Multiwinia: Survival of the Flattest

 PC
User Score
8.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 72 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 61 out of 72
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 72
  3. Negative: 5 out of 72

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  1. PeterR
    Oct 13, 2008
    7
    The gameplay itself is great. A little hard to micromanage, but practice makes perfect. I had no choice but to knock off a few points because Introversion has taken their minimalist approach a little too far with this one. You can't chat with players until you've started the game (i.e. there's no talking while waiting for a game to start) and many other basic features, like The gameplay itself is great. A little hard to micromanage, but practice makes perfect. I had no choice but to knock off a few points because Introversion has taken their minimalist approach a little too far with this one. You can't chat with players until you've started the game (i.e. there's no talking while waiting for a game to start) and many other basic features, like server passwords, are non-existent. Supposedly they're going to patch these things into the game soon. Let's hope they're true to their word.… Expand
  2. tech-noir
    Feb 2, 2012
    6
    Even though Multiwinia is mostly a multi player upgrade to Darwinia, it is an immensely better game than its predecessor. Nearly all aspects of the game have been improved to the point of near greatness in short bursts. In this iteration of the series, the focus is placed on multi player style game modes, which could also be played against the CPU. Multi player servers are available, butEven though Multiwinia is mostly a multi player upgrade to Darwinia, it is an immensely better game than its predecessor. Nearly all aspects of the game have been improved to the point of near greatness in short bursts. In this iteration of the series, the focus is placed on multi player style game modes, which could also be played against the CPU. Multi player servers are available, but the amount of people playing in public games is scarce to none. This is not a problem, as the single player mode provides much entertainment, challenge, and excitement. Unit placement, movement, and orders have been polished beyond comparison to the nearly broken Darwinia. Everything is fluid, fixed, and sleek. There are also many power-ups and surprises that enhance the game play to the extent of limitless replay ability. In everything Darwinia went wrong, Multiwinia corrected and got right. There are so many maps to play in, and several game modes that will guarantee the almost permanent installation of Multiwinia on your system. You will go back to this game time and time again. The fun and excitement it provides is timeless. There is no reason to play the defective Darwinia if you have Multiwinia. The controls are outstanding, especially when you compare them to the controls and path finding disasters of Darwinia. Each game plays differently, as the variety in maps, game modes, random power-ups, and AI will change your experiences throughout. All difficulty levels are challenging and fun to play, even if you lose. Each match takes between five and twenty minutes, and time flies by quickly, as you are constantly paying attention to your enemies, your units, and ordering them around the map. The action is non-stop. Unfortunately, Multiwinia does not keep track of your personal statistics besides Steam achievements (which I do not care for). There is also a lack of leaderboards of any kind because of the non-inclusion of statistics keeping. It would have been extremely nice to have access to both, even if it were for single player only. Sometimes, you may be losing by a considerable amount, and you will still be able to pull off the win. Power-ups are important at times, depending on the luck of the draw. You will develop a liking to some of them, and apathy for others. While Multiwinia is a short-lived gaming experience, it is Introversion's best effort so far. This game is a perfect example of something you keep installed for years to come, always going back to it for quick matches action packed with fun and entertainment.… Expand
  3. MikeM
    Oct 19, 2008
    7
    Fun game, but in the world of RTS I can't give it more than a 7. the fundamentals are all present, but it needs some sort of "super" units, something that adds some depth and tactics to the game. As it is you just build up your units, hope a box (random) drops near your units to offset the balance of the game, and rape your enemy. If there was some sort of super unit structure you Fun game, but in the world of RTS I can't give it more than a 7. the fundamentals are all present, but it needs some sort of "super" units, something that adds some depth and tactics to the game. As it is you just build up your units, hope a box (random) drops near your units to offset the balance of the game, and rape your enemy. If there was some sort of super unit structure you could decide, do I need 100 little guys or combine them into 10 heavy units, and your enemy would be doing the same. Hope they do something like this in the next version but I'm gonna have to leave it on the shelf as is.… Expand
  4. iseeall
    Dec 16, 2015
    5
    A multiplayer remake of Darwinia. It's slightly better but is still unplayable. It explains the basics in 2 tutorials, like, controlling the units, making a formation, capturing stuff. However, as soon as you try the single player mode vs the AI (there are no players online to play against) immediately you get questions you don't know answers to and you always lose because you don't knowA multiplayer remake of Darwinia. It's slightly better but is still unplayable. It explains the basics in 2 tutorials, like, controlling the units, making a formation, capturing stuff. However, as soon as you try the single player mode vs the AI (there are no players online to play against) immediately you get questions you don't know answers to and you always lose because you don't know what's happening. Like, where the hell those grenades (or whatever, you just see explosions) come from and wipe out half of your formation. Can you use grenades, too? If so, what button does that? Or where the hell from do ships appear and send rockets from all sides at a location? Why suddenly the battle slowed down etc etc. It seems that the AI takes some bonus crates which have all kinds of special effects, but it's not clear what those effects do, how many of them there are etc. It's not even clearly visible who a spawning point belongs to - there are small colored dots indicating that but in a huge colorful mess of particles this game is they get lost completely.

    There is still the same strange camera control system: moving the mouse rotates the camera (!?), and the cursor is fixed at the center of the screen as if you were controlling a minigun on a helicopter with the task of shooting targets on the ground. The mouse wheel zooms in/out in the same reversed and unconfigurable mode as in Darwinia. Deselecting units is done with Space. It should have been right click (or left click, if right-click is for giving a movement order - depends on whether you like C&C or AoE system better)... Formations work clumsy, as it's not possible to send a formation a bit forward - the destination point must be in front of the whole formation. Selecting groups of darwinians with a long mouse-down is a novel idea but works not so good as it spends too much time. Why didn't they just let people use the old good dragbox or double left-click to select, say, 50 darwinians?

    Btw, the basic gameplay here is much like in "virus rts" type games, where you have a set of points on the map, spawning tiny units of one fixed type at a regular rate, and you can pick 50% of them from one point and send to another connected point - there are plenty of mobile games like that now. Surely, Multiwinia is much more complex, and there are more modes, but the basic idea is just that. If you get it (almost) for free in a bundle, it's maybe worth a look. Just don't expect much.    … Expand
  5. UnOffical
    Jan 24, 2015
    5
    Multiwinia is not that much different to Darwinia- but it does add some surprising new features, which make it more playable than Darwinia. Still, the game lacks replay-ability in some aspects as the way battles turn our a relatively the same each time. This is due to the AI being predictable- It only took me about 4-8 games and I could predict what the AI would do. Multiplayer isMultiwinia is not that much different to Darwinia- but it does add some surprising new features, which make it more playable than Darwinia. Still, the game lacks replay-ability in some aspects as the way battles turn our a relatively the same each time. This is due to the AI being predictable- It only took me about 4-8 games and I could predict what the AI would do. Multiplayer is something to be desired too, it's pretty clear there aren't many people playing this game because the matchmaking system hardly ever works. Controls are easy to learn, graphics are playable but could be better. This game is like a major DLC to Darwinia, in the fact that it adds a lot of new things to the game and improves on Darwinia's shortcomings.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

57
#57 Best PC Game of 2008
55
#55 Most Discussed PC Game of 2008
84
#84 Most Shared PC Game of 2008

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 38 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 29 out of 38
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 38
  3. Negative: 0 out of 38
  1. PALGN
    80
    Multiwinia makes most other RTS games look like bloated, honking walruses.
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  2. Gamervision
    80
    For fans of Darwinia, this game is an instant purchase, but I’d recommend waiting on the Arcade version for online play. For anyone on the fence, pick up the demo, and here’s hoping it gets the reaction on consoles it deserves.
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  3. CPUGamer
    88
    Multiwinia is, in a two words, chaotically fun.
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