Parents' Guide to

BattleBlock Theater

By Chad Sapieha, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

Raucous co-op platformer with lots of cartoony death.

Game Xbox 360 2013
BattleBlock Theater Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this game.

Community Reviews

age 8+

Based on 2 parent reviews

age 8+

Interesting concept simply not up to snuff with Castle Crashers creator.

Unlike this studios earlier creation, Castle Crashers, this is not a side scrolling game and is for 1 or 2 players. Each room is a stationary puzzle with various obstacles and enemies much like a Ninja Warrior style obstacle course in concept. You can unlock different 'heads' to personalize your character and are afforded a single choice of weapon, which you also unlock along the way, but are a bit underwhelming making this not so much an action game as it is is a puzzle based 'gag' title and thematically silly. The deaths are too cartoonish to be taken seriously as you are quickly respawned without serious or morbid theatrics. A pile of toon bones and characters going underwater is the worst thing you'll in the game, but these are played off with impermanence, as your charecter reappears instantly and unscathed. The simplistic action in the game may make for an easy pickup for a younger audience but lacks the complexities and varied animations of the studios previous work. Although the game is unique with a tongue in cheek humor, it remains unengaging once the novelty wears off and you realize that the same canned actions are tediously repeated, but in different sequences. Anything more than 10 dollars is not justified to anyone who is simply curious as you may very well be disappointed paying anything more.
age 7+

A positive game for kids

this game is very positive and creative with even its own level editor it is a major step up from violent games because kids find it fun and it is not voilent, even I have enjoyed helping my child make a level.I did not think of myself as the gaming type

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
Easy to play/use

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (2):
Kids say (27):

You're unlikely to find an XBLA game with more content than this polished little platformer. The story mode -- which has a wickedly funny narrator -- lasts nearly 10 hours and offers a very different experience if you play with friends, who can throw each other across gaps and help lug each other up onto high ledges.

The Arena mode, meanwhile, is essentially a Super Smash Bros. game in miniature, with no less than eight different modes, ranging from a world coloring challenge to king of the hill contests. And the easy-to-use level editor offers hours more fun, both in creating and sharing your own playlists of up to 15 themed levels and playing those crafted by other gamers. Even if only one of the game's three pillars of play appeals, it's still well worth the $15 investment.

Game Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate