The latest from Insomniac Games, Slow Down, Bull, is their first release for PC, and is not necessarily what you’d expect. And that’s not entirely a bad thing. Insomniac have created a variety of console games, including the recent critically acclaimed hit, Sunset Overdrive, as well as Ratchet & Clank, Spyro the Dragon, Resistance, and Outernauts, among others. In Insomniac’s own words, “So what exactly is Slow Down, Bull? Players steer Esteban, an overachieving bull who just wants to make beautiful art, to success in this action-collecting game. But the more you steer Esteban, the higher his stress elevates. Collect as many decorations and complete each level before time expires, but be careful not to trigger an Esteban rampage, lest he destroy the decorations he’s trying to gather.”
Two other related notes about the game. First, the game is $5.99 on Steam, so while it’s fine to expect an enjoyable game, don’t expect a full-fledged behemoth. Second, 50% of the proceeds of the game (or, about 30% of the final sale price) will go to Starlight Children’s Foundation to benefit children. As such, Insomniac isn’t looking to make a ton of money on this, and, even if you find the game isn’t your cup of tea, it won’t be a waste either.
I’m not entirely sure Slow Down, Bull was made with me as the intended audience, so I’m going to give my wife and kids a bit more play time and give you their feedback as well. That, combined with the fact that I haven’t completely finished all the levels means this is a review-in-progress rather than a full review. The full review will be out shortly.
Game Basics
To play the game, you can use your mouse (left click turns him one way, right the other, and both simultaneously initiates a boost), or an Xbox controller (use the triggers instead of L/R clicking). Any action you take, boosts his rage meter. Bouncing off of walls (like the rails of a pool table) increases your speed and reduces stress. Running through water reduces speed, and also seems to reduce stress. As you progress through each level, you pick up decorations, stars, or (later in the game) other characters. The decorations match the realm you’re in. The first area has buttons, the second area, a beach realm, has shells, the third has bells.
Objectives
Each area of the game has multiple levels, and various objectives. The primary objective is simply to advance through the level within the allotted time. This is pretty easy during early levels, and grows more challenging as you advance through the game. You also, ideally, want to pick up all of the decorations, as well as clearing the level without “stressing out” (maxing your rage meter). Each of those objectives will give you little badges, and if you complete them on enough levels, you can earn achievements. The most important objective, aside from simply getting to the end in time, is earning enough decorations. Even if you “beat” all the levels in an area, you still can’t advance to the next area without earning enough badges (a max 
of three can be earned per level).
Decorations are found on the ground throughout the levels, but also pop out of trees and goody boxes along the walls. Not only do decorations pop out of these boxes, but you can also find stars, which give you a decoration multiplier, which makes life easier. Sometimes, throughout the level you can also find little alarm clocks which increase the amount of time you have to get to the end, which is always nice.
Progressively Challenging
As with many games like this, the game introduces more mechanics the further you progress. This includes new allies (characters you can pick up, which sometimes do more harm than good), new enemies, and new skills. I consider myself fairly good at video games, but the game becomes surprisingly difficult before very long. Of course, this game isn’t necessarily supposed to be beatable within a day, and you do get better as you go, so I’m not ready to say it’s too difficult…yet.
The Good
This is a pleasant little time-killer, which, as noted earlier, will help kids in need. Some of the levels are quite enjoyable, and the gameplay differs from the usual fare I’m accustomed to (Note: I play a pretty wide variety of games, so this is saying something). I normally turn the music off in most games fairly soon after getting into them, but I haven’t found the music in this game obtrusive. The artwork is well done (and reminds me a bit of DeathSpank). As I’ve said, I’m not sure this game was designed specifically for me, and so I’m going to leave some space here for after my wife and kids have had more time with the game.
The Bad
I said earlier that bouncing off the walls (a necessary mechanic you’ll use a lot) was similar to bouncing off the rails on a pool table. Well, the physics in the game are acceptable, but not entirely accurate. Sometimes you’ll bounce off at a very unexpected angle, especially if you hit anywhere near a corner. If you’re trying to avoid enemies (some of which are quite pesky), this can be an extremely frustrating way to lose all of your decorations.
Early in the game, the timer is very forgiving. You could probably take a bio-break during some of them, and still fully complete the level 
within the allotted time. Later levels? Not so much. Some of them are very difficult to complete in time even if you don’t try to collect any decorations at all…but you have to collect decorations if you want to keep unlocking new areas. Also, there are achievements for collecting all decorations on all levels…at present, I don’t believe those achievements are obtainable. But then again, this is a review in progress.
Final Thoughts
Is this game fun? I think it’s a pleasant enough time-killer. Different people might like different aspects of it, but, if you’re like me, and try to get everything…this game could also become very frustrating very quickly. My guess is that this game will be more fun (and more frustrating) for children. As such, I don’t anticipate much replayability in this game. But at the price, and with their charitable contributions, that isn’t a major problem. I wouldn’t regret buying the game, and I wouldn’t hesitate recommending it to friends. I’d just suggest people know what it is going in, enjoy it as such.
