The platforming is just shy of being as tight as, say, a Super Meat Boy, but when you’re captivated by a performance as strange as this it’s easy to overlook the odd stumble. But one with quite a lot of jokes relating to poop. Playing a play within a play, in other words. You’re a performer in a bizarre theater, having your own strange tale recounted to you (in puppet form) by a narrator. Some latter-stage maneuvers might be harder to pull off on keys, but then they’re not exactly simple on a controller either.īattleBlock Theater applies its Newgrounds-does-Vaudeville theme with resolute gusto. The Behemoth recommend a controller as the preferred play option, but the re-definable keyboard controls are a functional alternative if you have a pathological fear of peripherals with triggers and buttons. Resolution maxed out at my monitor’s native setting, windowed mode is an option (though no borderless that I could see) and there’s Steam Workshop integration for all the user-made level stuff. The game has made a capable transition to the PC, accompanied by the options you’d probably expect for a boisterous 2D platformer. But then you’ll get it right and do one of those awkward videogame victory dances that could be mistaken for a mild seizure. All without even breaking sweat.Īctually that’s a lie, you’ll be ballsing up at least two parts of that sequence time and again (probably the bar-grabbing which sometimes seems a bit “off”) as you watch your hapless avatar get mashed to bits, drowned and electrocuted. By the time you reach the final numbers, you’ll be double-jumping to a set of monkey bars placed perilously between some saw blades and choosing the precise moment to drop to a strobing set of platforms. Just when you think you’ve mastered a given technique, it whips the tablecloth out from under you. BattleBlock Theater does a great job tumbling out a steady pile of concepts, testing and re-testing the player’s skill set in multiple cunning ways. They start out pretty simple, but eventually mangle your character in so many horrific ways you’ll have seen more insides than an eager pathologist. Actually screw all of those numbers, because BattleBlock Theater also has a fairly straightforward level editor and a method of showcasing user-made stuff as part of a weekly, rotating ‘Furbottom’s Feature.’ This is to incorporate the need to help your buddy by tossing them over/into danger, co-operatively activating switches and the like. Technically you could double that number, because if you play through the levels in local or online co-op they’re ever so slightly different. That’s a total of … hold on here a second … 112 levels. Mechanically, that means eight sections of theater, each with nine ‘regular’ levels, a two-part ‘finale’ and three knuckle-knawingly aggravating ‘encore’ stages. Worse, you’re expected for perform increasingly dangerous feats of platforming excellence in order to gather gems and delight the crowds. Amused? Yes? No? If yes, you will “get” what BattleBlock Theater is going for.Īfter being shipwrecked on a mysterious yet theatrical island with your dependable friend Hatty Hattington and some other chums, Hatty gets whiske(re)d away by weirdo cats and everybody else gets imprisoned. It’s all about delivery and context, so for a better idea of what I’m getting at with this narration business, watch the Steam Version announcement trailer. You know what? Those lines don’t really sparkle as they should in boring black and white. The gems you need to collect in order to unlock each level’s exit are “green and shiny … just like baby poops!” And whenever you approach a difficult segment, chances are Stamper will be there to offer some variation on the theme of “don’t mess up … don’tmessup, don’tmessup!” “Maybe if you let them sniff the back of your hand first, they might stop being so mean” he offers, as your little guy gets nuzzled into deadly water by the tubby feline form of the (newly-fattened for PC) guards. He doesn’t just provide the gung-ho vocal warblings for the stick-puppet themed cutscenes, but also chips in with a gob-load of situational quips during regular play. Central to this whole performance is Stamper’s narration.
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