Block ‘Em! Review

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Fast Facts

Have you ever wanted to play as cute little blocks for a video game? Well, thanks to Block ‘Em! you are able to do just that.

Block ‘Em! is a multiplayer game, so naturally, friends are needed to experience the inevitable chaos of multi-player games. This is not to say that the game isn’t unplayable on you’re own. However, fear not because you can play Block ‘Em! solo and also with AI. While I found this fine, the most that I personally got out of it was learning from my mistakes rather than the outright insanity, which I feel is the mark of a good multi-player game.

I had more fun playing Block ‘Em! with my friend. Block ‘Em! is fun enough to play. There are a lot of cute custom faces which match the cubic structure of the game, and they tie the whole aesthetic together. However, we both felt the game was too basic for its own good. This soon becomes a recurring theme throughout my playthrough of Block ‘Em!. Everything felt very watered down which, as a result, also impacts the gameplay enjoyability.

As a game, Block ‘Em! is not super hard to grasp. You have to get to the goal using these cute little block people, making blocks to travel to the goal. I do personally enjoy this, but I don’t think the mechanics in this game will sell someone who isn’t really isn’t into platformers to try this one because it’s so basic. Additionally, the way some of the game’s levels are designed would also not really encourage people to try this style of game. However, if you are into platformers, it becomes pretty fun as you try to either get to the goal, survive the longest, or just kill everybody.

I did play a few games just by my lonesome, and while I did find the platforming fun, it’s very clear this game needs some AI or other friends to play with, as the levels are even blander when played on their own. The problem I found was that I couldn’t find any games at the current time to play with random people. I found this frustrating, especially given it’s what this game is built around. There doesn’t appear to be anything more planned to bring people into the game, which in this day and age, is what games like this need to survive.

I’ve found that the game modes offered by Block ‘Em! don’t feel super complete. For example, Survival Mode’s maps end up turning into a waiting game, honestly. My friend and I were just kinda standing around, seeing who would die first. However, we did find some fun in Rush Mode, where you race to the goal, and whoever gets there first wins. Modes are chosen randomly in each game, and whoever wins five rounds is declared the overall winner. There’s also filler mode, where the aim is to lay the most blocks. While that mode does keep you busy until the very end, it does get repetitive at points. Especially since the three modes tend to rotate out during games. I do feel like if this had just a couple of more modes at launch, and concrete plans to create more, I would feel a lot better about what is offered, but right now, I can only say that Block ‘Em! is decent.

I can see the fragments of a good game here, but I do think that this needed a lot more time in the oven. As of right now, Block ‘Em! is a cute multiplayer platformer that leaves a lot to be desired, in my opinion. However, the title is inexpensive, and the general idea of the game is fun. If it’s something you want to play with you’re younger ones, then it is a fun way to pass the time. However, if you are a solo gamer, or looking for a deeper, more challenging game, I would say skip this, especially given how many similar games are on the market.

Rapid Reviews Rating

2.5 out of 5

2.5