BattleBlock Theater

By: Robert Murphy

It seems like I was the guy who had always heard about the game, BattleBlock Theater, a fun platformer that feature ridiculous characters, abilities and would have you laughing all the way through. For whatever reason I never bought the game but now I have and I'm kicking myself for not buying it a whole lot sooner. We enter this delightfully charming world as you and your friends set out on a ship destined for good times and happy sunshine filled thoughts when disaster strikes you and your crew. Now you're trapped on a strange island dominated by your new cat overlords who want you to go through various obstacle courses for their amusement. In order to save your friends you must survive the obscene challenges on every level then get on your ship and get as far away from the island as fast as that ship will sail.  

Seemingly ripped from the imagination of a child, BattleBlock Theater revolves around your tiny paper drawn character who can come in a variety of different appearances to suit your preference. Your tiny character as I said has now been kidnapped by a strange cat society who have been torturing all who come to their shores by making them compete in events of their own design. In each level you must strive to reach the exit placed somewhere in any given level but also making sure that when you get their you have obtained three gems to activate it. There are usually more than enough gems to do so as each level has at most seven of the shiny delights cleverly placed and hidden throughout the chaotic levels you'll be playing through. Besides the level, you also must face the challenge of the various creatures that add for more pandemonium for your poor unfortunate character such as robots that shoot homing missiles at you as well as weird raccoon/beaver/deer monsters that will swallow you whole and more. You however can fight back against these enemies with melee attacks and various gadgets and abilities that can be obtained by collecting balls of yarn hidden in levels and selling them to some of the kitty cat wardens in the games level selection area. 

Perhaps the thing that most people know most about BattleBlock Theater is the fact that you can play with your friends and effectively ruin said friendship in the process. I recently had the chance to play multiplayer with Dibble on the game and my rage level peaked to all new levels while we were playing. The game of course is meant for two players to work together and is quite enjoyable even if you decide to screw each other over time and time again. Levels cleverly add challenges that will be overcome by helping one another out by doing things like hurling your partner across a water way or getting one friend up to a high ledge and then aiding the other up with a friendly helping hand. Then of course you can have some fun by not aiding one another or using abilities on each other, I deeply enjoyed blowing Dibble up with grenades and setting him on fire with a fire ball, he for some reason didn't like it so much. BattleBlock also features some deliberately competitive multiplayer modes where you and your friends can fight against each other in different game modes like a capture the flag game type along with other modes for you and your friends.

Now as many of you may or may not know, I don't usually point out a games soundtrack or audio features but with BattleBlock it is something you cannot help but bring up. The game features an insanely catchy array of songs such as dub step beats and songs that literally will chant about the secret area you had found. The whole thing fits the feel and environments for what you are experiencing and to add to the fun of it all there is also narrations and audience interaction that goes along with what you're doing. A frankly hilarious narrator will talk and react to many of the things you experience throughout the game for things like when you burn alive or drown horribly in water. Alongside this an audience in the background, which I presume is the legion of cats who have enslaved you, will applaud at your success in levels and cheer you on as you play, it's nice to be appreciated. 

Finally, BattleBlock Theater also features it's own level editor for players to use which let's you create your own torturous maps for you and others to play on. The feature is very easy to use and will allow you to create levels in less than a few minutes so you can play them or share it with others to try out. All the blocks, creatures and features are at your disposal to use in your attempts to make your own evil levels to watch people suffer at and can get addictive if you get into it. You can also obviously put others creations to the test as well and see the variety of game types that people have come up with, which is a lot since the game is a few years old at this point.

In conclusion, I have no idea why it took me so long to pick up such an amazing game but I am so happy that I got my chance to play it now. BattleBlock Theater features an insanely addictive platforming experience with many unique ideas and levels the likes of which I haven't enjoyed this much since my old Mario days. The whole experience was a charming affair right down to the music that was playing in the background of each level that I played to the crazy narrator. It is a game that I truly have enjoyed playing and if you haven't played it like me, I suggest you get on it ASAP. 

Good:

- Crazily designed and fun levels

- Artistically charming

- The soundtrack is catchy and adds to the appeal of every level

- Great level editor feature

Bad:

- I can't say anything bad about my experience with the game, maybe don't buy it if you don't like the kiddy styling but that's all I've got

Scully Rating: 9.0 out of 10