Stikbold! Preview

Whenever I’ve been to preview events in the past, it’s been single-player with the publisher watching over me. So when I was told I’d be up against the developers to play Stikbold! A Dodgeball Adventure, a competitive local multiplayer dodgeball experience, I was a little nervous.

To be exact, I was sat with lead programmer Simon and CEO Jacob -- so if there were two people who had played the game more than these guys, they didn’t exist. They were very friendly, but I’ve been around long enough to know that they secretly wanted to kick my arse at videogames.

You're not always against another human...

Simon loaded up Stikbold! and explained the premise -- it’s the 70s and every conflict is resolved by a game of dodgeball. To lull me into a sense of security he offered to play some co-op, show me around the gameplay a little. We played the tutorial, the first mission, and then one other, where I was introduced to the insanity which Björn and Jerome are thrust into. On the eve of the big dodgeball tournament, the opposing team is kidnapped by a man in a Devil costume -- one of whom is Björn’s love interest -- and it’s up to the pair to give chase!

The chase is spread across five levels, with a boss after each, and each one invariably resulting in some kind of misunderstanding which can only be resolved by three rounds of dodgeball. Which is good, because otherwise this game wouldn’t be called Stikbold!...

Anyone who has seen a bunch of American cartoons will know about dodgeball -- but if by chance you don’t, then it’s simple: hit the other players with the ball. In the story mission, you and a friend (or you on your own) are pit against varying amounts of enemy players, depending on the stage. Hit them with the ball twice, and they’re knocked out. It controls like a twin-stick shooter, where you run with left and aim with right, with the right trigger controlling how strong a throw you want. You can dive out of the way, and more advance techniques see you curving the ball in midair.

The Whale -- the only part remaining from the original game jam build

It’s very simple in concept, but even paired with Simon I can’t say we had a perfect run. There are also three challenges for each arena, such as breaking all of the benches in a single round, meaning that you will want to play through at least a couple of times to get that achievement.

The competitive multiplayer is where the game shines, however. Since its creation at a three-day game jam three years ago, it has been about hitting other people with balls. However, even when you’re down you’re not out, as you then take control of one of the many hazards -- unleash a streaker, hit people with a swan, or even crush them with a whale!

Oil slicks being ignited by lightning

Given to certain programming limitations, you can only have four players using four controllers -- though really, who owns six or eight controllers? You can have a maximum of seven AI-controlled bots, depending on how many real life players you have, and the eight can be spread across three teams however you wish. Want Tom to be in his own team whilst you, Alex and Emsey pick on him with four bots on the third team? Want equal teams of two? Want to go mano-a-mano? The bots have three difficulties, and each can be set differently, meaning there can be a lot of variety.

Honestly, if this doesn’t become a party staple, then you need some different friends. It’s great fun, and given the way that the hazards work together it can lead to some interesting matches. For instance, the oil spills set out by one player can be set on fire with lightning from another -- in fact, the way that things interact is quite impressive for a game that still has lines of code dating back three years to a game jam. Balls deflect one another, waterspouts push players away, bees swarm the closest person… It is full of awesome little touches.

Running from dirty hippies

There is a lot to enjoy about Stikbold!, and I can’t wait to play with a group of people. I managed to win the final match between myself, Simon, Jacob and a bot, so I’m ready to take on anyone when it launches for PC and Xbox One on the 1st April, and PS4 on 5th April.