Only in America could a game about lathering the shit out of your opponent's with a heavy red ball become a sport. The rules are simple. Pick up a red ball seek out your victim and launch said ball as hard and as fast as you can at them with the sole intention of hitting them and taking them out of the game. In this game violence is king. 
The first thing you'll notice about Stikbold is it's Minecraft esque graphics which are either meant as a homage or a blatant ripoff. Either way the style suits the game's wacky sense of humour perfectly and each character could happily set up home in the Minecraft universe and nobody would give them a second look. The bright colours and cartoony characters sit well in what is essentially a hippy state. You control two characters called Jerome and Björn who are practising for a championship game when the Devil appears and kidnaps their rivals. You follow a trail of oil that the Devil has unwittingly from one location to the next where you basically knock the shit out of various Hippies, Captains and Surfer Dudes in the best of three rounds dodgeball matches. That's about as exciting as Stikbold gets in the single-player campaign.
If you've ever played a top down shooter you you will be right at home here. Instead of a gun you let loose with your red ball of death on anyone who dares to get in your way. Your character moves with the left stick and you aim with the right stick. You throw the ball using ? And the longer it's held the more powerful the shot. There is a dodge move assigned to ? And you will end up using it not as a means to dodge but to move around the court quicker because your character's only move at one speed and it's very frustrating. There is no dash/run action and that's a missed opportunity because in a fast paced game such as this it's sorely needed.
Oddly there is no way for you to change between characters by pressing a button. This is done automatically for you when you pass the ball to the npc character. This sounds like a good idea on paper but when the npc is dumber than a bag of spanners it just ends up with you screaming at the screen because all the npc does is wander around in circles without even trying to get into positions where he can be of any use to you and even if he does get the ball he passes it straight back to you. This means you spend the majority of the time just controlling one character because it's less painful that way. The standout gameplay moments in the single-player are the boss fights. Using cover becomes a matter of life and death and dodging really comes into its own because you use it as it's suppose to be used and not for skipping around the court quickly. Fighting off lifeguards using jellyfish, moving TNT into a whale's mouth and avoiding satan all add to the challenge and believe me when I say these boss fights are no pushover.
Stikbold wears its multiplayer yearnings on its sleeve as every screen you see will urge you to add another play into the fray. The game truly comes alive when you have a couch full of players. Enemies are created and once friendly bonds are broken as you jostle for position on the court. But don't panic if you get taken out of the game because you can and will affect what's going on in the court and revenge is a dish best served cold. Every level has an Out Of Court action that means you can still get your revenge. You can become a fisherman who casts out and reels in players that leaves them stunned and a sitting target or you can become an angry swan who swoops into the court intent on breaking the arms of your enemies. This is a great mechanic and it's even worth being taken for just so you can meddle and get revenge. As with most ID@XBOX games there is no online multiplayer just local multiplayer.
Stikbold is held back by a lacklustre single-player campaign which does little to engage the player. But get yourself a room full of like minded friends or family and Stikbold is a real blast.
Publisher: Curve Digital
Developer: Game Swing
Modes: Single Player/Local Multiplayer
Stikbold will be available to buy for £7.99 with a 20 per cent discount at launch.
Review code supplied by Premier Comms