Summary
Worms. There are so many worms in this world, digging and burrowing beneath us. They appear in just about every part of the world and are the early science fascination of schoolchildren everywhere. So it is only fitting that there are so many Worms games. Except these worms are a bit…different than the earthen variety.
Starting back in 1995, the Worms games have just gone on and on and on and have some rather unconventional naming schemes. Really, it’s best to just pick up any Worms games you think look cool because it is a fool’s errand to follow them chronologically and we’re going to show you why.
22Worms - 1995
The very first Worms games graced us way back in 1995 for the Amiga, a console that plenty of people reading this have quite possiblynever even heard of. It was, despite featuring a radically different art style from the modern games, is the foundation of everything Worms.
It is also not the only Worms game titled ‘Worms’, though we’ll get to that little confusion later.
Worms was not the first video game featuring worms in the leading role, however. That honour goes to Earthworm Jim.
21Worms: The Director’s Cut - 1997
Though called The Director’s Cut, this is technically a sequel though really all these terms are relative anyway. It was intended to be an improvement over the original Worms in every conceivable and was made exclusively for the Amiga system as a result.
It did, consequently, sell terribly. Though that didn’t hamper the future ambitions of the Worms series, clearly.
20Worms 2 - 1997
The third Worms game, Worms 2 is the first proper sequel with a brand new idea for the burgeoning Worms series. It was also the birthplace of the more cartoonish style that would define the rest of the games going forward.
It also added online play, improved level editor, and more weapons and sold pretty well too.
19Worms Armageddon - 1999
Worms Armageddon is when the series started hitting a really big audience. Though initially released just for PC, it quickly got ported to plenty more home consoles to hit an even wider audience.
It added a single-player mode too, which is a nice little bonus. It was a big success considering it was originally only going to be a Worms 2 expansion.
18Worms World Party - 2001
This sure is another Worms game. There’s not much more to say about it. Small improvements over Armageddon but not really enough to justify a new game.
It came to a bunch of consoles though so it helped the series reach, and could be retroactively seen as a love letter to its legacy considering the very next entry.
17Worms 3D - 2003
The sixth Worms game, Worms 3D was the series' transition to 3D, a decision which it would stand by strongly. The Worms had gained an extra dimension and it was here to stay. For a few years, anyway.
It could be argued that Worms was made to take advantage of a 2D viewpoint and that 3D would fundamentally change it. A fair assumption, though it is basically the same game, but in 3D. Take from that what you will.
16Worms Forts: Under Siege - 2004
Perhaps as a response to the fact that Worms 3D was just regular ol' Worms but with an extra dimension, Forts adds, well, forts to the mix to get a bit more variety going on in the game.
It played primarily the same, though the forts added a bit more strategy. The game didn’t get stellar reviews though. Oh well.
15Worms 4: Mayhem - 2005
Worms 4, the eighth Worms game, put a much larger focus on story and progression than previous Worms games. It had cutscenes, which is a fascinating advancement for games that are primarily multiplayer. You couldmake your own weapons too, which was definitely a welcome change.
Otherwise, it was fundamentally the same game. You might be noticing a trend here. Don’t break what’s not broken.
14Worms: Open Warfare - 2006
After three years of 3D graphics, Worms: Open Warfare came to portable consoles with a grand return to the 2D graphics that the series was born with. It was still the same game, though at least it had a different visual appearance this time around.
It did, however, remove online multiplayer which at this point had become a main feature of the multiplayer-driven games where worms blow each other up.
Yes, they really did make a new Worms game each year. An unfortunately impossible ideal these days.
13Worms - 2007
This is where everything starts to getweird. Worms, released in 2007, is not a remake of the original Worms like you might expect from the use of the original title. Nope, it’s not a reboot either. A port of the original maybe? Wrong again. Throw out any last guess before popping down to the next paragraph.
Worms (2007) is, aside from some technical changes such as the ability to leave feedback on other players, a port of Open Warfare for Xbox and PlayStation. Which is perhaps not the most marketing-friendly title to use for a port.
