Have you ever wished you could insert yourself into a nonsensical argument right out of a Monty Python sketch? Well now thanks to Vile Monarch’s game Oh...Sir!! The Insult Simulator you can! The insult battler is simple to play and as amusing as it is silly, probably because the silliness is rather amusing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HV_aTjXR3Q

Inspired by Monty Python sketches Oh...Sir!! The Insult Simulator got its start as an amJam game jam project created in 42 hrs. Now, with the help of Gambitious Digital Entertainment, the game has received improvements such as new content and characters, single-player challenges, cross-platform online multiplayer, better voice acting and more insults. The Insult Simulator lets players put their skills of verbal abuse to the test as they construct the most offensive sentences possible in an effort to demoralize their opponents, real or imaginary.

So the goal is to win an insult battle like on MTV’s Yo Mamma, except you’re antiquated Englishmen and the subject of your jabs are things like cheese shops and dead parrots with the occasional "your mother". How is that turned into a game you may ask? The solution is simple but unique: turn-based gameplay revolving around basic grammar.

Players, or interlocutors as the game calls them,take turns selecting words or phrases from a communal word bank to make up their stinging verbal jabs. Each selection makes up the next part of your sentence, so make sure to start with a subject and use conjunctions before introducing a new idea. Each character has personal weaknesses and attacking their pride will get you extra points, as will making repeated reference to a subject during an argument or statements pertinent to the scenario you find yourself in. This makes stealing words away from your opponent before they can use them as equally important as simply coming up with the most insulting sentence available.

Burn!

This and other elements of the game’s scoring system add enough complexity to make the simple game challenging and engaging. Its reliance on conjunctions makes for run-on sentences that will have English teacher’s everywhere derisively shaking their heads. Yet, it may hammer home the importance of the grammatical tool even better than an episode of Schoolhouse Rock. Learn proper grammar or you will be losing points and a turn!

Every mode of gameplay is enjoyable and well designed. Jump into an instant argument against the CPU or battle real live people. A nice feature of the game is that you can play against a friend online or head to head with the same device.

You can also play against random players and the fact that the online multiplayer is cross-platform ensures that there’s usually someone around to challenge to a game of slanderous wits. At first it’s disappointing that, while it’s possible to recreate the insult “Your mother was a hamster and your father smells of elderberries”, it’s far more likely that you’ll comprise the sentence “Your mother was born in a hamster and your father works with elderberries”. But, if you embrace the abstract silliness of it all, you can find the humor in getting a top score with a completely illogical sentence.

Don't you dare insult my favorite Bond actor!

There are seemingly endless possibilities as to the combination of insults one can construct from the available phrases. However, after a bit of arguing the comments begin to feel stale as they are repeatedly used over and over again. The pleasant voice acting definitely adds to the experience and a few rounds of irreverent diversion here and there seems well worth the investment.

Tournament mode is the closest thing to a campaign in Oh... Sir!!. Proceed through 5 scenarios going up against progressively more difficult opponents, ultimately confronting God himself. If you defeat him he’ll tell you the meaning of life and you’ll unlock more content for the game. The later tournament levels pose more of a challenge than the instant argument AI. Although playing against others is the best test of skill, it would be nice if the CPU would make better use of the word bank during instant arguments or if players could choose different levels of difficulty when playing alone.

Aside from being incredibly fun to play, by yourself or with a friend, the game captures that silly Monty Python vibe exceptionally well. From the musical choices to the aesthetics and dialogue, players will be reminded of their favorite Flying Circus sketches as they play Oh . . . Sir!! The Insult Simulator. Hours of slanderous and humorous enjoyment await players in this simple to play unique argument battler.

* nudge nudge, wink wink*

Oh...Sir!! The Insult Simulator was reviewed on iOS with a code provided by the publisher. It is also available on Android and PC via Steam.