Wordbreaker by POWGI review for Nintendo Switch, PS4/5, Xbox One/Series X

The problem with Wordbreaker by POWGI is that it?s basically Wordle, except a) you get unlimited guesses for each puzzle, and b) it costs $10.

The issue with the price is kind of obvious. As of this writing, Wordle is free to play on the New York Times site and elsewhere. That makes the value proposition of Wordbreaker a little difficult to see. I mean, yes, you get to play the game on your Switch, but this is taking the idea of a ?Nintendo tax” to an extreme degree.

As for the unlimited guesses, that speaks to Wordbreaker?s bigger issue: it?s kind of boring. One of the great things about Wordle is the tension that comes with only having six guesses to figure out the word. If you?ve played Wordle, you know what it?s like to hit that fifth guess and still not know what the word is. In Wordbreaker, by contrast, you just keep on guessing until you get it, and the only challenge is whether you can finish each puzzle in under a minute.

In fact, it?s worth noting that Wordbreaker actually removes a lot of the challenge by not allowing repeated letters in words. Even if you?re not a fan of how Wordle suddenly has a lot more of those words post-NYT move, they at least keep things interesting.

Without them ? and without anything else to push you ? it?s really makes it difficult to stay interested in the game. There are ways to play around with the Wordle formula to make the gameplay fresh and new (see Octordle for an extreme example), but there?s none of that to be found in Wordbreaker.

Lightwood Games provided us with a Wordbreaker by POWGI code for review purposes.