Grab the Bottle

 Xbox One
Metascore
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No score yet - based on 2 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 2
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 2
  3. Negative: 1 out of 2
  1. TheXboxHub
    Jun 20, 2018
    60
    At £3.99 it is worth a go if only to grab yourself a few extra achievements – just be prepared for a world of frustration and eventual boredom.

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No user score yet- Awaiting 1 more rating

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 3
  3. Negative: 0 out of 3
  1. Xbox_Alive
    Jun 21, 2018
    7
    Original ideas in game’s aren’t often seen much anymore because over the year’s we’ve pretty much seen everything. That being said from timeOriginal ideas in game’s aren’t often seen much anymore because over the year’s we’ve pretty much seen everything. That being said from time to time a new original idea comes up and these original ideas often come in game’s that aren’t too expensive. Grab the Bottle is one of these game’s and whilst it has a few imperfections here and there on the whole I enjoyed what this little game had to offer. This game has a snake feel to it but in a way it’s more complex than snake and in my opinion it’s a lot more fun. Obviously the most important aspect in a game like this is how the controls perform because one slight mistake will make you have to start the level from the beginning again. Thankfully the controls that have been implemented in the game hold up really well at all times and most important of all they remain tight and responsive throughout your time with the game. The physics on the other hand though don’t perform as well and at times they do fail you which means you will experience a few cheap deaths here and there. It doesn’t happen all the time though and in the end you end up forgetting about these issues thanks to the fantastic level design that’s present in the game. Each level has had a lot of thought and effort placed into them and the amount of variety each level has means they all play differently which keeps things fresh and interesting for a while and this will ultimately keep you coming back for more. Unfortunately though despite the game’s good levels there just isn’t enough of them and more content would’ve been awesome because the content that’s here is really fun at times. I would recommend though that you play the game in short bursts because even though the gameplay is fun it can still become frustrating. Despite the frustration the game has from time to time I still think that they’ve got the right balance of being fair and challenging at the same time, it’s just that some levels can be a pain in the backside, but once completed you get a very rewarding feeling. I must admit I didn’t expect much when it came to the presentation side of the game but what was offered to me was pleasantly surprising. Don’t get me wrong the presentation of the game isn’t going to win any awards but it doesn’t need to either because the visuals and sound design have a certain amount of charm going for them which satisfied me quite a bit. At the end of the day Grab the Bottle is perfect for passing some time every now and then and I was very pleased with the game overall despite it having a few shortcomings. These shortcomings are thankfully not too profound and in the end the game does enough to get a recommendation from me.… Full Review »
  2. GBG_Jason
    Jun 25, 2018
    7
    People often forget that some of the greatest games released have had little to no story with a simple premise. Pacman, Rootbeer Tapper andPeople often forget that some of the greatest games released have had little to no story with a simple premise. Pacman, Rootbeer Tapper and even early versions of Super Mario Bros. all had a very basic concept, yet provided countless hours of entertainment. The recently released Grab the Bottle offers a similar experience, with the player guiding a hand through a 2D landscape, interacting with or avoiding obstacles along the way, with the single goal of picking up all of the collectibles along the way to a single bottle in the level.

    The gameplay is extremely basic, yet gets more and more complex as you go. At first, you’ll simply need to make it from point A to point B, B standing for bottle. As you progress, you will soon have to pick up additional items along the way, and finally, start using objects that can be grabbed or moved to remove barriers within the game world. These range from simple items such as a glass or toy that can be used to break weak barriers and eventually expand to be bombs that can be used to remove huge chunks of the game world, often requiring the player to use their own outstretched arm to provide a bridge for the item to rest prior to exploding.

    While the premise is extremely simplistic, the execution requires proper planning and pin point accuracy, as the slightest mistake will result in failure and your hand being pushed back a short distance. After three errors, you will have to start the level over. If you back yourself into a corner, you can simply press one of the face buttons to restart the mission, similar to the Trials or Hotline Miami franchises. Restarting the level is fluid, with little to no load times; however, frustration hit early in the game due to the difficulty spiking quickly. Within the first hour I was racking up failures left and right, with one level reaching a staggering 32 deaths prior to completing it. While it’s easy to figure out how you would be able to solve the many puzzles the game throws at you, mastering the controls is the true challenge.

    When you get down to it, there are two types of games for the Xbox One console: games that can be played with drifting analog sticks and ones that cannot be. This is the latter, resulting in me needing to break out my wife’s newer, less used controller, as the slightest bit of drift will cause this game to be your worst nightmare. It is very accessible at first, but the fact that you can only move the hand left or right, regardless of the direction or angle you are viewing the game at, is extremely difficult to grasp early on. I initially thought that my controller or the game itself was completely broken before realizing that this is the way the game was designed. While I would have preferred the ability to simply press the stick or D-pad in the direction I wish to go, this adds some much needed depth to the title.

    The comic book inspired art style gives the player something pleasant to look at with the environments being rendered in a style that mimics the old school comic book printing that used tiny dots of ink to color the frames. It even uses enough visible sound effect bubbles to make the late Adam West jump for joy. While far from awe-inspiring, it is refreshing to see the developers use this method when they could have just as easily used a solid fill for the objects. The comic book style extends to the paneled cut scenes that occur from time to time, giving us backstory on the protagonist and his Stretch Armstrong-ish ability to extend his arm to ridiculous proportions. While it’s not really needed to enjoy (or be frustrated) with the title, it’s nice to see the attempt was made.

    Grab the Bottle doesn’t offer much in replay value outside of replaying the levels in an attempt for perfect completions, but the campaign mode offers plenty of content for the budget price point. If you can get past the awkward control scheme, you will find a rewarding puzzle game that makes the player feel as if each small victory is worthy of celebration.    … Full Review »
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