The Boxtrolls is the latest movie from Laika Films, the creators of the movies Coraline and Paranorman. It opened last week in theaters, and a game, The Boxtrolls Slide ‘N’ Sneak, was released on iOS. It is now available in the Play Store. The game is a collaboration with Laika Films, Focus Features and Red Interactive Agency. The game, a side-scrolling platformer, meshes well with the amazingly detailed world of The Boxtrolls in the movie. It is a vibrant world, even though the color palette is minimal. The game is appealing and challenging.
The movie is based on a book, written by Alan Snow, entitled Here Be Monsters! The movie follows the main character Eggs, a little human boy that has been raised by the Boxtrolls. The Boxtrolls are creatures that live beneath the town of Cheesebridge. After dark, the Boxtrolls scour the city looking through the trash, and take what they find to create wonderful inventions. Everything goes awry when some of the Boxtrolls are captured by a pest exterminator. Eggs meets Winne Portley-Rind, a little girl who lives above ground, and together, they attempt to save the captured Boxtrolls. As a Boxtroll in the game, your goal is to collect as many cogs as possible while quietly sneaking through Cheesbridge.
The games’ goals and mechanics should be familiar to most gamers that enjoy side-scrolling platformers. The Boxtrolls automatically move to the right side of your screen unless they encounter an obstacle. Your Boxtroll, depending on which one you are playing with, has the ability to jump, slide and smash obstacles. There are multiple Boxtrolls to choose from, once they are unlocked. You also have the ability to have another Boxtroll team up with you on some of the levels in the game, which there are currently, thirty total. More levels are expected at some point, based on the menu screen.
The game has you you jumping, sliding and avoiding obstacles on what can be described as a wooden contraption that looks similar to a roller coaster ride. As mentioned before, everything is colored black, with the exception of a dash of red used for coloring the hats of enemies (Red Hats), and when the Boxtrolls, and other inhabitants of the world, have light sporadically shown on them. The graphics though simple, work extremely well. I appreciate the creativity in the game design implementation. Each level has three bulbs to be obtained. You do this by collecting a certain amount of cogs, and by sneaking through the level. Here is where the challenge comes in.
As you are navigating throughout the level, there are boxes, cages to avoid, bells, and bundles of junk strewn everywhere. The platforming aspect of the game is not too difficult, but sneaking through the level is. You have the option of a normal jump, depressing the screen longer for a higher jump, and swiping down to accelerate on a slope, to be catapulted higher to obtain more cogs. This sometimes results with you hitting a bell, or a bag of junk, which then sounds an alarm that quickly flashes red. Many times, I could obtain enough cogs, but the sneaking part was where I failed miserably. That meant that I did not obtain the three bulbs.
The Boxtrolls: Slide ‘N’ Sneak Features:
Help the Boxtrolls rescue their friends who have been captured by the devious Red Hats. Take up three Boxtrolls from the safety of their underground cavern to the streets and rooftops of Cheesebridge. Run, slide and jump to collect as many cogs as you can. Sneak past the Red Hats and be careful not to cause too much noise! Make your way to the Red Hat factory to rescue the captured Boxtrolls and unlock new adventures.
- Features art, music, voices and sound from the movie
- 4 Distinct environments with 30 challenging levels
- 10 unique playable Boxtrolls to unlock
- Take up to three Boxtrolls on every mission
- Simple tap and swipe controls
- Slide and launch your Boxtrolls on slopes
- Discover hidden tunnels and collect bonus cogs
- 8 incredible gadgets to boost your game play
The Boxtrolls is a free-to-play game with ads that appear after you complete a level. You can unlock/turn-off adds for $.99. The in-game currency consists of cogs and cheese. You can purchase cogs and cheese for upgrades, unlocking levels or different contraptions to use while playing through the levels. The costs get pretty pricey, up to $99.99, for Briehemoth Cheese (2,000 pieces of cheese) or a Crate of Cogs (200,000 cogs). Is that necessary to complete the game? It doesn’t appear to be, as cogs are readily available throughout the levels. The in-app purchases thus far, do not appear to mar the game play experience. The Cheese seems to be a little more difficult to acquire, but is obtained by completing… get this, Acheesements. Yes, Acheesements, not achievements. Currently, the game is not integrated with Google Game Play Services, so acheesements will be all that you can track in-game.
The Boxtrolls is a competent and in many ways successful, platformer/side-scrolling game. The graphics and sound are very well implemented, and the controls are very responsive. The loading screen artwork is phenomenal and worth viewing. It allows you to continue to be immersed within the world of Cheesbridge from the movie. For a movie tie-in game, The Boxtrolls is worth a download, even if you have not had the opportunity to see the movie just yet.
