BattleBlock Theater is a co-op platformer about imprisoned heroes, a manic narrator, and a catfish king with a taste for theatrical cruelty. It came to PC, Mac, Linux, and Xbox 360 in 2013, and it remains one of the funniest games ever made.
Trailer, via The Behemoth.
Will Stamper’s Endless Commentary
The plot is simple: your friend Hatty Hattington is brainwashed by a golden catfish, and you must escape the theater by leaping through hundreds of deadly stages. The real star is the narrator, Will Stamper, who delivers a nonstop commentary that turns every death into a punchline.
His voice is the engine of the humor. He calls you a “nimble little monkey” one moment and mocks your failure the next. The jokes land because they are relentless and specific, never generic.
Throwing Blocks and Taking Hits
The core gameplay is tight. You run, jump, and throw blocks, but the levels twist those moves into clever puzzles. Enemies, spikes, and bottomless pits are everywhere, and the game punishes carelessness with instant death.
You also get an arsenal of weapons, from swords to machine guns to a magical cat that shoots lightning. Each one changes how you approach a fight, and swapping them mid-level keeps the action fresh.
- The story mode is best played with a friend, because you can throw each other into hazards.
- Solo play is harder, but the narrator’s mockery softens the sting.
- The arena mode adds competitive brawls, which extend the game well past its main campaign.
The controls are responsive, and the physics feel fair. When you die, it is usually your fault, which makes the next attempt feel earned.
Patric Catani’s Chiptune Riot
The visual style is bright and cartoonish, with characters that look like rag dolls sewn together by a madman. The theater sets change constantly, from icy caverns to fiery forges, and each one is packed with detail.
The music, composed by Patric Catani, shifts from cheerful to frantic without warning, matching the chaos on screen.
BattleBlock Theater is not a long game. The story can be finished in a handful of hours, but the collectibles and hidden levels double that time. The challenge ramps up sharply near the end, and some stages demand near-perfect execution.
The multiplayer is where it shines. Playing with a friend turns the game into a comedy of errors, and the narrator’s commentary reacts to your antics in real time.
For the price, you get a polished, funny, and mechanically sound platformer. It does not reinvent the genre, but it perfects the formula it uses.
The final stages will test your patience, but the laughter never stops. BattleBlock Theater earns a score of 8.9/10.
