Earthworm Jim 3D

1999 VIS Interactive Action, Adventure

Windows 11With a fix

MacNot sold

LinuxSilver

Steam DeckUnsupported

Gamicality score

Metacritic Not rated

OpenCritic Not rated

Steam players 481

How it’s combined

Playability today

2.5

Runs today3/5

Design today1.5/5

Steam user reviews

Mixed

47%

123 reviews1

Get it on Steam

Facts checked November 1, 2026

Does Earthworm Jim 3D run on Windows 11, Apple Silicon Macs, Linux and Steam Deck?

Windows 11With a fix

Runs with a fix. See the steps below.1

Mac (Apple Silicon)Not sold

No Mac version is sold.

LinuxSilver

Through Proton. ProtonDB: Silver, runs with minor issues.3

Steam DeckUnsupported

Unsupported, as rated by Valve.1

Played Earthworm Jim 3D lately?

One click, no account, so the next player knows. How we check where it runs

How to get Earthworm Jim 3D running today

If the game shows no 3D graphics or unreadable text, copy D3DImm.dll and DDraw.dll from the dgVoodoo 2 MS folder next to EarthwormJim3D.exe (PCGamingWiki).
If there is no sound, set the Windows audio output to 48000 Hz (PCGamingWiki).
If settings reset or the game asks for the CD, run EarthwormJim3D.exe in Windows 98/ME or XP compatibility mode (Steam Community, Steam Community).
The Steam release has no music; add it with the fan music patch from the Steam discussions (Steam Community).

Synopsis

A 3D platformer in which Earthworm Jim, knocked into a coma by a falling cow, wanders through themed worlds inside his own mind. You run, jump and shoot with an arsenal of odd weapons, collect golden udders and marbles to unlock new areas, and race bosses on the back of a pig.

Developer: VIS Interactive
Released: 1999
Genre: Action, Adventure
Where to get it: Steam

Reception

Critics at the time found it a weak follow-up to the 2D games, with N64 Magazine scoring it 68 percent, and later retrospectives call it bland, slow and hampered by a poor camera. Steam players are split: a few still enjoy its humor, weapons and the smoother frame rate of the PC version. Most reviews describe a buggy port that ships without its music, resets its settings, crashes or freezes on a CD prompt, and has controls and a camera that make even the first boss hard.

Playability today

The average of two parts, each from 1 to 5. Tap a check to see why. How it works

Runs today

3/5

Sold or given away today by an official source
Needs fan patches to run well on Windows 11
?Not confirmed yetSingle-player works without an internet connection
No source covers the current version yet, so this check counts as open, not passed. Played it lately? Tell us
Some content no longer works (servers, DLC, unlocks)
The Steam release ships without its music, which has to be restored with a fan patch (Steam Community).
No proper support for modern resolutions and widescreen
The native 4:3 picture is stretched, and proper widescreen needs a hack (PCGamingWiki).
Full controller support or remappable controls
XInput controllers work with partial remapping, though the right stick, triggers and d-pad cannot be mapped (PCGamingWiki).
Not Steam Deck Verified or Playable
No intrusive DRM or required third-party launcher account
No pay-to-win or pushy microtransactions
Known game-breaking bugs in the current version
Many players report crashes and freezes on a CD prompt that end the session, and PCGamingWiki lists startup and rendering failures that need a wrapper (Steam Community, PCGamingWiki).

Design today

1.5/5

Controls feel awkward on a modern controller or mouse and keyboard
Jumps are imprecise and Jim moves slowly, the pig races in boss fights are hard to steer, and the Steam store lists no controller support while PCGamingWiki notes that the right stick, triggers and d-pad cannot be mapped. Source: pcgamingwiki.com, professionalmoron.com, steamcommunity.com.
Menus, text or interface are hard to read on today's screens
The 4:3 picture is stretched on widescreen screens, menus do not take the mouse, text can render unreadably on some graphics cards, and video and control settings reset between sessions. Source: pcgamingwiki.com, steamcommunity.com.
Saving is harsh: few saves or checkpoints, progress gets lost
The game saves automatically and by hand to a single save file, but lives are limited and a recurring bug freezes the game on a request to insert the CD, forcing a quit that loses everything since the last save. Source: pcgamingwiki.com, steamcommunity.com, steamcommunity.com.
It teaches itself: no guide needed to make progress
Levels are linear and their objectives are straightforward, so progress does not depend on a guide. Source: professionalmoron.com.
Pacing drags: grind, filler or forced backtracking
Levels are large and empty, Jim crosses them slowly, and players must backtrack through cleared areas, while every boss is a repeat of the same pig race. Source: professionalmoron.com, steamcommunity.com.
Camera or movement fights the player
The camera is unresponsive and makes it hard to judge distances for jumps, a complaint shared by retrospectives and many Steam reviews. Source: professionalmoron.com, djcube.co.uk, steamcommunity.com.