Misadventures of PB Winterbottom

 

Developer: The Odd Gentleman
Steam Release: Apr 2010
Hours Played: 4.4
Similar To:  Boor / Braid / Chronology / Snapshot
Rating: 3/5 Parsnips




GAMEPLAY
There have been quite a few underrated platformers in our time: Nimbus, Nightsky and Professor Fizzwizzle to name but a few. It's time to add the completely ignored Winterbottom to that list as well. With a heavy nod given in the direction of Braid, this game uses variations of the elements from that game very well. You control a large-nosed gentleman, with a high top-hat, whose goal is to collect pies. He moves left and right as he shuffles along with his little fists pumping away - and he jumps and floats as well. Also, rather than shifting things back in time - as in the maddeningly obscure Braid - you press a button to make a clone of yourself. While doing this you may click another button to make your clone strike something. This could be a lever, another clone or if you need to leap or hurtle yourself a fair distance, PB Winterbottom himself.  
 

BALANCE & PACE
Let go of the record button (for it is all recorded as if from an old projector) and you have your clone.These clones appear in a kind of ghost form to distinguish them from your original and, as mentioned, help Winterbottom get those elusive pies. To keep the difficulty level challenging, the amount of clones you can use varies and that amount is displayed in the top left corner of the screen. The puzzles usually occupy one screen but the screen also scrolls on occasions as well. Solutions involve lots of acrobatic movements with trampolines and see-saws and the like, along with pulling levers at the right moment. Think Professor Fizzwhizzle with a dash of Toki Tori or The Adventures of Shuggy. All this is done to a refreshingly cool, pumping soundtrack reminiscent of those used in silent movies from the 1930s. 


PRESENTATION & DESIGN
The artwork is cartoon-like with a distinctive hand-drawn quality mainly done in black and white to give it class. A crackly projector effect, as if filmed back in the 1920s or 1930s, gets ushered in at various intervals, and the soundtrack is fantastic. The main menu has the usual paths with the Leaderboard leading to another menu with titles of the time-attack chapters. Here, you can view your best time in relation to other players. Back from the main-menu you click Play Game to get started and are taken to the level-select screen. Braid fans will instantly recognise the layout as it consists of three floors with doors leading to the areas. For the time-attack portion of the game levels can be found behind the six doors on the ground floor.



PROGRESS SYSTEM
These only become unlocked as you proceed through the story or main campaign. Story levels are stored behind five doors on the upper levels of the level-select screen. There are 10 levels behind each of the first two worlds and I assume it's roughly the same for the others. To dive into a level you simply move PB Winterbottom around and enter a door with the press of a button. When inside a door you arrow through levels which appear as little boxes. You must, of course, unlock these boxes as you go. It's obviously influenced by Braid but I would liked to have viewed my best times at the actual level-select screen, rather than have to view the times via the Leaderboard (and load) screen.

CONCLUSION

What helps make Winterbottom a good game are the well-thought through level designs. These have you thinking in a logical step-by-step fashion and stretch you at the right pitch. Persevere and you will have fun and satisfaction arriving at the correct solution. True, a full YouTube walkthrough is out there but it's one of those games worthy of working through with patience. Another plus is that the game comes with a well executed time-attack section where you can work on best times... making it like two quality games in one! These (for the first world at least) do not pose puzzle-solving elements but are still a lot of fun. TMOPBW gets a lot of things right. The menus are user-friendly and work efficiently well; the classy artwork has a memorable and distinctive quality and, of course, the puzzles are really good puzzles!