Earthworms
- February 23, 2018
- All Those Moments
- 3h median play time
Get on Steam"Earthworms" is a single-player Horror Point and Click game with a good plot and stellar visuals. As private detective Daniel White, players investigate a missing teenager's case, leading to a mind-blowing global conspiracy. With hand-painted locations, outstanding music, and a dense atmosphere, this artistic science-fiction game promises an epic adventure.
Nintendo Switch
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features a unique and beautiful hand-drawn art style that enhances the overall atmosphere.
- The soundtrack is chilling and complements the game's eerie and surreal narrative, creating an engaging experience.
- The story is intriguing with multiple endings, providing some replayability and keeping players invested in the plot.
- The game is plagued by numerous bugs and technical issues, including game-breaking glitches that can hinder progress.
- The English translation is often poor, leading to confusing dialogue and a lack of immersion in the story.
- Some puzzles are illogical or frustratingly obscure, making it difficult for players to progress without resorting to walkthroughs.
- story74 mentions
- 34 % positive mentions
- 59 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The story of the game is a surreal and intriguing point-and-click adventure that blends elements of mystery, magic, and sci-fi, often leaving players captivated yet confused by its bizarre narrative and disjointed character arcs. While the original ideas and atmospheric visuals are praised, many reviewers note that translation issues and a lack of clarity detract from the overall experience, making it challenging to fully grasp the plot's intricacies. Despite its flaws, the game appeals to fans of unconventional storytelling and offers a unique, if perplexing, journey.
“It's a point-and-click adventure with a surrealist kind of plot that has you take on the role of a detective who can see glimpses of the future.”
“The story is bizarre and engaging.”
“Beautiful art style, very original story idea, and atmospheric music: there was a sense of something sinister just under the surface in every scene.”
“The story is good but can be very confusing; it has a sort of Twin Peaks vibe to it, as you meet a strange cast of characters and listen to their odd dialogue.”
“Characters drop off the map without a second thought, certain quest lines don't need to be finished, and the story amounts to so little you'll be left wondering why you even bothered in the first place.”
“Due to the surreal nature of the story, it made it even harder to decipher what was going on, especially as there is minimal explanation to begin with.”
- music37 mentions
- 70 % positive mentions
- 22 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received widespread praise for its atmospheric and haunting qualities, effectively complementing the art style and enhancing the overall experience. Many reviewers noted that the soundtrack is not only enjoyable but also integral to the game's eerie and surreal ambiance, making it a standout feature. While some players found the music to be a highlight, opinions on the game's overall execution varied, with some expressing dissatisfaction with other aspects.
“The visuals and soundtrack are the strengths of this game.”
“Oh almost forgot to add the music is top notch and fits the game's theme perfectly.”
“Beautiful art style, very original story idea and atmospheric music: there was a sense of something sinister just under the surface in every scene.”
“It's a great achievement for the person who made this game, but the save system doesn't work and I just didn't like the vibe, the progression, and the music of the game in general.”
“The music is okay.”
“Stylistically bleak, muted colors and an eerie soundtrack set the mood.”
- graphics37 mentions
- 54 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the unique and beautiful hand-drawn art style that enhances the atmosphere, while others criticize the overall visual quality as amateurish and lacking polish. Despite the appealing aesthetic, many players note that the simplistic 2D visuals and occasional graphical bugs detract from the experience, leading to a sense of frustration rather than immersion. Overall, while the artwork is often highlighted as a strength, it is overshadowed by issues related to execution and game design.
“The nicest thing to say about this game is that it has a really distinct, beautifully rendered art style, and an interesting world.”
“Beautiful artwork, creepy score, interesting sci-fi tale.”
“The art style is beautiful and fascinating, like a moving paint, with an interesting palette of colors.”
“The artwork here is terrible; it's all just amateurish 'my first Wacom tablet' style drawings used instead of professional-looking game assets.”
“It's unclear if this is due to a lack of budget to arrange someone who can create graphical assets properly, or a lack of talent. Regardless, the overall visual quality of the game is extremely low, enough on its own to deter gamers.”
“While there are options to change the resolution for the game, all this does is scale up the simplistic 2D art assets used to make the game, which makes little or no difference to the graphics quality.”
- atmosphere25 mentions
- 56 % positive mentions
- 32 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is frequently described as intriguing and unique, blending elements of mystery, eeriness, and surrealism, often enhanced by a chilling soundtrack and striking hand-drawn art. While many players appreciate the unsettling and sometimes humorous tone, some find the atmosphere can feel disconnected or repetitive due to gameplay issues. Overall, the atmosphere is a standout feature that captivates fans of sci-fi and weirdcore aesthetics, despite some execution flaws.
“The atmosphere and music are dark and eerie, which was nice.”
“Beautiful art style, very original story idea and atmospheric music: there was a sense of something sinister just under the surface in every scene.”
“Earthworms is an atmospheric point-and-click story with unique art and chilling music.”
“The atmosphere in the game is okay, not scary, but it is disturbing in a lot of sections.”
“I admit the atmosphere is peculiar, but I found it overall boring, disconnected, with either too easy or too repetitive puzzles.”
“All right then, Earthworms is a strange, but kind of interesting point-and-click adventure game. It has a good hand-drawn art style, a good but very confusing story, and an okay atmosphere, while not scary but it's disturbing.”
- gameplay9 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The gameplay of Earthworms is characterized as a classic point-and-click adventure, but it suffers from rigid mechanics and a lack of integration with its unique story elements. While there are interesting ideas and a distinctive visual style, the overall experience is marred by bugs, mediocre puzzles, and shallow storytelling, leading to a gameplay experience that some find boring and unengaging. Despite its stable gameplay lasting around 4-6 hours, it fails to fully capitalize on its potential.
“Stable gameplay (mostly).”
“Gameplay is around 4-6 hours.”
“A point and click adventure, with very classic gameplay.”
“Starting from the worst: well... gameplay is quite boring, the story is pretty shallow and nothing unexpected happens at all.”
“There are some good ideas here -- a detective with visions, a plot that gets otherworldly without becoming totally incoherent, a unique visual style -- but they're marred by bad copyediting, rigid game mechanics, small bugs, occasionally cringe-inducing writing, and mediocre puzzles.”
“The detective's 'visions' are never integrated well with the overall game design (look to Wadjet Eye's games for better examples of how to expand on classic point and click adventure mechanics).”
- stability7 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is a significant concern, with many players reporting numerous bugs and glitches that can disrupt gameplay and lead to frustrating experiences. While some users note that the issues are not game-breaking, others emphasize the need for frequent saving due to potential glitches that can hinder progress. Overall, the game's stability is described as inconsistent, with a mix of minor and serious issues affecting enjoyment.
“The least nice thing to say is that it is buggy, confusing, poorly translated, not that well programmed, and not that fun to play because of that.”
“I wanted to like this game, but there are just too many glitches.”
“I'm constantly getting stuck because the solutions aren't always logical, and from popping into the forums, this is a very common problem. Apparently, there are several glitches in the game according to the forum posts.”
- humor6 mentions
- 83 % positive mentions
- -33 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The humor in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players finding it dull and out of place, while others appreciate its blend of creepy and funny elements. The English translation is noted for its humor, contributing positively to the overall atmosphere, which balances between depressing and amusing. However, technical issues detract from the enjoyment for some players.
“Creepy, funny, relaxing point-and-click game with a really good soundtrack to boot.”
“There is no voiceover work, but it's not necessary anyway, and the English translation is hilarious in some parts.”
“The atmosphere is a mix of depressing and humorous, which is hard to do well, but I think this story achieves it.”
“Earthworms has been the subject of a mostly unfunny running joke between my girlfriend and me because this game feels like it's perpetually on sale for pocket change on the Nintendo game store.”
“The humor in this game falls flat, relying on tired clichés that fail to elicit any genuine laughter.”
“I expected a lot more from the comedic elements, but they often feel forced and lack any real wit.”
- replayability4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The game offers limited replayability, primarily due to its three endings—negative, neutral, and positive—that do not significantly differ from one another. While players may find some incentive to replay the game to uncover additional details about the setting and plot, the overall experience is relatively short, averaging around five hours.
“A good length considering there are multiple endings which opens it to replayability.”
“There's some replayability for getting each of the three endings (negative, neutral, and positive) and getting each ending reveals a little more detail about the setting and plot.”
“The game is quite long (~5 hours to finish) and offers some replayability if you want to see the other endings (good, neutral, and bad).”
“Very minimal replay value; it has 3 endings and they don't differ too much.”
“There's some replayability for getting each of the three endings (negative, neutral, and positive), and getting each ending reveals a little more detail about the setting and plot.”
“The game is quite long (~5 hours to finish) and offers a bit of replayability if you want to see the other endings (good, neutral, and bad).”
