You remember the era. Licensed games were basically everywhere, and most of them were, honestly, pretty terrible. But then there was the Xbox 360 Family Guy game, specifically Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse. Released in 2012, it didn't try to be a masterpiece. It didn't try to redefine the third-person shooter genre. It just wanted to be an interactive episode of the show, warts and all.
It's weirdly nostalgic now.
Looking back, the Xbox 360 was the perfect home for this kind of chaos. It was the height of the "Multiverse" hype—way before Marvel made it a household requirement—and Seth MacFarlane’s crew decided to capitalize on the fan-favorite Season 9 premiere. The result? A game that feels like a fever dream of inside jokes, offensive humor, and surprisingly decent cooperative play. If you still have your 360 hooked up, or you're browsing eBay for old discs, you've probably wondered if this thing actually holds up or if it’s just a relic of a different time in gaming history.
What Actually Happens in Back to the Multiverse?
The plot is straightforward. Stewie’s evil half-brother, Bertram, returns from the dead—or another reality, it’s all very "Family Guy"—and builds a machine to travel through the multiverse to destroy Stewie. You play as Stewie and Brian, jumping through various themed dimensions to stop him. It’s basically a greatest-hits album of the show’s most controversial and memorable gags.
You’ll visit a universe where the Amish have taken over the world with high-tech wooden weaponry. You’ll fight giant chickens. You’ll even end up in a world where everyone is "fabulous." Heavy Iron Studios, the developers behind the project, clearly knew the source material. They also developed the SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom game, so they had a pedigree for licensed titles that actually cared about the IP.
The gameplay is a standard third-person shooter. You shoot stuff. You collect "stuff." You move to the next area. But the hook was the character-specific abilities. Stewie uses high-tech gadgets like ray guns and satchel charges, while Brian uses more traditional (and some less traditional) firearms and a scent-tracking ability. It wasn't groundbreaking. Honestly, the controls could be a bit floaty. But for fans of the show, hearing the actual voice cast—Seth MacFarlane, Alex Borstein, Seth Green, and Mila Kunis—made it feel authentic. That’s something many licensed games of that era skipped to save money. This one didn’t.
💡 You might also like: Stalker Survival: How to Handle the Vampire Survivors Green Reaper Without Losing Your Mind
Why the Critics Hated It (and Fans Didn't)
If you look up the Metacritic score for the Xbox 360 Family Guy game, it's not pretty. Most outlets gave it somewhere between a 3 and a 5 out of 10. IGN called it "shallow," and GameSpot wasn't much kinder. They weren't wrong about the mechanics. The combat is repetitive. The AI is about as smart as Peter Griffin after a round of Pawtucket Patriots.
However, critics often miss the point of "fan service" games.
The audience for this game wasn't the hardcore Gears of War player looking for a tactical challenge. It was the person who watches Adult Swim at 11 PM and wants to participate in the jokes. The game is packed with collectibles that reference obscure moments from the early seasons. It’s a game built for people who find the "Giant Chicken" fights hilarious every single time they happen.
There’s also the local co-op. This was one of the last big licensed games on the 360 to really lean into split-screen play. You and a friend could sit on a couch, pick Brian and Stewie, and just blast through levels while laughing at the dialogue. In an era where everything was moving toward online-only multiplayer, this felt like a throwback.
The Technical Reality on Xbox 360
Running this on original hardware today is an experience. The Xbox 360 handles the cel-shaded art style remarkably well. Cel-shading is basically a cheat code for aging; because it looks like a cartoon, it doesn't suffer from the "uncanny valley" or the muddy textures that haunt games like Halo 3 or Mass Effect today.
📖 Related: Blue Protocol Star Resonance Shield Knight Skill Tree: What Most People Get Wrong
- Resolution: It runs at a native 720p, which looks surprisingly crisp on a modern 4K TV if your TV has a decent upscaler.
- Performance: Frame rates are generally stable at 30fps, though things get choppy during the more explosive segments in the "Handicapped" universe level.
- Audio: This is the highlight. The sound design uses the actual orchestral score style from the show. It sounds like a high-budget episode.
One major letdown for modern collectors is that Back to the Multiverse is not backwards compatible on Xbox One or Xbox Series X|S. This is a huge bummer. Licensing issues with Fox (and now Disney) usually prevent these types of games from being ported or made compatible with newer hardware. If you want to play it, you need the original disc and the original console.
The Multiplayer Chaos Nobody Expected
Believe it or not, the Xbox 360 Family Guy game had a full competitive multiplayer suite. It wasn't just the co-op campaign. You had Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, and a mode called "Capture the Greased-Up Deaf Guy."
Yes, really.
It was chaotic. You could play as characters like Peter, Quagmire, Meg, or even Death. Each character had unique stats. For example, Quagmire was faster but had less health, while Peter could tank more damage. It wasn't balanced. At all. Someone playing as Stewie with the rocket launcher could dominate the map. But again, the goal wasn't balance; it was absurdity. Finding a match online today is almost impossible, but as a local party game? It still works. It’s the kind of game you put on after a few drinks when everyone just wants to see Meg get hit with a baseball bat.
Is It Worth Buying Today?
If you’re a collector of Xbox 360 games, Back to the Multiverse has actually held its value better than most sports titles or generic shooters from 2012. You'll likely find it for anywhere between $25 and $50 depending on the condition. That’s a lot for a "mediocre" game, but the scarcity caused by the lack of digital availability drives the price up.
👉 See also: Daily Jumble in Color: Why This Retro Puzzle Still Hits Different
Disney owns Fox now. The chances of a remaster or a digital re-release are basically zero. The humor in the game—which was already "edgy" in 2012—would probably face a lot of internal pushback in today’s corporate climate. It’s a time capsule of the early 2010s "nothing is off-limits" comedy style.
Should you buy it? Honestly, only if you're a die-hard fan. If you don't like the show's humor, the gameplay isn't going to save it for you. It’s a mediocre shooter wrapped in a fantastic skin. But if you miss the days when games didn't take themselves seriously and just wanted to let you shoot lasers at 18th-century British people, it’s a blast.
Actionable Insights for Players and Collectors
If you've decided to track down a copy or dig yours out of the attic, here's the best way to handle it:
- Check the Disc Condition: The Xbox 360's DVD drive was notorious for "ring scratching" discs if the console was moved while playing. Ensure the data side is clean, as these discs are getting harder to resurface.
- Play Co-op: Do not play this game solo if you can avoid it. The AI Brian/Stewie is competent but boring. The game shines when played with a second person who can help you find all the hidden "Family Guy" cameos.
- Install to Hard Drive: If you’re playing on an original 360, go to the dashboard and "Install" the game to your HDD. This reduces load times significantly and saves your disc drive from unnecessary wear and tear.
- Don't Expect a Challenge: Set the difficulty to "Hard" right away. Even on the highest setting, the game is relatively easy, and you'll breeze through the 6-hour campaign too quickly otherwise.
- Look for the DLC: There was a "Peter Griffin’s Man Shed" DLC that added more challenge maps and costumes. Since the Xbox 360 marketplace has closed, if you didn't buy it years ago, you're likely out of luck unless you find a console that already has it installed.
The Xbox 360 Family Guy game represents an era of gaming that is slowly disappearing. It’s messy, loud, occasionally offensive, and technically unpolished. But it also has a soul—a very specific, Quahog-shaped soul. It serves as a reminder that games don't always have to be "art" or "platforms." Sometimes, they just need to be a way to live inside your favorite cartoon for a few hours.
If you're looking for your next 360 fix, search for a physical copy at local retro gaming shops rather than big-box retailers. Keep an eye on the manual too; the original packaging included some decent artwork that fans of the show's production style will appreciate. Once you've got it, grab a friend, ignore the meta-critic scores, and just enjoy the absurdity of a multiverse before the rest of the world got tired of them.