Word Web by POWGI review for Nintendo Switch, Xbox, PlayStation

Platform: Nintendo Switch
Also on: PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X
Publisher: Lightwood Games
Developer: Lightwood Games
Medium: Digital
Players: 1
Online: No
ESRB: E

There was a time a few years ago when the release of a new word game from Lightwood Games wouldโ€™ve been cause for rejoicing on my part. Iโ€™ve played more than my fair share of their games, and, with one or two exceptions, Iโ€™ve been a pretty big fan. Consequently, I was excited to see that they were coming out with their first game in nearly a year, Word Web by POWGI.

That excitement lasted right up until the moment I started playing it.

The problem is that Word Web isnโ€™t particularly interesting. Itโ€™s a logic puzzle with a 5ร—5, 25-letter grid โ€“ everything but the letter Z โ€“ and you have to place all the letters in such a way that certain letters connect to spell specific words. Thereโ€™s no theme to any of the puzzles, and for the most part, it feels like thereโ€™s a certain amount of guesswork โ€“ though itโ€™s entirely possible that can be attributed to me and my lack of logic.

Still, it gets really tiresome, really quickly to put down a letter, check to make sure that you havenโ€™t placed it in the wrong place, then put down another letter, and then check againโ€ฆand so on. Basically, the game goes place-check-place-check for about five minutes, then youโ€™re done and itโ€™s on to the next puzzle.

Strangely enough, the last game I played from Lightwood Games was also a logic-based puzzle game โ€“ though in that case, my complaint was that the game was too easy, and I finished all the puzzles the game had to offer in less than a hour. I certainly didnโ€™t finish Word Web by POWGI in less than a hour โ€“ but finishing the puzzles dragged on so much, it made me want to quit the game and give it up after just a few of its 120 puzzles. Hopefully next time out, Lightwood can try a word game thatโ€™s not also a logic game, because the results so far arenโ€™t great.

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

Grade: C-
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