RiffTrax: The Game is a 2022 multiplayer party game developed and published by Wide Right Interactive.[1] A follow-up to Wide Right's What the Dub?, the game is based on and features the cast members of RiffTrax, an online comedy group whose performers make commentary over bad movies and public domain shorts, inspired by the television show Mystery Science Theater 3000.

RiffTrax: The Game
Developer(s)Wide Right Interactive
Publisher(s)Wide Right Interactive
Director(s)Mark Zorn
Producer(s)Peter Hunter
Designer(s)Jim Dirschberger
Programmer(s)Mark Zorn
Artist(s)
  • Bridget Nelson
  • Michael Nelson
  • Kevin Murphy
  • Bill Corbett
Writer(s)
  • Michael Nelson
  • Kevin Murphy
  • Bill Corbett
  • Conor Lastowka
Composer(s)Kevin Murphy
Platform(s)
ReleaseMay 5, 2022
Genre(s)Party
Mode(s)Multiplayer

Gameplay

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Gameplay consists of players writing their own lines of dialogue or riffs (jokes) for movie clips from the RiffTrax library; players can also choose from a selection of riffs written and voiced by the Rifftrax team. After the riff is played back (with players' original riffs rendered using text-to-speech), players then choose which riff is the best. Between two and six players can play in a game, each randomly represented by a silhouette of an infamous character from the Rifftrax library such as Torgo, Mr. B Natural, Coily the Spring Sprite, The Guy from Harlem or Ice Cream Bunny, and up to twelve audience members can watch and vote on the riffs per game.[2]

Release

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RiffTrax: The Game was released on May 5, 2022, for macOS, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.[3]

On August 10, 2023, Wide Right Interactive partnered up with Limited Run Games to create physical copies of the game for PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch.[4]

Reception

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RiffTrax: The Game received "mixed or average" reviews for the Microsoft Windows and Xbox One edition while "generally favorable" reviews were reserved for the PlayStation 4 version, according to review aggregator Metacritic.[5][6][7]

The Verge and VentureBeat praised the game,[11] the latter stating that they found it addictive.[12] GameSpot and Ars Technica were more neutral. GameSpot noted that it was not as fun to play alone while Ars Technica wrote that it was "As fun and competent as a $10 party game needs to be. If you like MST3K or Rifftrax, then buy."[13][14]

References

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  1. ^ Musgrave, Shaun (May 5, 2022). "SwitchArcade Round-Up: 'Citizen Sleeper', 'Rifftrax: The Game', and Today's Other New Releases and Sales". Touch Arcade. Archived from the original on May 6, 2022. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  2. ^ Sheehan, Gavin (March 15, 2022). "RiffTrax: The Game Is Being Released On PC & Consoles This May". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on March 15, 2022. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  3. ^ "RiffTrax: The Game - Launch Trailer", IGN, 5 May 2022, archived from the original on 5 May 2022, retrieved May 5, 2022
  4. ^ "RiffTrax: The Game - RiffTrax Physical Edition Pre-Order! - Steam News". store.steampowered.com. 2023-08-10. Retrieved 2023-08-12.
  5. ^ a b "RiffTrax: The Game for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on June 6, 2022. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
  6. ^ a b "RiffTrax: The Game for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on May 16, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  7. ^ a b "RiffTrax: The Game for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on May 16, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  8. ^ Elfring, Mat (May 5, 2022). "RiffTrax: The Game Review - Dumb Jokes Reign Supreme". GameSpot. Archived from the original on May 16, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  9. ^ Grubb, Jeff (May 5, 2022). "RiffTrax: The Game review: Easily worth the price of admission". May 16, 2022. VentureBeat. Archived from the original on May 7, 2022. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  10. ^ Burke, Greg (May 9, 2022). "Rifftrax: The Game review: Insert Riff Here". Shacknews. Archived from the original on May 16, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  11. ^ Faulkner, Cameron (March 15, 2022). "RiffTrax: The Game tasks you with rewriting the worst B-movie scenes". The Verge. Archived from the original on March 15, 2022. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  12. ^ Grubb, Jeff (May 5, 2022). "RiffTrax: The Game review: Easily worth the price of admission". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on May 7, 2022. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  13. ^ Elfring, Mat (May 5, 2022). "RiffTrax: The Game Review - Dumb Jokes Reign Supreme". GameSpot. Archived from the original on May 6, 2022. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  14. ^ Machkovech, Sam (May 7, 2022). "Rifftrax: The Game serves the fun, will make you crow in laughter". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on May 7, 2022. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
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