When comparing BattleBlock Theater vs Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup, the Slant community recommends BattleBlock Theater for most people. In the question“What are the best 4-player local multiplayer games on Steam?” BattleBlock Theater is ranked 16th while Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup is ranked 30th. The most important reason people chose BattleBlock Theater is:
There is a modified co-op campaign that requires players to coordinate their actions to succeed. This makes it a fun couch co-op game due to the importance of communication (as well as how fun it is to grief your teammate in person).
Specs
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Pros
Pro Co-op adds a completely new element of coordination to the gameplay
There is a modified co-op campaign that requires players to coordinate their actions to succeed. This makes it a fun couch co-op game due to the importance of communication (as well as how fun it is to grief your teammate in person).
Pro Thought-out presentation that balances style and humor well
The witty humor, enjoyable songs and cutscenes all demonstrate the high level of care and consideration that went into BattleBlock’s design. These things all add up to a game with polish that still stays unique enough to stand out.
Pro Good mix of co-op and PvP multiplayer modes keeps the game enticing
The 2-player co-op campaign is very similar to the single-player one, except that it requires cooperation between the two players. It can be played online or with 2 local players. There is also an arena mode with competitive levels that supports up to 4 players (local, online, or mixed). This gives a good variety of online and local play modes, which should keep the game fresh.
Pro No difficulty spikes, the game is very well balanced
The difficulty curve for Battle Block Theater is so evenly programmed that the player will barely notice things are getting harder. It really does an impressive job of training the player to handle any challenge the game throws at them.
Pro Endless replayability through the level editor and its easily sharable creations
The game has a built-in level editor, and levels (or level packs) can be shared through the Steam Workshop. This makes for a situation where there is an inordinate amount of content for the player to try out, or even create themselves.
Pro Sort of funny but not too much
Light hearted gaming that you can play with your significant other.
Pro Simple character creation with different classes
There are a few different classes available at character creation, each one has it's own abilities that are different from the others. Creating one is quite simple, which makes for a fast way to get into the game and start playing.
Pro Gold Standard for roguelikes
The controls and replayability have been refined over the years. Whether the player chooses to play with Tiles (graphics) or console (ASCII) the game works well even when choosing online or offline play. Either way there is just enough interface to play the game.
Cons
Con Competitive play feels lackluster
Competitive play is not as enjoyable as the co-op modes due to stiff combat. The mechanics of this wear out pretty quickly.
Con Have to fiddle with controls
Being that the game uses an emulated keyboard on screen it works best on tablet, though is not really the preferred method (but is the only one) since it takes up screen space.