PLATFORM: SWITCH | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
Celebrated game designer Wario has just completed his latest game, but things go awry very quickly when he attempts to show his creation to his colleagues at WarioWare Inc – the game malfunctions, the entire team is quite literally sucked into Wario’s handheld console, and the only way out is to eliminate the bugs by beating a series of 3-5 second microgames!
If you’ve played any of the previous WW games, you’ll be in familiar territory with this tenth (really!) instalment – an assortment of microgames are thrown at you one after the other in quick succession until you complete enough of them to reach a boss “fight” (or fail enough times that you lose all your lives). The big difference between Get It Together and previous entries is that here you actually control characters and guide them around the screen, whereas previous titles relied on little more than simple button presses and the occasional use of various other platforms’ built-in tech like microphones and touchscreens. Each character has their own set of abilities, but they’re all able to complete every game in their own unique way. A total of 18 characters can be unlocked throughout the short but sweet story mode – each stage is tackled by your chosen crew of characters, which keeps things nicely varied and gives a good introduction each character’s abilities. On the downside though, several characters aren’t much more than trickier to control / less effective versions of others, so a few members of the roster give you very little reason to ever choose them.
A huge part of the appeal is found in seeing just how crazy some of the games are. The series is known for its quirky, eccentric, madcap ideas, and there’s certainly no shortage of those. One moment you’ll be following the instruction to “cover!” by flinging cat litter around to cover up a dollop of droppings, then two seconds later you might be helping a luchador with his training, pushing over a line of posing musclemen or hunting ghosts in Luigi’s Mansion (the Nintendo themes levels are, as ever, a real highlight).
Outside of the story mode levels (which can be replayed later to chase high scores), there are ten additional multiplayer-focused microgames for up to four players, the Wario Cup offers a weekly challenge mode with online leaderboards, individual games can be practised in the Play-o-pedia, and a vast array of Missions (basically challenges to meet across the other game modes) are available which reward players with coins to spend on “prezzies” that unlock customisation options for your characters. There’s certainly plenty going on, although with most games only lasting a matter of seconds, and the absence of online multiplayer (it’s limited to local play only) there might be a slight question about the game’s overall longevity. Still, an extremely fun and endearing title that’s sure to provide a decent amount of entertainment, particularly for those with a penchant for chaotic friendship-destroying multiplayer games. Thumbs up!
