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PLAYDATE WORD GAMES ROUND-UP (PD)
WORD TRIP | RENDSWORD | BWIRDS
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Developer: VARIOUS.
Released: 2023; 2024. Genre: Word Games. Posted 30th December 2024. By Tom Clare © 2024 |
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WORD TRIP (PD)
Shaun Inman | Word Games | March 2023
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Word Trip centres around changing one four-letter word, step-by-step, into another that’s designated at the start of each round. The catch is, for every word you enter, three letters must be taken from the top word, and just one from the word you’re trying to make, and this will replace the letter you opt not to use from the top word. Every word grants fuel, extending your journey.
It sounds more complicated on paper, though it would be a lie to say the premise ever feels entirely intuitive. Word Trip requires plenty of concentration and time limits on every setting above Easy make for an experience that’s more stressful than engrossing. It’s tidily made, with distinctive presentation showcasing your progress in the form of a GPS-style overview. Additionally, daily leaderboards may entice some to return, allowing you to see how you stack up against competing wordsmiths.
It sounds more complicated on paper, though it would be a lie to say the premise ever feels entirely intuitive. Word Trip requires plenty of concentration and time limits on every setting above Easy make for an experience that’s more stressful than engrossing. It’s tidily made, with distinctive presentation showcasing your progress in the form of a GPS-style overview. Additionally, daily leaderboards may entice some to return, allowing you to see how you stack up against competing wordsmiths.
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The trouble is, it’s not especially enjoyable or addictive. Converting words against the clock never crosses into the realms of addictive gameplay and there are no great eureka moments of puzzle-solving satisfaction. Beyond a couple of sessions, it’s clear Word Trip is missing the hook to reel you back in. It’s okay, but nothing special.
OVERALL: 5/10
RENDSWORD (PD)
Powerdive Games | Word Games | February 2024
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In word games, flattery will actually get you pretty far
Rendsword proved a quiet revelation amongst the Playdate’s line-up when it appeared in early 2024. It doesn’t knock your socks off straight away, but over time, slowly begins to mesmerise. This amalgam of roguelike fantasy combat and Scrabble evidently has some dark magic doing its bidding. Weeks after embarking on my first quest, I was still being drawn back in.
Before each run, you must pick a name for your adventurer. It isn’t for window-dressing though, as this seemingly innocuous choice decides your initial pool of letters. With them, you will do battle, because in Rendsword, words are your weapons. You’ll fight a series of turn-based battles with ever-tougher fantastical creatures. Different letters hold different point values, and logically enough, longer words with less commonly used letters deal greater damage. The twist is, each enemy is represented by a black letter tile which must feature in your word if you are to land any damage. Surviving battle-by-battle is tough going, but now and then, you’re invited to select a new perk or add a letter to the pool. Some of these grant a degree of healing, the ability to stun enemies, or temporarily shield from attacks. These roguelike elements add to the game’s already-considerable depth, and introduce a welcome sense of unpredictability. Thanks to the breadth of language, no two runs are alike, no matter how many times you play.
Before each run, you must pick a name for your adventurer. It isn’t for window-dressing though, as this seemingly innocuous choice decides your initial pool of letters. With them, you will do battle, because in Rendsword, words are your weapons. You’ll fight a series of turn-based battles with ever-tougher fantastical creatures. Different letters hold different point values, and logically enough, longer words with less commonly used letters deal greater damage. The twist is, each enemy is represented by a black letter tile which must feature in your word if you are to land any damage. Surviving battle-by-battle is tough going, but now and then, you’re invited to select a new perk or add a letter to the pool. Some of these grant a degree of healing, the ability to stun enemies, or temporarily shield from attacks. These roguelike elements add to the game’s already-considerable depth, and introduce a welcome sense of unpredictability. Thanks to the breadth of language, no two runs are alike, no matter how many times you play.
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Rendsword’s presentation hits the right notes. Visual design isn’t crucial to a word game’s success, but it’s nevertheless pleasing on the eye, sporting a stylish and inviting heraldic title screen and an array of cool battle monsters. Surprisingly, it’s the game’s brilliant music that proves the highlight. A spine-tingling title theme sets the tone, and as you progress further into the quest, the music ratchets up with some superbly dramatic tunes that add to the sense of theatre.
The one qualm of note is, at least in comparison to other Playdate word games, its dictionary is a little restrictive, having refused a smattering of ‘real’ words. Unfortunately, words cannot be checked prior to confirmation, so there’s no way to be sure they will be valid. If a word is rejected, your turn is void. Rendsword is a tough game at the best of times, and losing a go can be tough to recover from. For posterity, I should note that there’s an additional Brutal difficulty, but this only unlocks after completing the quest, something that continues to elude me. The last boss is prodigiously tough, spawning a new foe every turn and harbouring a gigantic number of hit points. Mustn’t grumble, though: it’s perfect portable fun and ideal for challenging, engrossing 15-20 minute blasts. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to eat a dictionary, as I simply must beat Rendsword.
The one qualm of note is, at least in comparison to other Playdate word games, its dictionary is a little restrictive, having refused a smattering of ‘real’ words. Unfortunately, words cannot be checked prior to confirmation, so there’s no way to be sure they will be valid. If a word is rejected, your turn is void. Rendsword is a tough game at the best of times, and losing a go can be tough to recover from. For posterity, I should note that there’s an additional Brutal difficulty, but this only unlocks after completing the quest, something that continues to elude me. The last boss is prodigiously tough, spawning a new foe every turn and harbouring a gigantic number of hit points. Mustn’t grumble, though: it’s perfect portable fun and ideal for challenging, engrossing 15-20 minute blasts. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to eat a dictionary, as I simply must beat Rendsword.
OVERALL: 8/10
BWIRDS (PD)
Threethreethree Games | Word Games | October 2024
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BWIRDS is a nifty concept that hasn’t been realised to its full potential. The player must pluck a sequence of letters from amid a gathering of birds, spelling words that fulfil nine requests from a trio of oddballs, with characters and topics changing for each fresh run.
Every letter carries the same value, but points start to mount based on the length of words the player creates. However, with ambition comes risk: if you’re unable to complete a word that fits the request, you must skip the round, dashing your chances of a high score. Thus, a fallback plan is always advisable. To help, you can capture a vowel owls and consonant condors (a free choice of their respective letter types), or a wild duck, which as the name suggests, acts as any letter. These establish more avenues to completing requests, but they don’t add individually to the score.
Every letter carries the same value, but points start to mount based on the length of words the player creates. However, with ambition comes risk: if you’re unable to complete a word that fits the request, you must skip the round, dashing your chances of a high score. Thus, a fallback plan is always advisable. To help, you can capture a vowel owls and consonant condors (a free choice of their respective letter types), or a wild duck, which as the name suggests, acts as any letter. These establish more avenues to completing requests, but they don’t add individually to the score.
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There's plenty of freedom in creating words, but a few more categories would have helped in the long run
Although they might have been more fleshed out, BWIRDS’ quirky characters boost its charm a little. Among them is Dirty Gertie, a human, female Oscar the Grouch who lives in a bin and likes snacking on words of a specific length. There’s also Chuck Roast, a connoisseur of food, and Scout Meadows, who likes the natural world. These personalities can be viewed in an endearing little scrapbook, and it’s a pity there are only eight to find. Word objectives include coming up with fruits, insects, five-letter words, mammals and forms of transport. The dictionary accepted some pretty obscure options, including the likes of ‘medlar’ and ‘quince’ in the fruit and food categories, which is a good sign. The requester’s expression indicates beforehand whether they consider your proffered word acceptable. With no time limit, the real challenge is ensuring you have the right letters: there is an option to scatter the birds if none of them have any letters useful to the player, replacing them with a new set.
Where the game stumbles is in its brevity. Even accounting for its budget price, BWIRDS’ lack of content leaves a promising idea feeling somewhat embryonic. A high-score leaderboard motivated me to return for a few days, with the prospect of improving across familiar categories. However, a lack of depth mixed with a lack of run-by-run variety means you'll encounter a lot of the same prompts, very quickly. With a greater range of categories and personalities, this could have been a nice alternative to Scribblenauts. It’s just a shame there isn’t a bit more to get your teeth into. [5]
Where the game stumbles is in its brevity. Even accounting for its budget price, BWIRDS’ lack of content leaves a promising idea feeling somewhat embryonic. A high-score leaderboard motivated me to return for a few days, with the prospect of improving across familiar categories. However, a lack of depth mixed with a lack of run-by-run variety means you'll encounter a lot of the same prompts, very quickly. With a greater range of categories and personalities, this could have been a nice alternative to Scribblenauts. It’s just a shame there isn’t a bit more to get your teeth into. [5]
OVERALL: 5/10
OTHER GAMES THAT GET YOU THINKING REVIEWED
Pipe Mania (1989, Amiga)
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The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom (2010, Xbox 360)
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