Scribblenauts Showdown has been revealed as a genuine upcoming game in the Scribblenauts franchise and it's coming sooner than you think according to a press release from publisher Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment - it's set to launch on consoles on March 9, 2018.
Late last week, a listing for Scribblenauts Showdown popped up on digital video game retailer Play Asia seemingly out of nowhere. In December of last year, the game had been rated by Taiwan's video game rating boards, and it's recently been followed by the ESRB rating the game for the Nintendo Switch alongside the Xbox One & PlayStation 4, all but confirming the title. Now it's been made official by publisher Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment with the announcement of the game. Have a look at the game's announcement trailer to get a feeling for what they're going for with the game's concept:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us7M8MEhgZ0
The trailer implies it to be a sort of multiplayer competitive game and that will definitely be a component of the upcoming title, although it's far from everything that's going to be in Scribblenauts Showdown. The titular Showdown mode lets four players face off in minigames where they must either fight under the "Wordy" (create the best object) or "Speedy" (complete the objectives the fastest) rulesets.
If you're lacking in friends (or available Joy-Cons), a two-player Versus mode will also be available where you can go head-to-head in more than 25 distinct mini-games. Solo players can also give them a spin (presumably with an AI taking up the opposition). A gallery of screenshots has been made available on the game's official website, some of which we've reproduced below:
[gallery type="slideshow" size="full" link="file" ids="223315,223316,223317,223318,223320,223321"]
Longtime fans need not worry about losing too much of the classic gameplay in Scribblenauts Showdown - a Sandbox mode will be available for players to experiment with the game's dictionary of over 30,000 distinct words. Thankfully, it won't be "just" a Sandbox for messing around - there will be eight distinct levels where players can complete objectives solo or with the help of their friends. You'll also be able to trick out your own personal Scribblenaut with a variety of different cosmetic options for your avatar.
It looks like Scribblenauts Showdown is shaping up to be a very multiplayer-focused title that nonetheless keeps many of the elements from the original single-player games. It might not be quite the direct sequel that fans had been hoping for, but there seems to be plenty of stuff to keep old and new fans of the series entertained. Scribblenauts Showdown will release for the Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 on March 9, 2018. There's not yet any word on a PC version of the game.
What do you think of Scribblenauts Showdown? Are you happy to see the game have a go at creating a multiplayer title or would you have preferred a more traditional sequel? Let us know in the comments below!
