Kill It With Fire (Nintendo Switch) Review

Kill It With Fire tasks players with ridding homes of all types of spiders, by any means necessary. Spider on the wall? Shoot it with a shotgun! Couple more in the kitchen? Blow up the kitchen! This game turns spider hunting into an anarchic arachnid assault, putting the terminator into exterminator.

Developed by Casey Donnellan Games and published by tinyBuild, Kill It With Fire provides simple, arcade-like action gameplay. Each level starts in a room with a list of objectives. Kill enough spiders, and the next room opens up, and so on, until the level is complete. Each level also has unique side challenges, which reward players with equipment and new weapons. Once tools are unlocked they stay unlocked, so if there is one tricky spider that can't be killed with a revolver, that level can always be replayed with the C4 explosives that are unlocked later on.

The game is fun in its simplicity. The modest visuals do enough to illustrate the chaos and mess that comes from wielding flamethrowers in the garage and shooting up a bathroom. The art direction also does a great job in distinguishing between the different spiders. From the run of the mill garden spider, to the bulbous spider that explodes into a bunch of smaller spiders when it's killed, each one is easily distinguishable. Each spider also has different abilities and movements, but after facing off against a few of them, it becomes clear what weapon and strategy is needed to destroy them.

Kill It With Fire also has a selection of items that can trick the spiders or take them out in silly ways. If a spider keeps hiding under the bed, simply drop some snacks on the floor to attract them, before smashing them with the TV. Face-hugger jumping spiders keep coming out of nowhere and making you scream? Corner them, attach a helium balloon, and let them float to their demise.

Despite the diverse arsenal and the ability to throw most household items, the hit detection isn't great, which can be frustrating when some weapons have limited ammo, or when it's the last spider that keeps getting away. All this hectic action is accentuated by excellent sound design. Violin strings flare up as a spider runs past and the sounds of the larger spiders stalking the player whispers through the score. For a game as funny and silly as this, it gives off some tense and unnerving Ridley Scott Alien vibes.