Kill the Plumber

Last updated
Kill the Plumber
Kill The Plumber.jpg
Developer(s) Keybol
Series Mario (unofficial)
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows, iOS, Android, Adobe Flash
Release
  • WW: January 1, 2016
Genre(s) Platform game
Mode(s)Single-player

Kill the Plumber is a platform game developed by Filipino independent game developer Keybol. The game is a parody of Super Mario Bros. Players control the inhabitants of a kingdom invaded by a plumber and must stop him before he can reach a princess. It was released in 2016 for Windows and Android, but Apple rejected it for violating Nintendo's copyright. After the graphics were changed, Apple accepted it.

Contents

Gameplay

The game is a parody of Super Mario Bros. in which players, as Mario enemy parodies, attempt to stop a hostile plumber (a parody of Mario). He has invaded their kingdom to stalk a princess (a parody of Princess Peach). [1]

Development

The initial design pitch was to control various enemies from platform games, becoming stronger as the game progressed. [2] The game was initially developed as a browser game. After it proved popular on YouTube, Keybol ported it to mobile platforms. Development for both platforms took a month. However, Apple rejected it from their App Store for potentially violating Nintendo's copyright. While negotiating with Apple, Keybol ported the game to Windows, which took another six weeks of development time. [1]

Release

Kill the Plumber was released on Steam on January 1, 2016. [3] As Kill the Plumber World, it was released on iOS and Android on February 2, 2016. [4] This version of the game features different artwork and is less reminiscent of Nintendo's games. [5]

Reception

Though he criticized the controls and music, Victor Barreiro Jr. of Rappler wrote that the Windows version of Kill the Plumber has a variety of challenging puzzles. [6] Reviewing the iPad version, Harry Slater of Pocket Gamer rated it 6/10 and wrote that it does not live up to the game's intriguing promise of a deconstruction of platform games. [7] At 148apps.com, Campbell Bird rated the iOS version 2.5/5 stars and wrote, "Even though Kill the Plumber has a clever premise, I'm afraid it has little going for it beyond that." [8]

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References

  1. 1 2 Logarta, Michael (2016-01-04). "Award-winning, Pinoy-made 'Kill the Plumber' game now on Steam". GMA News Online . Retrieved 2016-12-16.
  2. Silvestre, Bari (2015-12-15). "There is No Such Thing as Game Design". Gamasutra . Retrieved 2016-12-16.
  3. Thomas, Lucas M. (2015-12-28). "Out This Week: Hitman: Agent 47, Kill the Plumber". IGN . Retrieved 2016-12-16.
  4. Renaudin, Clement (2016-02-02). "Reverse platformer Kill the Plumber World out now". Pocket Gamer . Retrieved 2016-12-16.
  5. Brown, Mark (2015-12-22). "Banned Mario parody Kill the Plumber could come to the App Store in 2016". Pocket Gamer . Retrieved 2016-12-16.
  6. Barreiro Jr, Victor (2016-01-23). "Kill the Plumber: An accessible anti-platforming puzzler". Rappler . Retrieved 2016-12-16.
  7. Slater, Harry (2016-02-04). "Kill the Plumber World - I'm still waiting for Super Kill the Plumber Bros World 2". Pocket Gamer . Retrieved 2016-12-16.
  8. Bird, Campbell (2016-02-05). "Kill the Plumber World review". 148apps.com. Retrieved 2016-12-16.