Reviews

Word Wheel by POWGI review for Nintendo Switch, PS Vita, PS4

Platform: Nintendo Switch
Also On: PS Vita, PS4
Publisher: Lightwood Games
Developer: Lightwood Games
Medium: Digital
Players: 1-4
Online: No
ESRB: E

On the surface, Word Wheel would appear to check all the boxes for me: a word game (my favourite genre) by Lightwood Games (probably my favourite publisher) with a pretty straightforward objective (you spell as many words as you can using a wheel full of letters). Before I?d even played a moment of it, I was ready to declare it my new favourite game.

Turns out that even I have my limits when it comes to word games.

This comes down almost entirely to how Word Wheel is structured. Wheels have 9 letters (8 spokes and 1 hub), and you have to spell every single word you can using the middle letter. While I find this idea hugely fun in theory, in practice it can sometimes turn into a slog. Like, one of the wheels spells out ?orchestra”, with the letter A in the middle. Do you have any idea how many 4- to 9-letter words can be formed with those letters? It?s a lot, and somewhere along the line it goes from, ?how many words can I spell?” to ?I need how many more words now?”

Don?t get me wrong: now that I?ve played the heck out of it on the Switch, I?m going to buy it on the Vita too. I really, really like word games, after all. But unless you have a love of word games that borders on the obsessive, I suspect that Word Wheel will feel more like a chore than a fun way to pass the time. If you?re in the mood for a solid puzzle game, you?re probably better off investing in one of Lightwood?s other games.

Lightwood Games provided us with a Word Wheel by POWGI Switch code for review purposes.

Grade: B-
Matthew Pollesel

Recent Posts

Get your hands on the 1:1 scale replica of the Prototype Lancer from Gears of War: E-Day at the Xbox Games Studio Shop

Scare criminals with poor eyesight with this intimidating gun replica! Editor’s Note: Don’t actually do…

7 hours ago

The Sinking City 2 review for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X

Nothing like the first game, which is probably for the better.

7 hours ago

Double dose of Jackbox fun arriving this fall

Murder most fun, starting this September!

17 hours ago

Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo walks the dog onto the Nintendo Switch 2

Owners of the game on the Switch will get a free upgrade.

21 hours ago

Bob’s got a government job as he returns to the Tekken 8 roster today for Season Pass 3 owners

Ok…I guess, Mayor Mamdani did something right with this appointment.

1 day ago

Super Bomberman Collection’s blast radius grows larger as Panic Bomber W is added to this compilation!

I’m still holding out hope they’ll add Bomberman Zero as a bonus.

1 day ago

This website uses cookies.