Dumb Ways to Build Review (Xbox Series X|S & PC)

If there was ever a game that could cure boredom at the flick of a switch, it was Dumb Ways to Die—a mobile game that, true to its intended purpose, was designed solely for those in desperate need of a quick and comical mini-game-littered experience worthy of a drawn-out bathroom break. After so long, though, that same troupe of silly bean-like pedestrians had to pivot into something else. While the mini-games were ideal for a casual gaming experience, the team behind it needed to do more with their pill-shaped ne’er-do-wells. The franchise needed a broader platform and a more complex infrastructure. It needed a nail gun, an office chair, and a skyscraper.

Dumb Ways to Build, which serves as a fresh take on the Australian safety awareness campaign, brings a brand-new physics-based multiplayer experience to the table, and with it, a trove of problems that will leave you and your friends feeling like the biggest idiots in construction. True to the spirit of the original mobile game, it surfaces as a highly illogical, totally bonkers platforming-building affair that caters to the core principles of the classic handheld time burner. It hands you a nail gun, a whole bunch of objects, and a tower of some sort that needs ascending. But, you can probably guess how this gig pans out. Nobody knows what they’re doing, and the only thing that prevents you from completing your objective is the people you rely on to get you to the top.

The whole point of Dumb Ways to Build is simple to follow: you, along with a few friends, set out to build makeshift structures atop a totally absurd tower, with a nail gun in the one hand—a tool that, conveniently, has the power to stitch just about any object together—and a collection of items in the other. On paper, it sounds all rather straightforward, to erect bridges and towers out of wooden planks and office materials. But in reality, it’s a nightmare in motion—a desperate struggle to reach the pinnacle of a building that, well, has no room for incompetent trade folk and their ways of doing things without a safety net.

The gameplay is as loose as you would expect from a game like Dumb Ways to Build. As you don’t have an answer for your problems or any logical routes to the final destination, what you essentially have is a giant sandbox of moving parts that you yourself must take advantage of. Say, if you spot a plank of wood and a mattress, do you leap from the springs, or do you make a daring attempt to climb to a safer position? As you have no formal guide to illuminate the path to the next stud, you must work together to juggle your supplies, build structures that can hold your weight, and collectively orchestrate a foolproof plan that can bring you closer to the apex.

Of course, there is a catch to all of this: Dumb Ways to Build has its own share of curveballs. For example, in several instances you have a shock-inducing battery to consider. At times, you may find yourself being jolted and thrown to the curb, whereas in other situations you may find yourself without a second wooden plank to complete a structure. The point is, Dumb Ways to Build isn’t a game that likes to hold your hand as you gradually stitch pieces together. It wants you to get a little creative with your work, and it wants you to feel the tension from the slack as you helplessly shuffle further and further to the goalpost. At times, it can be a little frustrating I’ll admit. But, that’s half the fun, weirdly.

Suffice it to say, Dumb Ways to Build isn’t a serious game by any means. On the contrary, it’s a brilliantly executed, albeit totally outrageous co-op game that fits snugly into the “friendslop” genre. As tedious and as ridiculous as it often seems, it does in fact make for a hilarious experience that, well, hits the nail on the head more often than it doesn’t. With some laughably bad physics, tongue-in-cheek animations and a lot of highly illogical engineering work, it leans into its roots as a fantastically absurd multiplayer game. Granted, it has its few loose screws, but that’s the thing with most physics-based sandbox games — you can never truly tell what is broken and what isn’t. If it breaks, it breaks. It’s learning to roll with the punches, that’s the key.

Thankfully, Dumb Ways to Build does come with a safety net. Say, if you “accidentally” stumble and fall due to an incorrect placement of a bridge, then you can, in theory, continue on your journey, either by floating back to your previous position via balloon, or by having one of your colleagues revive you at one of the conveniently placed portable toilets. And, for the record, dying is all part of the job, as is poking fun at your co-workers for their ignorance and incremental incompetence.

Paired with its signature cartoon-like aesthetic and colorfully jolly animations, Dumb Ways to Build captures the essence of its original style incredibly well, with a sandbox of irregular set pieces, character cosmetics, and heaps of creative opportunities for you to build and explore numerous different techniques. It might not reinvent the wheel with its wood pallets and nail guns, but it does manage to add its own two cents to the field of friendslop-inspired cult favorites.

If you have a ragtag band of friends to aid you (or betray you at the final hurdle, naturally), then you can quite easily squeeze a few hours out of Dumb Ways to Build. While there aren’t many stages to work through or post-game surprises to keep you on your toes, there are plenty of laughs to be had here. Frankly, that’s all you need from a game like this: an opportunity to chuckle at your friend’s expense. If you beat the tower, great. If it all comes tumbling down around you, then hey — at least you’ll have a few hilarious memories to look back on.

Verdict

Dumb Ways to Build fits snugly into the friendslop field as a physics-based construction co-op game that, true to the point of a disaster simulator, can make you laugh, cry, and flip your building blocks all the same time. With some charming visuals, comical infusions, and a decently sized sandbox of set pieces and custom cosmetics, the Dumb Ways to Die team deliver a fun and totally absurd experience that can, and more than likely will keep you entertained for hours.