arrived only a year later, so it is the PlayStation consoles that remain associated with the game's premiere launch and with the first impression players formed of the series' new, faster take.

Why play it: Worms Rumble is the ideal choice for players who want the humor and weapons of the Worms series without waiting for opponents' turns - fast matches with friends and strangers alike work great even for shorter play sessions and require no knowledge of previous entries, though classic fans of turn-based Worms may miss the strategic depth of the original concept.