The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom, a puzzle game developed by “The Odd Gentleman” in 2010 is a unique game available on Xbox live and Steam, but is it worth a slice of your money? (I’m going to hate myself for pie jokes).
Let's bake up a yummy review!
Story
While the story isn’t very deep, it is definitely unique. You play as the titular character, P.B. Winterbottom, a man whose goal in life is stealing pies. While out getting his pastry pleasure one night you come across a pie of great proportions that immediately gets P.B.’s attention as he follows it around town.
Honestly, Wouldn't you want it?
While he searches for the mystic dessert it seems time is thrown out of loop, and earns him the ability to record copies of himself. This sends P.B. through the town collecting pies through various means in hopes of finding that mystic pie in the sky. The game’s story is mostly told through a silent film-style caption as you go through levels. The player is treated to a series of rhymes explaining what is going on. This method fits perfectly for the game due to its visuals. Speaking of which…
I kind of wish there was a children's book that went along with this.
Visuals and sounds
The game’s visuals are pretty unique, with most of the game set in black and white (following the silent film motif) with a great backdrop of the town where our protagonist lives. The game seems to be set in the early 1900’s, which gives it a great aesthetic appeal and just fits the style of the game.
I love the look of this game so much. And I'd pay to see a cosplayer of him.
The music is all done on piano and sounds similar to an old black and white cartoon; don’t be surprised if you decide to look up some old Disney classics after playing. The look and sound of this puzzle game really add to the whole entertainment value
Game play
Okay, so the first thing I feel I need to do is explain how the copying aspect of the game really works. Once you can start making copies you’ll see that it works like a loop of film. Once the player begins recording Winterbottom anything he does will be re-enacted by the copy after recording. But, if something is done to interrupt the movement of the copy (like launching them in the air) the copy will no longer complete the recorded action. To add to the cloning, Winterbottom also has his umbrella on hand, which he’ll use to glide gently down or smack a copy or object to get things going.
Quite a philosphical idea
The game can definitely be a challenge. Some points are time based and as such will require perfect timing or sometimes luck to complete them. You’ll often find yourself wishing you had an extra clone available to you just to get through. And yes, levels often do give you a limit of how many clones you can have at one time to keep the game from being…as easy as pie (I had to do it, sorry). But it’ll surely make you think; a few times I even had friends around me trying to complete puzzles. There are also a few mini-games available. Most of them are record beaters, challenging you to beat both the time of others and the amount of clones used. Like the regular game these can be tough but are fun to try and beat.
The game is quite mean to you, but that's a great insult.
Overall
The game is fun and at a fair price, it’s definitely a game I’m happy to have bought. While some parts are very challenging the game is still enjoyable, and will earn its place on your console or computer. I’d gladly recommend this and promise it should please.
Score
4.5/5
Until next time,
Mercwithamouth
