The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom

 PC
User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 63 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 44 out of 63
  2. Mixed: 14 out of 63
  3. Negative: 5 out of 63

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  1. SirNiXXon
    Jan 4, 2012
    8
    An amazing little gem. Winterbottom is loaded with black'n'white-old-school-cinema humor. How often can you play a *good* game in black and white? The graphical style is really great (artsy stuff!) and soundtrack is really "old-school-movie evocative". Winterbottom consists various of short stages, each a puzzle of it's own. It's not a long game, but it's quite inexpensive, and it has goodAn amazing little gem. Winterbottom is loaded with black'n'white-old-school-cinema humor. How often can you play a *good* game in black and white? The graphical style is really great (artsy stuff!) and soundtrack is really "old-school-movie evocative". Winterbottom consists various of short stages, each a puzzle of it's own. It's not a long game, but it's quite inexpensive, and it has good replay value. A great game for anyone who's into indie games, old movies or just wants a blast of "different" gameplay. It's also available for Xbox360.… Expand
  2. namDa65
    Jan 31, 2012
    8
    I actually liked this game! The cinematic black and white style of old age is fun to watch, and the puzzles are not too difficult. It becomes sort of confusing near the end, but you can either go walkthrough or be patient with the game. Coupled with the bonus challenges, you get can get around 2.5 hours for main story and an extra 2 hours for the fun content
  3. Viacota
    Oct 7, 2012
    9
    Un juego de puzzles bastante entretenido, visualmente bien logrado, entretenida música. Los acertijos están muy buenos , llegando a ser muy difíciles algunos.

    Cumple su objetivo.
  4. Mykwon
    Dec 8, 2012
    9
    Very nice! Reminds me of Braid but simpler and more logical. Therefore, less of a challenge in making perfect moves on every levels - which made me stopped playing Braid - but rather think differently using 4th dimension. Always with a last second little twist you didn't see coming when you kick off!
    Very nice music too. Vintage style.
  5. Dagwoodx420x666
    Jul 18, 2013
    9
    Easily one of my favorite games, period. I'm not really a big fan of puzzle or platform games but it is so intuitive and natural that the puzzles feel complex and challenging without being overwhelming. The art and soundtrack are the perfect accompaniment to this well-thought out adventure through time. A must play.
  6. Echo9k
    Mar 17, 2012
    9
    Is creepy if you want, but is an amazing game that will make you think a lot with its puzzles, and also enjoy with its simplicity. I mean, Winterbottom is a fellow who loves pie, and is willing to do everything for a pie even if this "everything" is create a paradox in time-space stability.
    With a touch of madness I think that this Misadvetures will take you to another universe of gaming
  7. russ-angel
    Aug 20, 2012
    8
    its a great looking game with great little puzzles.I had it off steam for 99p in the sale what a bargain for a charming little gem.What I thought I would play for five minutes became an hour,then two.I always find these little dittys on Steam.
  8. e_k
    Jul 28, 2012
    6
    An interesting puzzle game. So far, it's not too hard - which is good, because I'm not very good at puzzles. The atmosphere is quite nice, if a little repetitive (7)

    I have to dock a point however, for the looong legal notice that shows up every time you launch the game. It's almost 20 seconds long (just the notices - not the intro), and you can't skip it. Yes, we get it, all those    An interesting puzzle game. So far, it's not too hard - which is good, because I'm not very good at puzzles. The atmosphere is quite nice, if a little repetitive (7)

    I have to dock a point however, for the looong legal notice that shows up every time you launch the game. It's almost 20 seconds long (just the notices - not the intro), and you can't skip it. Yes, we get it, all those things are the trademarks of such and such. First time, ok. But after that: you're wasting my time! Because I don't play for long periods at once, I have to sit through this every single time I want to solve a puzzle or two (-1)    … Expand
  9. xxAcesHighxx
    Nov 16, 2015
    9
    An utterly enthralling monochromatic caper that I just can't help but wish was also available for handheld gamers. Sure, Winterbottom is fantastic on 360 and PC, but personally, I think it'd be experienced on Playstation Vita.
  10. iseeall
    Dec 25, 2015
    10
    An excellent puzzle game about time manipulation with great British humor, cheerful music and classy black-and-white graphics. Related games: Braid, The Company of Myself, Robotron, Adventures of Shuggy, Gateways.
  11. Simski
    Dec 10, 2013
    10
    Puzzling, challenging, amusing, and bedazzling.

    The story tells the tale of how one dastardly man's insatiable pie-thievery gets himself stuck in time, how his selfish manipulation of time to steal pies recklessly causes disaster to an entire city, and how the same paradoxical journey through time on a quest for pies leads to him unwittingly setting his past wrongdoings right. It's    Puzzling, challenging, amusing, and bedazzling.

    The story tells the tale of how one dastardly man's insatiable pie-thievery gets himself stuck in time, how his selfish manipulation of time to steal pies recklessly causes disaster to an entire city, and how the same paradoxical journey through time on a quest for pies leads to him unwittingly setting his past wrongdoings right.

    It's an amazingly humorous game, and the overall atmosphere from both the story, setting and graphical style has a strong Tim Burton-esque feel.

    The gameplay of using time paradoxes by manipulating time and abusing clones of your own past self for your own gain offers very unique gameplay and ties in well with the same mischievous humor in the story. The puzzles are fun and gradually becomes more challenging, every chapter of the game also offers a different gimmick to change the mechanics of your time clones.

    The to me absolutely most memorable part of this game however, is the extraordinarily fantastic music. The soundtrack is a class of its own, and it sets a perfectly mischievous, mysterious, and adventurous tone for the game. It's cheerful and dark, it's classic and modern, it's like a series of orgasms for your ears.

    I have but two complaints about this game... and those complaints are that the soundtrack isn't available for purchase, and that I'm left heart-broken from my inability to manipulate time to again experience this game with the same overwhelming awe as my first play.    … Expand
  12. Voyou
    May 24, 2021
    4
    Arcade game based on beating clocks with some platforming. Rather dull. The cheap art is cheaply black and white, because color film was too expensive. And the tutorial hints keep announcing the wrong keys. Not made by the brightest.
  13. LT_Gruber
    Jan 3, 2023
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Amazing little puzzle game with beautiful artwork.

    I was happily surprised when I first played The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom. It looks so simple and small but offers a fun puzzle experience overall. From what I understood, this was a little game for a student’s graduate, the irony here is that I think it is a better game than all the triple AAA indie games out there today.

    In The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom, you play as a cute little man with a mustache who wants to eat pie. The pies are all in hard-to-reach places and you need to figure out how to get to them.

    You have the ability to bent time and space and create different clones of yourself. You can record an action and one of your clones will do this action while you can perform a different action. When combining multiple actions and setting up some clones to help you reach a certain platform, everything comes together, and you can reach that delicious pie. If the clones bump into each other, they fall over, and you need to try again.

    The principle of the game is simple yet unique and a lot of fun. It is on the same level as puzzle games like Nihilumbra. The puzzles are very challenging and require many tries sometimes. They are all perfectly doable but sometimes, your timing needs to be absolutely perfect, or you will fail.

    The graphics and animation in the game are all done in silent film, black and white style. It got a steampunk/renaissance vibe over it; I liked it very much.
    In terms of controls, they are spot on. Everything is responsive and the only thing to blame if you fail a level, is yourself.

    There is no sound (because of the silent film style) but there is some excellent piano music playing in true 1920’s style. It fits the theme and game very well.

    My only complaint about The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom is the name, because it is very hard to remember or pronounce, but other than that, I think this is a fantastic little puzzle game to keep you occupied for a few hours.

    Definitely would recommend it.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

48
#48 Best PC Game of 2010
95
#95 Most Discussed PC Game of 2010
64
#64 Most Shared PC Game of 2010

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 12 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 12
  3. Negative: 0 out of 12
  1. PC Zone UK
    84
    Essential for those who likes a sit down and have a think. [Aug 2010, p.82]
  2. GameSpot
    75
    Buckets of whimsy and oodles of puzzles make this a satisfying adventure, despite the sometimes steep difficulty.
    Read full review
  3. Eurogamer Portugal
    80
    The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom is clever, simple, hard and very good to train our brains to solve problems.
    Read full review
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