PBJ – The Musical: A Whimsical Game of Love and Sandwiches

Who hasn’t sat up at night, pondering what it would be like to play a musical mobile game about peanut butter and jelly, performed in faux Shakespearean verse and animated in the style of Terry Gilliam’s Monty Python shorts? Well, wonder no more: The absurdist PBJ – The Musical (first previewed at Day of the Devs ’24) is coming to the App Store on March 26.

A Collaboration of Whimsy

Kamibox’s PBJ – The Musical is a collaboration between studio founder Philipp Stollenmayer and English musician and comedian Lorraine Bowen, famous for the delightfully whimsical “The Crumble Song.” When Stollenmayer saw Lorraine performing on Britain’s Got Talent in 2015, getting the Golden Buzzer from David Walliams, he knew he wanted to make something with her. The quirkiness of her songs totally resonated with the vibe of his games, which include Sometimes You Die and the thematically similar Bacon – The Game.

A Shakespearean Twist

The game borrows elements of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, blending it with musical theatre (performed mostly by children!) and animated paper landscapes from actual cutouts. Peanut Boy, hailing from a black and white post-war America, steps in for Romeo, while Strawberry Girl, from a colorful and sweet world that raves of royalty, tackles the game’s equivalent of Juliet. You control characters through simple taps and drags as you push and pull cutout figures through the diorama.

A Happy Ending

Unlike the Bard’s version, this is no tragic play culminating in dual suicides. (Or, at least, not the kind to be sad about.) Kamibox says the game’s happy ending involves — surprise! — the creation of the beloved peanut butter and jelly sandwich, which a modern-day Shakespeare may have called “The brightest heaven of invention” as he packed little Susanna’s lunchbox.

Get Ready for the Trailer

You can catch a snippet of the zany PBJ – The Musical in the trailer below. It arrives for iPhone and iPad on March 26 for $4. You can preorder it now in the App Store.

Watch the Trailer

If you buy something through a link in this article, we may earn commission.