#52GameChallenge - Battleblock Theater

I’m going to keep this short but sweet about my time with Battleblock Theater – it’s a frustrating game that has the potential to absolutely ruin friendships and relationships. I say this because I played this game exclusively in 2-player mode with my fiancé and I’m not proud to say that she saw a very different side of me during our co-operative quest.

On its own Battleblock Theater is a cute game with a weird story told by one of the most hilarious voice-acting performances in a game I’ve ever heard. Seriously, this game is 100% responsible for me having a HUGE man-crush on Stamper, the voice of the game’s narrator. If you have no idea what I’m talking about or what the big deal is, stop reading right now and search for “Battleblock Theater Cutscenes” on YouTube. Go ahead, I’ll wait….

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I KNOW RIGHT?!? HILARIOUS! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched those cutscenes because of Stamper’s voice-acting. It’s a work of hilarious art.

Okay, enough about my love for Stamper, because the game is more than the narration. Most of what you do in this game is go through levels with deadly traps in order to collect gems and other items to advance. The levels increase in difficulty as you go along, but at points late in the game it felt like the game just wants to be a dick and make you hate your life as a gamer.

ABANDON ALL HOPE, YE WHO ENTER HERE!!!

This is particularly frustrating when you’ve playing co-op with someone who doesn’t have the gaming experience, skills, or dexterity on your level, because they will die…a lot. That’s when they get frustrated even more than you are because completing the level seems damn near impossible, and it leads to arguing about strategy, rage-quits, and sleeping on the couch as the cat stares at you as if to say, “You should’ve kept your mouth shut, you idiot.” On the list of things that have the potential to end relationships, I’d rank Battleblock Theater second, behind Ikea of course.

So that’s why I highly recommend rethinking playing this game co-operatively unless your partner is an experienced platformer and knows their way around a controller. I still plan on tackling the game solo, but I think I need a large amount of time away before I can do so sanely. I’d also likely have to do so when my fiancé is away so it doesn’t reopen old wounds. Yea, good memories with this game…

#52GameChallenge Progress: 5/52