Review for Scribblenauts Showdown. Game for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 06/03/2018
Back in 2012, the writer spent several afternoons on the colorful and, at times, truly ingenious Scribblenauts Unlimited, played at the time on PC when it had not yet become a corkscrew, but also available on Nintendo consoles at the time, 3DS and Wii U. Same fate and same console for his successor, Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics, dated 2013 and which saw us teleported to Gotham City.
This time, however, the series seems to have changed its focus. Scribblenauts Showdown, developed by Shiver Entertainment and published by none other than Warner Bros, turns the tables and transforms into a local co-op party game. Did the donut come out with the hole?
Party Game means minigames… Or at least it should
Scribblenauts Showdown differs from its predecessors in formula and objective. Although the Sandbox mode retains the classic, unforgettable, gameplay, the main focus of the new title in the series is being a Party Game. There are two main game modes: Versus and Resa dei Conti. By winning in both modes we will get Starite, the game currency.
Resa dei Conti consists of a game of the goose, in which two players (or the player and the AI) will compete to reach the goal as quickly as possible. It is not played with dice, however, but with cards that will determine the minigame to be played and the reward that the winner will receive. The latter will often be a certain number of steps forward on the course, but you can also steal your opponent's cards or make him retreat.
Versus, on the other hand, is a duel mode that will allow you to face the same minigames available for Resa dei Conti, divided into two types: Words and Speed. The former begin with the drawing of a letter or a category, from which an inherent word must then be drawn. If the choice is correct, you will get bonus points. To explain it better: one of the minigames, for example, consists in "filling a black hole" in the shortest possible time. Obviously, inserting heavier objects will allow you to reach the goal faster. Therefore, if you manage to find the name of a heavy object that begins with the drawn letter, you will have a considerable bonus.
Although the Word mini-games are fun and "complex" (note the high quotes), unfortunately the same cannot be said for the Speed ones., which will turn out to be nothing more than moving the controller sticks in different directions with the right timing. Destroying a pinata with a stick can be fun the first time, as can cutting down a tree with a hatchet, but repeating the same movements for several hours of play is in the long run rather limiting.
Repetitiveness, therefore, occurs after a while, especially considering the fact that the minigames are very few: a couple of hours of game are enough to be able to say that you have faced them all at least once.
Sand box
Sandbox is the classic mode of the Scribblenauts series, in which our protagonist (Maxwell, or an avatar created by us) will have to satisfy the requests of NPCs, which will be expressed only through the use of clouds, creating objects of any kind at will. As a reward, here too, we will get Starite, our coin stars, which we can use to buy any type of object in the game: from Sandbox levels to accessories to customize our avatar, up to suggestions to satisfy requests.
The main flaw of Sandbox mode is the scarcity of levels. These are eight in total, with ten Starites hidden in each level, and we assure you that in a couple of hours you will have completed at least three. A real shame, given that the classic mode is certainly the most ingenious: some tasks, if you don't want to use the hints, will really require incredible mental flights.
Play with friends… If you have any
Continuing to talk about Sandbox mode, however, means covering your eyes and not wanting to look at what the title really wants to offer: a Party Game. And how do you really enjoy Party Games? Exactly, playing with your friends.
Scribblenauts Showdown offers the chance to play alongside three other friends, but not necessarily having four controllers available: two will be enough, which will be shared by the players.
In a local cooperative the game certainly gives its best, guaranteeing shorter or longer games (the choice falls on the player), colorful and fun. The paucity of content, however, begins to be felt shortly after: we have 12 minigames Words, 15 Speed and 8 Sandbox worlds. Much too much, too little. Such a pity.
Scribblenauts Showdown is a good party game but it suffers from a lack of content. Playing with friends is certainly fun, but boredom and repetitiveness will start to appear after a few hours of play. The infinity of customization accessories to unlock does not turn out to be a reward big enough to be able to spend dozens and dozens of hours accumulating stars. The Sandbox mode remains fun, colorful and ingenious, but even in this case 8 levels are really too few ... a sop.
► Scribblenauts Showdown is a Puzzle type game published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 06/03/2018
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