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.
| Kill the Plumber | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Keybol |
| Series | Mario (unofficial) |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows, iOS, Android, Adobe Flash |
| Release |
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| Genre(s) | Platform game |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Gameplay
editThe 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
editThe 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
editKill 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
editThough 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]
References
edit- ^ a b Logarta, Michael (2016-01-04). "Award-winning, Pinoy-made 'Kill the Plumber' game now on Steam". GMA News Online. Retrieved 2016-12-16.
- ^ Silvestre, Bari (2015-12-15). "There is No Such Thing as Game Design". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2016-12-16.
- ^ Thomas, Lucas M. (2015-12-28). "Out This Week: Hitman: Agent 47, Kill the Plumber". IGN. Retrieved 2016-12-16.
- ^ Renaudin, Clement (2016-02-02). "Reverse platformer Kill the Plumber World out now". Pocket Gamer. Retrieved 2016-12-16.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Barreiro Jr, Victor (2016-01-23). "Kill the Plumber: An accessible anti-platforming puzzler". Rappler. Retrieved 2016-12-16.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Bird, Campbell (2016-02-05). "Kill the Plumber World review". 148apps.com. Retrieved 2016-12-16.