Are you a fan of those wisecracking robots on MST3K, or maybe you think you can write a script better than those screenwriters from the golden age of cinema. What The Dub?! might be the game you’ve been waiting for, especially after a year-long drought on parties and general get-togethers of any kind. This multiplayer game presents you with over 300 retro clips from all sorts of B-movies and other random sources – basically anything in the public domain is fair game – and then play a short section of content with a bit of the dialogue removed. You then get to fill in the gap with your own dialogue and everyone votes on the responses as they are played back with some adequate text-to-speech software.
As with any party game the fun increases with the player count; especially if your friends are fast-thinkers and have some movie knowledge. Up to six can play while another six can watch and vote on your dubs, thus boosting the point potential. I started off with three players and then moved up to four. It seemed the game balances better the more you have playing, as there is greater potential for point distribution. In smaller games it’s easy for one player to run away with all the points early on, but there were also some tremendous last-round comebacks.
Anyone with a phone, tablet or any device that can access a website can play. You simply go to the URL provided and enter a Game Room code to access your particular instance of the game. It’s very intuitive and responsive when playing as a local party game. If you are having trouble getting people into the same room (understandable in the current climate) you can also play the game remotely either by broadcast/streaming the game or even playing over Zoom. I didn’t even try this, as it just seemed so desperate and sad, but it’s a valid option for those who still want to isolate.
The clips are hysterically bad in most cases, and while some are pretty easy setups for witty ADR other had me drawing a complete blank. Thankfully, there is a fun Foley menu that lets you insert amusing sound effects either to enhance your contribution or even serve as your response when you start to experience writers’ block. What The Dub?! supports 29+ languages making this fun pastime accessible to much of the world. The actual text-to-speech is surprisingly good with male and female voices that still come off a bit robotic and have trouble with some pronunciations, but everyone gets the idea. There are some great achievements to be unlocked and random fun stuff like having all the players listed in the credits with fun character names/titles.
There’s honestly not much more to say. The game is only $8 and if you have a consistent group of friends that like to play these kind of games then What The Dub?! is a great addition to your game-night line-up. If you are a Streamer and want to play this with your community or perhaps an educator that wants to jazz up their online grammar/writing class then this will certainly put some smiles on kids’ faces. What The Dub?! is the comfort food of social gaming and we could all use a bit of comforting right now.
