Kill It With Fire Switch Review: Feel The Burn

As Metallica once said, “fight fire with fire”, what Casey Donnellan said about the wholesome spider, to misquote the infamous metal track, was Kill It With Fire. Not my best. 

And again, we have another review covered at the time of release with the PC version, but like the recent Hellpoint review, I had the opportunity to play this on the Switch, so I couldn’t let it pass.

Already a low-poly presentation, if that’s what you call it, the Kill It With Fire Switch version should be an easy port. Not that I’d know anything about it, but being able to swot spiders on-the-go is a definite lure as no actual spiders are harmed in the process.

Kill It With Fire Switch Review

What’s different about Kill It With Fire Switch? Not much. You could hop on over to the PC review, but let me explain it here. Clicking another link within a website is hard work. I’ve studied the analytics.

There’s no narrative here other than shifting to various locations, often on a grander scale. Because you’ve accepted it, your mission is to destroy every spider within the vicinity and unlocking secrets along the way.

From a first-person perspective, you stomp through a few small locations, making the most of the objects to hand. That might be the clipboard you carry with your listed objectives or a make-do flamethrower from an aerosol. 

However, taking out the equivalent of a household spider with a shotgun is overkill, but overkill is warmly embraced. Kill It With Fire is undoubtedly a fun, if somewhat short game, but offers plenty of replay value.

A Family Of Spiders

That replay value comes with unlocking all the objectives, but perhaps a greater incentive: enjoyment. I finished Kill It With Fire on the PC back in 1968, and it was a memorable experience. Now, a few years later, I’m playing it again, but it’s just as much fun as before.

What appeals more about the Switch version, however, is the portability for one, but accessibility for others. Though it isn’t a two-player game, putting the Switch on the telly meant that my family got involved. 

There’s a difference in this household, as I’m sure it is for many, for the PC to be exclusive to the bedroom, office, or garden shed. The consoles are in the living room for all, and the PC is dad’s domain. It’s not a machine that the family are likely to crowd around.

Despite having to chase Mr Skinny Legs out of the bathroom now and again, my family doesn’t have a fear of spiders. That said, it didn’t stop the excitement when the scanner would kick-off, a spider would dash under the sofa or leap out of a cupboard, and the accompanying music made it all worthwhile.

Better Than A Glass

The scanner in question is the device you pick up at the beginning of the game, and with the ZL button, you can hold your spider scanner in front of you as it whirls around faster and faster as you approach a pesky arachnid.

It’s isn’t essential to use it. As mentioned, the levels are relatively small and contained; despite their small size, it’s not so hard to find a spider. The essential skill required is how to dispose of it, and whether you can do it the way that the clipboard suggests.

When you begin Kill It With Fire, the goal is to kill the spiders with brute force – from household objects to machine guns – whatever gets the job done. But as you dive deeper, you start setting up traps for the spiders and watch from afar as they enter an OTT death.

In a nutshell, these elaborate set pieces revolve around the fire in the title. Pick up a can of gasoline and dose household objects, items outdoors – whatever is within reach, then take a step back and, like a pixelated Wile E. Coyote, light it with your Zippo. Other lighters are available.

Chilled Chaos

Despite the themes, Kill It With Fire is welcome on the Switch. Long gone are the days of strict family-only content with Nintendo, and Switch owners get to experience the same tomfoolery as the other platforms.

While you can squash spiders to a goop, it’s comical. Fires are started as if you were playing Minecraft with soft building blocks instead of the destructive fires from Hell. It’s ok to say that Kill It With Fire is cute.

But let’s not forget the score with its jazz hands-like soundtrack that makes the game even more indulgent. Even nuances like the jingles that trigger when you unlock a door or open a drawer are just so moreish, the music rising in tempo as the eight-legged freaks chase you down.

If you already own it on another platform, is it worth buying a second copy for the Switch? No. It’s a brilliant game, but it’s no different to the other versions other than that convenience of playing it anywhere. However, if you don’t own it and thinking about it, the Switch version is as good as the rest and gets a thumbs up from me.

Kill It With Fire Switch Review Summary

As indicated at the start, I reviewed Kill It With Fire on the PC when it first came out. This Switch version is essentially the same game but on a different platform. There aren’t any corners cut, and it handles just as good as it’s predecessor. Though it’s short, it definitely has the replay factor.