Xbox One Review: Scribblenauts Showdown

Scribblenauts returns, but not as we know it…

Scribblenauts Showdown is the latest in the series, but it takes a dramatic twist into mini-game territory as you battle against friends locally in events that are either word-related or simply button mashing.

For example, a race event might make you pick the fastest animal, object or person beginning with the letter “A”, so you could have an athlete, aardvark or apple helping you across the finish line. You also get some events where you must pick a word related to a category and the one closest gets an advantage. The faster paced mini-games mostly relate to button mashing or pressing alternate buttons like the triggers and offer little variety.

There’s also a free roam mode where you can create anything, including fighters to take out enemies that roam around, as well as completing small quests that are littered around, but it shouldn’t take too long for that too to grow old.

The problem with Scribblenauts Showdown is that what’s there isn’t all that interesting, and it does wear thin quickly. It’s also a real shame that there’s only local play or playing against AI as playing against online opponents might have made the game slightly more interesting. The visual style is classic of the series so it’s fairly basic, though it does run at a solid framerate.

The Verdict

Scribblenauts Showdown is a disappointing entry in the series with mini-games that aren’t that exciting and there’s not enough variety in them to keep you interested for long. Due to the lack of content or online, it’ll wear thin quickly and that’s not what you want for a party game.

Score: 6.0