Atomic Worm, by Charlie Dog Games, is a nifty title coming from the other end of the casual games spectrum. It’s a reinvention of several classic arcade concepts, polished and presented through simple geometric forms. More importantly, the game is completely free to play, and being a compact 6 megabytes in size, there’s absolutely no reason not to give it a shot.

As abstract as the game’s graphics might appear, the mechanic behind it all is still a familiar blend of catchy concepts. The Atomic Worm is a bit like Snake — it slithers through the playing field in search of tokens, which when consumed, lengthen your character. Your objective is to clear as many of these tokens as possible to earn points, which is done by eating three tokens of the same kind consecutively. After having acquired sufficient points, an exit appears which will lead you to the next level.

The playing field is a network of lines which form the routes your snake may travel. Your worm is always moving, so you have to be quick in selecting the path you wish it to take. Be careful, because the longer your worm gets, the more likely it is you may get tied up. Thankfully, it doesn’t lead to an immediate death should you collide with yourself. You do lose points though, and if you lose too much, that’s when you may find the game coming to an unfortunate end.

What we found the most eye-catching was really the game’s graphics and environment. As with many abstract games that have emerged from the independent underground, if you’re only able to set aside your preconceived notions, everything works well together to produce a hypnotic, cerebral experience. Visually, the artwork is minimalist, with lambent shapes against a vast, pitch-black expanse. The playing field, which comes together as an intricate pattern of shapes and lines, rotates dreamily to a steady electronic music track.

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(3 votes, average: 4.67 out of 5)

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