The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom

The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom is a puzzle-platform game for Xbox Live Arcade and Windows PC developed by The Odd Gentlemen.[2] Reviews of the game praised its unique puzzle mechanics, comparing them to the likes of Portal and Braid.[3][4] It was released for the Xbox 360 on February 17, 2010.[5] It was originally a student's graduate thesis at the University of Southern California.[6] It was published by 2K Play.[7] The PC version was released exclusively via Steam on April 20, 2010.[1]

Developer(s)The Odd Gentlemen
2K China (PC)
Publisher(s)2K
Platform(s)Xbox 360 (XBLA), Windows
ReleaseXbox 360 (XBLA)
February 17, 2010
Windows
April 20, 2010[1]
Genre(s)Puzzle-platform
Mode(s)Single-player

Gameplay
Gameplay screenshot

The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom is a puzzle-platform game. The player controls the titular character, P.B. Winterbottom, in an attempt to gather pies. Winterbottom has the ability to manipulate time and replicate himself into multiple clones. The player may record an action and a clone will repeat that action, serving as a platform, pie-fetcher, or other puzzle-solving device.

The game is visually presented in a manner reminiscent of a silent film, reminiscent of art nouveau or films from the late 1800s/early 1900s. As such there is no spoken dialogue, as all speech is instead shown through title cards in between stages. The game is also shown in mostly black-and-white and features a score primarily composed of piano-centric arrangements bearing a style similar to those of silent-era films.

Reception

The game received "favorable" reviews on both platforms according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[8][9]

1Up.com said of the Xbox 360 version, "Without the world that The Odd Gentlemen created around their pie-collecting platformer, Winterbottom would still be an addictive adventure with playful physics. But the carefully crafted setting, the intertwining of ingenious puzzles with a portly, gluttonous protagonist, makes this a terrific game that I wholeheartedly recommend you play immediately."[10] Destructoid said of the same console version, "All of the art is downright beautiful to look at and levels feel like paper dioramas. Both dirty yet refined, there's a simple elegance to every detail in the levels and story frames that draws you in."[11] GamePro said of the same console version, "Wonderfully imaginative premise and puzzles; excellent visual design and stellar original soundtrack. The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom is a quirky and utterly lovable game but its true value is this: it strengthens the idea that DLC is a viable way for smaller development houses to get their content to market. It also reinforces the idea that it isn't the size of the budget or the team but rather the ideas and concepts that serve as a game's foundation. But that's just us waxing poetic -- at the end of the day, P.B. Winterbottom is fun, and really, that's what it's all about."[15]

Awards

The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom was a showcased nominee and received the Story/World Design award at IndieCade (the International Festival of Independent Games) in 2008.[24]

References
  1. "2K Play's The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom Coming to Steam April 20, 2010". Steam. Valve. April 8, 2010. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  2. Totilo, Stephen (September 10, 2009). "The Misadventures Of P.B. Winterbottom Preview: Me, Myself And Pie". Kotaku. G/O Media. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  3. Buchanan, Levi (July 17, 2008). "E3 2008: The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  4. Liang, Alice (August 27, 2009). "The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom Preview". 1Up.com. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  5. LeTendre, Brian (February 1, 2010). "CBR Games Roundup: February 2010". Comic Book Resources. Valnet Inc. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  6. Greene, Maggie (April 5, 2008). "The Challenges of Designing in an Academic Context - Academia". Kotaku. Gawker Media. Archived from the original on January 16, 2013. Retrieved April 23, 2010.
  7. Ng, Keane (August 26, 2009). "2K Bringing Two Indie Games to XBLA". The Escapist. Gamurs. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  8. "The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Fandom. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  9. "The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom for Xbox 360 Reviews". Metacritic. Fandom. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  10. Haywald, Justin (February 17, 2010). "The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom Review (XBOX 360)". 1Up.com. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on March 10, 2016. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  11. Zimmerman, Conrad (February 23, 2010). "Review: The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom (XBLA)". Destructoid. Gamurs. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  12. Edge staff (April 2010). "The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom (X360)". Edge. No. 213. Future plc. p. 97.
  13. Donlan, Christian (February 17, 2010). "The Misadventures of P. B. Winterbottom (Xbox 360)". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
  14. Juba, Joe (April 2010). "The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom Review (X360)". Game Informer. No. 204. GameStop. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  15. Hayward, Andrew (February 16, 2010). "The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom (X360)". GamePro. GamePro Media. Archived from the original on March 24, 2010.
  16. Reboucas, Eduardo (March 5, 2010). "The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom Review (X360)". GameRevolution. CraveOnline. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
  17. McShea, Tom (April 20, 2010). "The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom Review (PC)". GameSpot. Fandom. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  18. McShea, Tom (February 18, 2010). "The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom Review (X360)". GameSpot. Fandom. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  19. Gallegos, Anthony (February 19, 2010). "The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom Review (X360)". GameSpy. IGN Entertainment. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
  20. Hatfield, Daemon (February 17, 2010). "The Misadventures of Mr. P.B. Winterbottom [sic] Review (X360)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  21. "The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom". Official Xbox Magazine. Future US. March 2010. p. 80.
  22. "The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom". PC Gamer UK. Future plc. July 2010. p. 95.
  23. Jenkins, David (February 2010). "PB Winterbottom [sic] (360)". Teletext GameCentral. Teletext Ltd. Archived from the original on February 21, 2010. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  24. Robezzoli, Adam (December 18, 2008). "IndieCade 08 Award Winners". IndieCade. Archived from the original on December 25, 2008. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
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