Developer: Cat Shawl Games, Wimasima
Publisher: Curve Games, Aurora Punks, IndieArk, Aurora Punks AB
Platform: PC, Xbox One, PS4, PS5, Switch
Tested on: PS4
Block’Em! – Review
Party games have always had a special place in the digital realm, mostly as digital versions of board games or as simple titles to pick up with family or friends to enjoy in a short sitting. In the last few years, Covid made it hard to physically enjoy these games on the couch with friends but luckily this caused many developers to focus on making the online aspect much better for these titles. On the surface Block’Em! fits perfectly in the genre of party games that you pick up to blow off some steam with a couple of friends, have some laughs in the process, and go on with your day. Even though Block’Em! had a few interesting mechanics, we only encountered empty servers.
Story
There is no story in Block’Em!, as it’s all about the gameplay. The title revolves around playing short matches to win five points. That’s all there is to it, and we didn’t miss the absence of a story.
Graphics
Visually the game looks pretty good. Thanks to the colorful maps and characters it is an overall cheerful experience. To make it even funnier, you can always change the facial expression of your character to fit your mood or to look cool. Everything on the map is neatly animated, from the characters moving and jumping around to the lava expanding on the field or fireballs flying across the screen.
Sound
The music in Block’Em! is as cute as the graphics. The jolly cheerful music puts an immediate smile on your face and feels like it was inspired by classic Saturday morning cartoons. The joyful sound effects that accompany you during the many matches are especially cute and fit perfectly into the overall fun experience.
Gameplay
Block’Em! is a party game where up to four characters fight it out to win the game. The goal is simple: the first person to score five points is the winner. There are two different events, Rush and Survival. These modes are selected at random, so sometimes you will play more rounds of Rush or Survival. In Rush, you have to race to the floating block and the first one to collect this is the winner. To get there, you must place blocks in front of you to use as stepping stones to jump on, while minding the different hazards on the map. You can place the blocks in front of you or diagonally up and down, in a grid pattern on the map. Others can, however, block you with theirs or destroy your block(s) by headbutting them or simply by removing the block. In Survival, you must be the last block standing. You can try to play it defensively and build a little fortress around you, or be offensive and push your opponents in the lava.
To make sure that the levels don’t last too long, there is a timer during each event. After the time hits zero, there will be a sudden death initiated that spawns lava on the map and slowly consumes the whole map. Sadly, it feels as if the game has nothing really new to offer after playing it for about an hour. There is a wide range of different levels, but they can get repetitive if you play a few matches in a row.
Thanks to the simple user interface you will find your way around this bite-sized game. You can either host or join an online game, but as Block’Em! is another party game in an endless oasis of similar titles, it sadly didn’t really reach that many gamers. Due to this, the servers are completely abandoned. Luckily you can always play locally against friends or against the AI. The game is so simple to pick up and play that even the youngest or oldest members of the family can enjoy it with you. If you really find no one to join you, then having a match or two against bots can be pretty fun. To keep things interesting, it feels like the bots have switching difficulties. Sometimes the AI is very dimwitted while at other times it feels like you are playing against world-renowned speedrunners.
Conclusion
Block’Em! is a game with the potential to be really fun thanks to the simple gameplay, joyful graphics, and funny sounds. However, in its current state, the game can only be enjoyed locally with friends or against bots, as the online portion of the game is pretty dead. You won’t have to worry about teaching a complex game to anyone as the simple controls are made for anyone to quickly pick up and enjoy. Even though the game offers the chance to play against AI opponents, the charm of these games mostly comes from being able to play against real players. Sadly, due to the servers being abandoned, this one is losing a lot of its appeal.
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[…] Block’Em, the new party game from Curve Games and Cat Shawl Games, is now available on Steam for £5.99/$6.99/€7.49. The game combines puzzle-solving and platforming, offering a fun and competitive experience for up to four players. Participants must either be the first to reach the goal or the last one standing. To achieve this, players must strategically place blocks to build bridges, walls, and other structures to aid their own progress and hinder their opponents. […]