Where to get it

2013 · The Behemoth · Adventure · Indie

BattleBlock Theater

Xbox console exclusive

In BattleBlock Theater, players control a prisoner as they are forced to play through games devised by Hatty Hattington. Controls are simple, with the game largely consisting of running, jumping and punching. Levels are made up of various types of blocks, such as collapsing blocks, sticky walls, bouncy volcanic rocks and deadly spikes, and also feature hazards such as water and deadly creatures.

Released: 3 April 2013
Platforms: Linux Windows Xbox 360 Xbox Series X/S macOS
Genres: Adventure Indie Platformer Puzzle
Developers: The Behemoth
Publishers: Xbox Game Studios
Modes: Co-op Multiplayer Single-player
Perspective: Side view
Themes: Action Comedy
Country: United States
Age ratings: GRAC 15+ACB G ESRB T PEGI 12 CERO B
Languages: Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Spanish (Spain)
Time to beat: 10hmain story43hcompletionist

About

BattleBlock Theater is a 2013 platform game developed by The Behemoth and published by Microsoft Studios for Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. It is the third title from The Behemoth, following Alien Hominid and Castle Crashers. The game was released on Xbox Live Arcade on April 3, 2013, and later temporarily made free via Games with Gold on July 16, 2014. On July 26, 2024, a quality-of-life update and future console releases were announced for the game.

›Story

Almost all of the game's cut-scenes are done in a stick puppet style. S. Friendship, as well as Hatty Hattington, who is known as "best friend to one and all". S.

Friendship becomes shipwrecked on a mysterious, seemingly abandoned island, and the crew itself vanishes. Upon waking up from the wreck, the player character seeks shelter from the storm in a dilapidated theater. Soon afterwards, the player discovers technologically advanced, highly-evolved cats restraining a captive Hatty as he is being fitted with an ominously glowing top hat. The hat appears to change him, and he alerts the cats to the player's presence, attacking them and rendering them unconscious.

S. Friendship is being held prisoner by the cats, with Hatty as their apparent new leader. The player is then released from their cell and forced into deadly games by the feline wardens. The cats, who force their prisoners into deadly theater performances, watch with amusement as the player fights for their survival.

As the player completes challenges, they find gems which are spend on unlocking fellow crew members to play as in these theater performances. Appearing to be possessed by the hat's unknown powers, Hatty begins working for the cats and against the player.

As the player progresses, the narrator reveals more about the theater. Hundreds of years before the player shipwrecked on the island, Purrham Furbottom, a theatrical aficionado, sought to build the world's greatest theater. The opening night saw the most jaw-dropping feats and thrills the likes of which were never seen before, making the theater an overnight success. However, Furbottom did not allow intermissions in the theater, and after an untold amount of time watching the show, he died after "pooping himself to death on the way to the bathroom."

Since then, his top hat has been passed down to various others, who were each revered by the cats as their leader, and who each met with grim fates of their own. The hat, the narrator theorizes, is haunted by the grief and sorrow of each of its past wearers, and Hatty is its current victim, having sunk into a depression while being surrounded by the many gems the player has accrued, without doing anything to help the state of the theater.

Eventually, the cats grow tired of Hatty's inaction, and begin rioting, striking, and more, while the player's challenges grow increasingly difficult. As the theater deteriorates further, the narrator provides encouragement to the player, and continues to shed light on the cats' mental state, which grows more unstable as time progresses. The narrator also instructs the player to enter The Vault, which houses Hatty and all the gems the player has spent, before the cats kill Hatty and the rest of the crew, starting the madness over again.

After completing the final set of challenges inside the Vault, the player breaks into Hatty's throne room. S. Friendship orchestrates a mass breakout. Everyone manages to make it back to the boat amidst the chaos, escaping the island and the cats that reside there.

As the player celebrates with hot cocoa, he tries to cheer up Hatty, who the narrator implies has sunk into a catatonic state from prolonged exposure to the hat. The narrator sings a sad song as the credits roll, before quickly recovering and singing a more happy, upbeat song, rocking the boat and flinging Hatty into the sea, where he sinks to the bottom. The hat lands on his head and begins glowing green as opposed to its usual red, and shoots a beam skyward, where it sends the boat flying and continues into space, where it vaporizes a bear that appeared during the narrator's upbeat song. The narrator claims to understand what just happened, but does not explain, sending the game back to the title screen.

Players say

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

In BattleBlock Theater, players control a prisoner as they are forced to play through deadly puzzle levels. Controls are simple, with the game largely consisting of running, jumping and punching. Levels are made up of various types of blocks, such as collapsing blocks, sticky walls, bouncy volcanic rocks and deadly spikes, and also feature hazards such as water and deadly creatures.

The main mode in the game is Story Mode, which can be played solo or cooperatively with a second player. This mode can be played either in normal mode (with checkpoints) or insane mode (no checkpoints, meaning if the player dies, they have to restart the level). During cooperative play, players are able to work together to overcome obstacles, which includes throwing them across gaps, using their heads as platforms and helping each other get up ledges, although there is just as much opportunity of partner sabotage. Story mode consists of various worlds each with a set of levels.

Story

The game begins with the narrator (voiced by Will Stamper) telling the adventures of the hundreds of friends aboard the S.S. Friendship, as well as Hatty Hattington, who is known as "best friend to one and all". After encountering a heavy storm, the S.S. Friendship becomes shipwrecked on a mysterious, seemingly abandoned island, whereupon most of the friends go missing. Upon waking up from the wreck, the player character seeks shelter from the storm in a dilapidated theater.

Upon coming to, it is revealed that the entire crew of the S.S. Friendship is being held prisoner by cats, with Hatty, wearing a glowing top hat, as their apparent new leader. The player is then released from their cell and forced into deadly games by the feline wardens. As the player completes challenges, they find gems which are spent on unlocking fellow crew members to play as in these theater performances. Appearing to be possessed by the hat's unknown powers, Hatty begins working for the cats and against the player.

Development

John Baez has said that BattleBlock Theater was inspired by Alien Hominid's PDA games. It took 5 years to develop. The company originally revealed an early playable version of the game, originally code-named Game #3, at the Tokyo International Anime Festival on March 16, 2009 with a trailer of gameplay footage. The game was released for Xbox Live Arcade and Steam. The game features user-generated music from the Newgrounds community and narration by Newgrounds contributor Will Stamper.

On July 26, 2024, a free update for BattleBlock Theater was announced, adding support for high resolutions, uncapped frame rates, increased audio bitrate, bug fixes and extended controller support. Additionally, ports to modern consoles were announced.

Reception

BattleBlock Theater received "favorable" reviews on both platforms according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. GamesRadar+ praised the XBLA version's varied stages and extensive multiplayer modes. Destructoid called the same console version "a hallmark of excellence". Eurogamer called it "a masterclass in pure game design." IGN praised the same console version's inventive level design, but criticised the platforming gameplay in comparison to other 2D indie platfomers released around the same time such as Super Meat Boy and Braid.

Metro gave the XBLA version nine out of ten and called it "The Behemoth's best game yet and a hilarious mix of co-op platforming and absurdly entertaining multiplayer madness." GameZone also gave it nine out of ten and said, "If you want to have some mindless fun while an eccentric voice does its best to criticize you for your failures, BattleBlock Theater is ready to fulfill those needs." 5 out of 10 and said, "Playing an $18 game like BattleBlock Theater leaves a fellow feeling like he's been hosed on nearly every $60 game he's ever bought." 4 out of 10 and said, "If you’ve liked previous Behemoth games, Battleblock Theater [sic] will be right up your alley.