Bully
2006
- adventure
- action
- comedy
- sandbox
- open world
- single player
- multiplayer
The story
As a mischievous schoolboy, you’ll stand up to bullies, get picked on by teachers, play pranks, win or lose the girl, and ultimately learn to navigate the obstacles of the worst school around, Bullworth Academy - a corrupt and crumbling prep school with an uptight facade.
What it’s like
Bright, saturated early-2000s open-world color: sunlit quads, brick dormitories, dusty playing fields and a fictional New England town rendered in cartoonish but readable detail, with a bustling camera that follows you from a slightly elevated third-person angle. Sound is a mix of upbeat, jaunty garage-rock and Christmas-themed bells, punctuated by school bells, crowd chatter and the crunch of scuffles. The vibe is mischievous and scrappy, a prank-filled lark with a grubby edge, best suited to a lazy weekend afternoon, a nostalgic replay on a console, or a stretch of easy evening play. Pacing is loose and sandboxy: you wander between classes, minigames such as go-karts, dodgeball, photography and soccer, and side missions, with the story moving in episodic bursts. Its emotional register is comic and warm, with a teenage underdog arc in which a rebellious kid slowly earns respect from a cast of stock school types. Intensity is moderate and cartoonish: fistfights, bloodied noses, gang brawls and some sharp-tongued teasing, with bloody moments that stay mild and never grim, and sexual themes are kept to innocent teen flirtation. It suits players who want a rowdy, goofy sandbox with light violence and plenty of distractions, especially fans of 2000s open-world games.
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