Worms Clan Wars is the latest installment in the famous series of the turn-based strategy game. For those who have never played Worms, the idea is to create a team of belligerent earthworms, taking turns confronting other teams of invertebrates.

What's new?

After Worms Revolution, which included a lot of new features, Worms Clan Wars is lacking in innovation. This version of the game is clearly resting on the laurels of the series' many successful installments, and there isn't much in the way of new features. The highlights of Worms Clan Wars are online multiplayer mode and the clan system (as the name suggests). The latter is interesting and was inspired by other multi-competitive games currently in style, which adds depth to the gameplay. It's clear, however, that the developers were a little too ambitious: the mechanisms of Worms Clan Wars aren't cut out for competitive play, and the small number of online players underscores the lack of interest.

Gameplay designed for earthworms

Hardcore fans of the Worms series won't hesitate to pick up this latest installment. Unfortunately, Worm Clan Wars seems to have been programmed to be played by invertebrates, as it's highly unsuited for the traditional keyboard / mouse use. The controls lack responsiveness and are poorly designed. You'll be cursing the most simple actions, which is difficult to forgive in a game which should benefit from the experience of the many good installments that came before it.

A technically average game

Worms Clan Wars uses the Worms Revolution game engine, which is quite pleasing to the eye. The environments and characters are now 2.5D (3D graphics viewed from the side), but the whole game lacks fluidity to the extent that the gaming experience suffers terribly. Worms Clan Wars is slow and jerky, even when correctly configured. It's a shame, especially since the graphics are not so incredible that modern PCs should struggle.

A series mired in repetition

The Worms series never moves forward, and Worms Clan Wars is the latest example of why. By continuously using the same recipe for the past 20 years, Team 17 lost its devoted audience a long time ago.

The game is still a lot of fun and works well when playing with friends, but the unwillingness of the developers to add more depth to the gameplay will leave fans unfulfilled. The online mode has few players, and the idea of making Worms Clan Wards a competitive game is incompatible with its very essence, which is that of a game meant to be played between friends. We can only welcome the decision by developer Team 17 to bring an end to the Worms series to focus on an innovative, new game.