winterbottom thumb
80

The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom review

Our Verdict

Puzzles garnished with platforming, baked to perfection in a witty crust.

PC Gamer's got your back Our experienced team dedicates many hours to every review, to really get to the heart of what matters most to you. Find out more about how we evaluate games and hardware.

“I hate what time-messing games do to me. Afterwards, for every real-world problem I encounter I expect to be able to slow things down, rewind and undo, or, using Winterbottom's core device, create clones of myself to get past it. I'm not writing this, by the way. Craig #3 is.”

“Craig #2 here. Winterbottom is a devilishly tricky puzzle-platformer, set in a gorgeous silent movie world where you're helping a thief steal time pies. The pies pop up at various points in the levels, unobtainable via conventional platforming. Winterbottom's cloning ability creates a copy of the odious little piethief, who'll repeat whatever action you were performing at the time. You can boost yourself up on a pile of pre-Winterbottoms; you can leave one whacking away at a switch with an umbrella, materialising out-ofreach pies for the present-time you to get at; or one could be on one end of a see-saw, you on the other. Things are getting complicated. Craig #4 will continue while I screenshot.”

“Yeah, so I just set a clone of Winterbottom wacking away on one side of a jump and stood on the other. I created a second clone there and sent him looping towards the whacking clone. We sent this copy to and fro, collecting the pies dangling over the drop. They were only collectible in a certain order, so he needed a damned good banging.”

“Good job, Craig #4. Nice hair by the way. Original and best Craig here: It's a clever puzzle game, that gets a lot out of its one idea. The puzzles are never too obtuse, and never a walkover. It's cheap, witty and will give you a smug glow of satisfaction when each solution pops into your head.”

The Verdict
The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom review

Puzzles garnished with platforming, baked to perfection in a witty crust.

Latest in Adventure
Image of illuminated manuscript-style drawings from the game Pentiment.
Random characters kept swearing in Obsidian's font-obsessed murder-mystery when its procedural error system ran amok: 'Naughtiness abounded'
An image of a corpse with the text "You've been re-educated."
I played the lost videogame sequel to 1984, and came away more nostalgic than ever for gaming's awkward adolescence in 1999
Rosella encounters a satyr in a forest in King's Quest 4
Eagle-eyed streamer spots that Roberta Williams' portrait in King's Quest 4 is based on her author photo on the back of the game box: 'I never noticed it before.'
Myst puzzle game
'You’ve been asking, and we’ve been listening': Myst remake adds a whole new world to the classic adventure, one originally introduced in another overhaul from 25 years ago
The character takes a test in a school room.
Expelled! review
Max, protagonist of Life is Strange and Life is Strange: Double Exposure, stares with trepidation at something off-screen with her friend.
Life is Strange: Double Exposure reportedly a 'large loss' for Square Enix, says analyst, who adds: 'The company's IP fundamentally varies too much between good and bad'
Latest in Reviews
Thunder X3 Lab-X gaming desk in a living room
Thunder X3 Lab-X review
The First Berserker: Khazan review - Maluca
The First Berserker: Khazan review
Logitech G PowerPlay charging station mouse pad
Logitech G PowerPlay 2 mouse pad review
Colorful iGame RTX 5070 Ti Vulcan OC graphics card from various angles
Colorful iGame RTX 5070 Ti Vulcan OC review
Soldiers
Atomfall review
Acer Predator Z57 dual-4K monitor
Acer Predator Z57 gaming monitor review