WHO ATE ALL THE PIES?? This time it’s Mr Winterbottom, the mischievous little scamp! P.B. Winterbottom, and his army of top hat-wearing clones take the centre stage in this creative puzzle adventure from The Odd Gentlemen and 2K Games, working together to collect those delicious pies in a time altering silent-film-esque world with only umbrellas and an awesome moustache to guide them.
The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom is a quaint, addictive puzzle game in the same vein as Braid or World of Goo, and has been one of the most anticipated games of the year, boasting a unique aesthetic style and hilarious narrative presented in comical rhymes with an almost nursery rhyme-like enchantment.
The narrative of Winterbottom is cleverly supported by the environment in which it’s set, resulting in a poetic opera of prose — which may seem surprising considering the game is built around the premise of a tiny portly man with a moustache eating lots of pies, but it is exactly this which makes it fit so well. Obvious care has been taken in the narrative and this helps to separate it from the rest of the bunch in the puzzle game genre. Winterbottom himself is charming and lovable, and the fact that he does not speak — in keeping with the silent film feel of the game — only adds to his magic.
One of the only flaws of Winterbottom is the fact that it is so very short, often an issue with indie games of this kind. The story mode itself — comprised of five playable chapters, broken into ten stages each on average — can be completed in less than three hours or so, but once you have completed that there is an addictive challenge mode with leaderboard capabilities to pit your wits against. The difficulty curve, however, does mean that although it doesn’t take a great amount of time to complete, it still feels like a great reward to see the ending credits. Each world gives you a new type of challenge to beat, bringing in more weird and wonderful ways to “catch” the pies, but sometimes it does seem that once you have the hang of the mechanics, you can fly through to the next world.
The cut scenes and animations don’t just fit in, but serve to reinforce the themes which are prevalent throughout Winterbottom — with a silent movie-era premise and the child-like fairytale-telling of the story. The fact that this flows seamlessly from scene to gameplay makes it feel like you’re almost playing an interactive part in some sort of bedtime story full of pie-shaped deliciousness.
The audio is fitting for the environment in which it is set, with playful piano tunes akin to a silent film (a comparison that keeps coming back), and can often come across as quite creepy and sinister. All in all though, it’s not one of those games where you want to turn the music down – if anything it will immerse you further, bringing back that feeling of being in some quirky bedtime fairytale.
The backdrop to which this game is set is a delightful black and white affair, transporting the player back to a fantastical taste of Victorian Britain, complete with smoking chimneys, ominous clock towers and industrial-revolution cityscapes. Mr. Winterbottom’s army of mustachioed minions help him navigate the perils of the age by allowing him to record movements which the player can then use to reach those troublesome pies. For example, you can either record them standing still to create a platform for Winterbottom to stand on to reach higher, or have them fetch the pies that you simply can’t get to in time. The good thing about this is it encourages you to use your imagination to use the clones in creative ways to solve the puzzles. This gives the impression that there are multiple ways to solve each puzzle, whether this is actually true or not.
The clones are created by holding down the “Record” button and carrying out an action for them to copy from then on. Clones can also interact with the world around them, just like old Winterbottom himself, including collecting pies you can’t reach (or are too lazy to get, tut tut) or bashing Winterbottom with their umbrellas to send him flying off across the screen. The controls are simple and easy to memorize, and the fact that most of the mechanics are built upon these basic few actions make the difficulty curve less noticeable, and helps to keep that horrible feeling of rage down when you can’t beat a level after hours of trying.
The difficulty of the puzzles that Winterbottom faces can often fluctuate throughout that game, and the fact that it doesn’t flow in an unnoticeable curve is one of the few downsides of this game. Certain levels are more difficult than others, and although this is to be expected, it’s not often in the order you would think. But does this just add to the challenge? For some players this would make the experience more interesting, but for one expecting a generic puzzle experience, this may come as a bit of a shock. The main reason for these fluctuations is the fact that the puzzles may only have one solution, but give the illusion that it can be solved in many ways. But again, this is really down to personal choice.
Winterbottom’s gentlemanly charms certainly make the game fun to play — and the narrative gives this game much more of a hook compared to other contemporary puzzle games. There’s not much more to it than that, and the main thing about Winterbottom that makes it so good, is the fact that it is simply fun. And that’s it. The narration, style, and mechanics of the game all add up to a true “pick-up-and-play” classic, and the fact that it doesn’t take itself too seriously adds to the true fun factor of this game.
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Things We Liked: The art style in general. The “gentleman-liness” of P.B. Winterbottom (complete with top hat and moustache). The simplicity of the concept and mechanics. The innovative use of the “time warp” idea. The leader boarded challenge mode. The beauty of the environments despite their lack of colour. The price!
Things We Disliked: The fact it was too short!! The noticeable fluctuation of difficulty level.
Target Audience: Puzzle Game fans. Fans of “pick-up-and-play” casual games. People who want some good clean fun! People interested in the “Games as Art?” debate. People who want a good, cheap, new game to occupy their time.
(The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom – Developer: The Odd Gentlemen, 2k China. Publishers: 2k Play, Valve. Available for PC via Steam and Xbox 360 via Xbox Live Arcade — PC version reviewed. Unfamiliar with CFD!’s review system? Read our newly revised explanation here.)
