Do you ever need a game that’s quick and simple to just kill minutes at a time with? Maybe you’ve got 10 minutes before you leave for a doctor’s appointment. Perhaps you’re taking a quick break and need something fun to do that won’t take up much of your time. Maybe you’re just trying to figure out what to tackle next on your to-do list and need a moment. I recently discovered that Mission CTRL-developed Writhe on Nintendo Switch is actually a great little nugget of a game to kill a few quick minutes with thanks to its simple, fun formula.
I saw that Writhe was on sale for four bucks, and I liked the colorful, polygonal look of it — it reminded me of something I would play at an arcade, so I figured I’d check it out. It quickly downloaded to my Nintendo Switch, and I remembered I also had a few games I was supposed to check out for coverage and review purposes. So while I waited for those other larger games to download to my Xbox, I fired up Writhe. Turns out, it was exactly what I needed to get distracted while the other games downloaded.
So what is Writhe, exactly? Well, it’s simple: The game is a horde-based first-person shooter. You drop into one of three maps, and big, nasty, leech-like bugs spawn all over the place. They’re pretty aggressive and quickly slither their way toward you, so you have to pick them off one by one using your dual weapons — a shotgun and a rapid-fire machine gun.
As you play, you collect gems that will unlock bits of lore in the main menu. This stuff is mostly expendable, but it’s there if you want some back story. You’ll also be able to upgrade your weapons over time, increasing your rate of fire and reload speed, and gaining some other perks. It’s nothing too deep, but these passive upgrades help keep you in the fight as more enemies fill the arena.
Speaking of which, the big ol’ worms can evolve into deadlier forms that are stronger and harder to kill. Before you know it, enemies big and small will be wriggling all over the place. At times, the game plays a lot like Serious Sam (or similar games, like Boomerang X), forcing you to walk backward and strafe as enemies advance on you, firing your guns with no remorse, and taking out as many alien insects as possible. Things get chaotic fast, and it’s fun just trying to survive.
There are online leaderboards if you’re feeling competitive and want to chase a high score. For me, though, playing Writhe is more about the entertaining, frantic, and above all else, bite-sized experience you get from it. The game will probably be my go-to thing to play while I wait for downloads moving forward. I mean, hey, it beats doomscrolling on social media!
Now, like I stated previously, I picked up Writhe for $4, which was its sale price. Normally, the game goes for $10, which I’d say is a little steep. That said, if you find it at a discounted price, it’s absolutely worth picking up and acts as a great time-killer.
So yeah, Writhe is a pretty simple game that’s easy to pick up and play. But seriously, it doesn’t really need to be much more than that. Writhe isn’t some award-winning thing that you devote hours upon hours of your everyday life to. What it is, though, is a fun little arcade-y FPS that’ll keep you busy while you’re waiting to figure out what to do next. And honestly, sometimes that’s all you need.
