It’s time to delve into the world of Earthworm Jim. Unfortunately I would not say that this one holds up very well. It plays around with too many different gimmicks and control schemes which unfortunately means that there is less time to make the platforming as good as it can be. It can be a little rough when you’re running around and constantly bumping into all kinds of traps.

The concept is still interesting as you play as a worm type of creature. It’s definitely not exactly what you would be expecting in a platformer like this although a while back I did get to play the sequel so I was more ready than I usually would be. I don’t think this one is quite as good though and you can feel the growing pains here. For starters, the level designs are rather convoluted. You sometimes have to spend more time wondering where you are going which is definitely not intended. Or if it is then I would argue that it wasn’t a good design choice. You get punished for moving too quickly.

The platforming is also really tricky with the jumps because if you get the angle even slightly wrong then you will fall to your doom and lose a ton of progress. When you factor in the enemies that you will encounter as well, it’s very likely that you will lose a life there. I died so many times here because the enemies are numerous and they move so fast. You really need to have lightning fast reflexes to even stand a chance. It’s definitely not easy by any means.

There are some creative things here though like some levels where you get separated from your body and have to keep up while jumping away from obstacles. It’s a pretty good challenge without feeling unfair. Then you have the high speed chase levels between the platforming ones. Those are definitely rather tricky as it’s hard not to bump into a boulder at some point but these levels are at least fairly fun. They help give you a change of pace from the platforming.

The game’s not even that long, it’s a little over an hour I’d say so it really should not drag at all. The fact that it does by any metric is the real problem here. A game should always be really enjoyable while you’re playing it and it should never drag unless the game is over 10 hours in which case it’s reasonable to have a slow chapter or two. Again it goes back to being stopped constantly when you’re trying to run through the levels which is a real problem. It’s something that happens in 2D Sonic games as well but they have more positives to offset that.

I will say that the graphics are good though. The game is really creative with the enemies and the level visuals so I do give it full credit there. The soundtrack is also reasonably good. On a technical level it’s good, but the gameplay is what holds it back and that’s easily the most important factor in a game so you can’t really survive with that part lacking. It’s just not going to work.

Overall, Earthworm Jim is a decent game but not one that I had a great time with. I think you could do a lot better in just about every genre. There are many platformers that would be ahead of this one as well. It’s worth checking out if you have the Switch Online but it is nowhere near the top of my list. I don’t think it really has much to offer here and while a modern remake could be a lot of fun, I do think that it needs to do something to really differentiate itself from the older title. Just give me some fun run and gun levels and we should be good.

Overall 5/10