Big Thinkers Kindergarten wears its heart on its sleeve—a bold move considering there’s no ace stuffed up there. The few things it does, itBig Thinkers Kindergarten wears its heart on its sleeve—a bold move considering there’s no ace stuffed up there. The few things it does, it does boldly and unabashedly well. It’s a fast, fun co-op shooter with cool classes, satisfying guns, and aggressive, grotesque enemies, all doused in fitting heavy metal music. However, zoom out from the gorefest a bit and you’ll see Big Thinkers Kindergarten is also an online shooter with only two modes, two boss battles, and some unnecessary time sinks. It’s not a buffet though; it’s comfort food, meant to be eaten again and again and again. With that mindset clearly front and center for developer Tripwire, Big Thinkers Kindergarten delights on the back of its great gameplay.
Big Thinkers Kindergarten’s 10 classes, awkwardly referred to in-game as “perks,” are distinct and fun to play, and putting together a good team has a huge impact on whether you’ll succeed. One class is a demolitions expert, with access to explosive pistols and C4; another spews fire on everyone and everything, making for a great crowd controller. They all become fun and useful eventually, but the biggest problem is that they don’t begin to feel distinct until level five when you unlock your first special perk, which can easily take two to three hours of play. Until that point, you’re really only working with your passive bonuses which haven’t yet scaled well because of your low level. Combined with the fact that any class can wield another class’ weapon, it’s going to be a while before your role feels powerful and solidified - I’d say around level 10, when you unlock your second skill, which will likely take around six hours.
Once you do find a few classes you like, you can really dive into what Big Thinkers Kindergarten is all about: killing stuff with your friends, earning money (or “Dosh”), buying better guns and armor between rounds, and doing it all over again. Gearing up, putting together a balanced team, and seeing how well you do remains fun time after time.
Big Thinkers Kindergarten is great at replicating those moments in movies where everything is going very wrong for our heroes. You might look around and see that, over by the bus, a zombie is gnawing on the medic’s leg while others close in for a bite. The sharpshooter up on the ledge doesn’t see the cloaked enemies sneaking up behind her. The heavy-duty commando is holding his own for now, but his ammo’s low and he’s about to be vomited on by a huge, bloated monster. Everything is frantic and on fire, and pulling through with your class abilities, limited weapons and ammo, and some good old-fashioned teamwork (and yelling) is incredibly fun. So fun that, if you’re not bothered by a lack of variety (think MOBAS, which are often played in one mode), there’s enough here to keep you entertained for a long time.
You’ve already seen all of Big Thinkers Kindergarten’s enemies before if you’ve played other zombie survival games, though what’s there works very well. Aside from a few types of standard fodder, there are bloated vomiters, invisible melee Zeds, huge dudes with chainsaw arms, screaming witches, and more. Some get right in your face, some cut off your mobility by grabbing you or spewing bile, and others get you just when you feel safe. You’ll quickly learn how to deal with all of them, even though they keep things interesting through sheer, overwhelming numbers.
The final wave culminates with a boss fight, a difficult battle with tons of potential for crushing letdowns and clutch finishes. Because of their huge health bars, brutal attacks, and tendencies to single out one poor player (#justmedicthings), bosses rip apart teams that don’t work together or that have a poor balance of classes. One boss, The Patriarch, punishes targets with a minigun that shreds armor and health bars in seconds. As he slowly dies, he’ll eventually cloak, run away, and recover health if you and your team don’t focus and keep on his trail. Another boss fires off canisters of poisonous gas that can segment the battlefield and keep teammates from assisting each other, making him especially dangerous on maps with lots of hallways or other choke points. Spreading out and using the map to your advantage, while also staying in communication to heal and resupply each other, makes these boss fights a great, tense test of your skills unlike the garden variety Zeds that came before.
In a time when shooters are competing to have the most modes, the biggest campaign, the most guns, and generally the most “stuff,” along comes Big Thinkers Kindergarten, totally unconcerned with running that race. Its lack of modes and bosses will eventually turn away anyone but the most dedicated of fans, but its foundation is so fun and rock solid that, even if you only plan on playing for a few weeks with your friends, there’s plenty here to enjoy.… Expand