If you were hanging out in a GameStop circa 2012, you probably saw it. Sitting there between Halo 4 and Black Ops II was a budget-looking title with Stewie and Brian on the cover, brandishing sci-fi weaponry. Most critics absolutely shredded it. They called it repetitive. They called it dated. But here’s the thing about the Family Guy Road to the Multiverse game—technically titled Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse—it occupies a very strange, very specific corner of gaming history that modern licensed titles just don't touch anymore.
It wasn't trying to be The Last of Us. Honestly, it wasn't even trying to be The Simpsons Game. It was a raw, unfiltered extension of the show’s most famous episode, and for better or worse, it’s the most "Family Guy" thing to ever hit a console.
Why Everyone Remembers the Multiverse
The game acts as a direct sequel to the Season 8 premiere, "Road to the Multiverse." Seth MacFarlane’s powerhouse show has always thrived on non-sequiturs, but that specific episode gave writers a "get out of jail free" card to do literally anything. The game doubles down on this. You play as Brian and Stewie, traveling through various warped realities to stop Stewie’s evil half-brother, Bertram.
Bertram was actually dead in the show’s main timeline at that point, but because of the multiverse trope, the developers at Heavy Iron Studios could just pluck him from another dimension. It’s convenient. It’s lazy. It’s perfect for a show that prides itself on breaking its own rules.
You’ve got levels that take you through a universe run by Greek frat boys, another where everyone is handicapped, and an Amish world where technology is a sin. It’s offensive. It’s loud. If you’re a fan of the show, it feels like an interactive lost season. If you aren't? Well, you probably hated every second of it.
The Gameplay Loop (And Why It’s So Polarizing)
Let's be real for a second. The mechanics are basic. It is a third-person shooter that feels like it belonged on the PlayStation 2, despite coming out during the tail end of the Xbox 360 era. You run. You shoot. You collect "Family Guy" themed currency to buy upgrades.
Stewie uses high-tech gadgets like ray guns and flame throwers. Brian uses more conventional weapons—well, conventional for a dog—like shotguns and pistols. The combat doesn't have the weight of a Gears of War, but it has a frantic, arcade-like energy.
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One thing people often forget is the drop-in, drop-out local co-op. This was a dying breed even in 2012. Being able to sit on a couch with a friend and blast through a level based on the "Evil" universe where Disney-style characters are singing about genocide is a fever dream experience. You don't get that in Fortnite.
The Voice Acting is the Secret Sauce
Licensed games usually fail because the original talent stays far away from the recording booth. Not here. Every major voice actor from the show returned. Seth MacFarlane, Alex Borstein, Seth Green, and Mila Kunis all recorded lines specifically for this project.
That matters.
A lot.
When Peter Griffin yells something nonsensical from across the map, it sounds right because it is him. The writing was handled by show writers Anthony Blasucci and Mike Desilets. Because of this, the humor isn't just a "best of" compilation of old jokes. It’s fresh material that fits the specific 2012-era vibe of the show.
It’s crude. Sometimes it’s genuinely cringey. But it’s authentic. The Family Guy Road to the Multiverse game didn't sanitize itself for a T-rating; it went full M-rated, allowing the characters to curse and the violence to get surprisingly bloody. This was a bold choice by Activision at the time, considering most licensed games try to cast the widest net possible.
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What Most People Get Wrong About the Multiverse Levels
There’s a common misconception that the game just copies the episode. It doesn't. While the "Road to the Multiverse" episode featured a bunch of cool art styles (like the Disney universe or the Flintstones universe), the game had to create entirely new assets.
- The Santa’s Workshop Level: This is arguably the highlight. It takes the "Road to the North Pole" special and turns it into a gritty, industrial warzone.
- The Pawtucket Brewery: It’s not just a backdrop; it’s a platforming gauntlet.
- The Chicken Fights: You can't have a Family Guy game without Giant Chicken cameos. The boss fights are massive, chaotic, and completely ruin the pacing of the game—which is exactly what they do in the show.
Heavy Iron Studios didn't have a massive budget. You can see the seams. Texture pop-in is real. The AI is often dumber than a bag of hammers. Yet, there’s a charm in its clunkiness. It feels like a relic of a time when AA games could be weird and niche without needing to sell 10 million copies to be considered a success.
The Multiplayer Nobody Asked For (But Some Loved)
Believe it or not, there was a competitive multiplayer mode. It had modes like "Capture the Greased-up Deaf Guy." It was chaos. You could play as Quagmire, Meg, or Death.
It wasn't balanced. It wasn't "e-sports ready." It was just a mess of references and explosions. Honestly, it's a shame that modern gaming has moved away from these weird, experimental multiplayer modes in favor of battle passes and skins. There was something special about playing as a 2D character in a 3D arena just because the developers thought it would be funny.
Why is it so hard to play today?
If you want to play the Family Guy Road to the Multiverse game right now, you’re going to have a hard time. In 2014, just two years after its release, Activision’s license with 20th Century Fox expired. The game was delisted from Steam, the Xbox Live Marketplace, and the PlayStation Store.
It vanished.
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Unless you have a physical disc or you’re willing to sail the high seas of the internet, it’s gone. This "digital rot" is a huge problem for licensed games. It’s why titles like Deadpool and Marvel Ultimate Alliance are so expensive on the secondary market. For a game that was mostly panned by critics, its scarcity has turned it into a weird collector’s item.
The Legacy of the Multiverse
Is it a "good" game? By objective technical standards? No. It’s janky.
Is it a "great" Family Guy experience? Absolutely.
It captured a specific moment in pop culture. It was the peak of the show’s "edgy" era before it settled into the more self-referential, cynical tone it has today. It was a game made for people who watched Adult Swim at 11 PM on a school night.
We don't see games like this anymore. Nowadays, Family Guy content is relegated to Fortnite crossovers or mobile gacha games like The Quest for Stuff. Those are fine, but they lack the ambition—however flawed—of a full-scale console adventure.
How to Experience it Now
If you are looking to revisit this piece of 2010s history, here is the reality of the situation:
- Check Local Retro Stores: Don't pay the inflated prices on eBay. Often, local shops still have copies of the Xbox 360 or PS3 versions sitting in the bargain bin because they don't realize the digital version is delisted.
- Compatibility: Be warned—the game is not backwards compatible on Xbox Series X or PS5. You need the original hardware.
- PC Version: If you manage to find a physical PC copy, be prepared for some heavy tinkering. Modern Windows versions don't play nice with the old DRM (Digital Rights Management) used in 2012.
The Family Guy Road to the Multiverse game is a reminder that sometimes, being faithful to the source material is more important than having perfect "metacritic" scores. It’s loud, it’s offensive, and it’s completely unapologetic about what it is. In an era of polished, safe, corporate-approved gaming, maybe we need a little more of that multiverse chaos.
If you're hunting for a copy, focus on the Xbox 360 version. It tends to run slightly more stable than the PS3 port, which suffered from occasional frame rate dips during the more crowded North Pole segments. Also, make sure to check if the "Humiliating Party Pack" DLC is included if you find a "Game of the Year" edition—it adds some of the weirder character skins that make the multiplayer even more surreal.