Wordhunters - PlayStation 4

I bought this game to try out because of the Playlink feature on the PS4. You download the associated app on your phone/tablet and off you go.The premise of the game is pretty simple, each player is given a 4 letter word that they have to spell out to win. In order to get these letters you and your friends play word-based mini games. There is about 15-20 of these mini games (don't recall the exact amount) and they are things like word search puzzles, anagrams, fill in the blank, etc. Between each round, the airplane carrying you and your friends flies to a different city (of which everyone votes on) and if you win the mini game there, you can choose one letter that makes up the name of the city as one of the letters that you can use to spell out the word given to you at the beginning of the game. Since the given words are only 4 letters long and sometimes can have multiples of the same letter, you can see that this game ends pretty quickly. The mini games themselves can last anywhere from 30 seconds to 2-3 minutes.There are a few ways you can prolong the game as there are bonus items you can use, (like to reroute the plane to a different location (for different letters)) but overall the game ends very quickly which is a shame. I think having the option to change it to maybe 6 letter words would make each game feel more satisfying since as of now, the game is over so quickly that the feeling of being the winner doesn't really feel all that fulfilling.The graphics are fine, basic polygonal representations of the cities. The interface however is very lacking. It doesn't feel like a retail game, it almost feels like some kind of indie/fan game made by a single person because the menus have no personality and the text is presented in the most basic font. The music is also kind of lacking. It just has some very laid back and simple tunes playing in the background but they also feel like just that, background noise. I know this is a vocabulary based party game, but they could have spiced it up here and there with the UI and the music to keep players engaged.I have had fun with this game, as have the people I've played it with. However, I do think that having the whole visual and audio experience be more dynamic and engaging would have made this game much more enjoyable and would have given this game a longer lasting appeal. Mediocre presentation, low number of mini-games and lack of customization hurt this game in the long run, BUT... if you can snag this for less than $10 and have friends who enjoy vocabulary based games, I'd still say this is worth it. There's not many video games I can think of that have such an accessible point of entry for those who want to participate but may not be so good with a controller.

This game has the potential to be a lot of fun if you're into word games. Unfortunately, it is pretty buggy. Not sure if it's the game itself or the app that you have to download. I played a game with my wife and when I would win a turn it would give me my letters to add to my final word but it would not give my wife her letters on the round she would win. Hopefully they will fix this game soon and I can give it the review it really does deserve.