RiffTrax: The Game Review: Well worth the price of admission

I was really upset when The Sci-Fi Channel (now SyFy) canceled Mystery Science Theater 3000. I had only discovered the show in 1997, but in just a few years it had already shaped me. When the MST3k writers and cast took their talk-about-a-bad-movie formula to the web using RiffTrax, I followed them. In many ways, the format of releasing soundtracks for popular modern films worked even better. But RiffTrax really came into its own when it began acquiring the rights to films that it could distribute itself. And that’s a strength that carries over into RiffTrax: The Game.

Developer Wide Right Interactive understood what they were doing when they originally released What The Dub. In this game, players watched public domain clips and then challenged them to fill in gaps in the audio with funny lines. A text-to-speech bot would then bring the players’ jokes to life. It’s a concept that brings immediately MRST3k to think. But for a real game, it’s one that works better with RiffTrax.

And that’s what WideRight did with RiffTrax: The Game. This game builds on the concepts of What The Dub in the right way. It has more clips – many of which are from RiffTrax’s library. It also has tons of professional jokes that are universally hilarious. And that unlocks the potential for a new game mode that makes it so much easier for everyone to have fun.

A party game that makes everyone feel involved

I’ve put a handful of hours into RiffTrax: The Game so far and it’s always been consistently enjoyable. Write A Riff mode feels robust thanks to the thousands of clips included in the base game. And Wide Right did a great job of picking some of the weirdest segments from the RiffTrax movies to spark player creativity.

There’s something addictive about trying to make your friends laugh, and RiffTrax: The Game captures that. Even when I sniff, and that often happens, it quickly moves on. And you get another chance to do something fun.

I think this setup empowers people to unleash their best jokes, but the game doesn’t keep your feet in the comedy fire. If you’re struggling but still want to participate, you can take a joke from one of the RiffTrax writers and stars. Before playing the game I wasn’t sure if this would work. But these seasoned veterans who watch bad movies almost always get the biggest laughs.

Mike Nelson, Bill Corbett and Kevin Murphy all play the riffs themselves and their performance really adds to the experience. Because of this, Pick-A-Riff mode is just as fun and works as Write-A-Riff. In this mode, players are dealt a hand of random jokes. You can then play them over a clip however you like. This turns RiffTrax into something akin to Cards Against Humanity, and like that game, it can make anyone feel weird.

I will always have RiffTrax installed for my live streams

RiffTrax also includes all the features you could want as a live streamer. You can allow your community to vote for their favorite jokes right in chat. This means that even if not everyone can play, they can still participate. Plus, this game is such a fun change from anything else you might be playing. For that reason I plan to keep it on my drive ready to open or close streams.

But don’t think that you can only enjoy this game if you are a streamer. It totally works if you just throw it at the TV when you have friends. And like Jackbox or What The Dub, you control everything from one phone. So the barrier to entry is minimal.

A good game that should keep getting better

This is exactly what I wanted from an interactive RiffTrax experience. It’s excellent when a popular clip comes up – I got one from Shake Hands With Danger last night.

It’s exciting to riff on these films yourself. I also love hearing Mike, Bill and Kevin’s brand new jokes. And for $10, it’s one of the funniest you can have with a group of people.

And as good as it is now, it should get even better as Wide Right and RiffTrax release updates with more clips and jokes. I’ll be checking in regularly, but I’ll be back on day one when there’s new content.

RiffTrax: The Game is available now for $10 on consoles and PC. Wide Right Interactive has provided GamesBeat with a verification code for this review.