de Blob is a strange game to see as a rerelease on consoles in 2017. Originally released on iOS almost 10 years ago, de Blob came out on Nintendo Wii later the same year and has now found its way to Xbox One and PlayStation 4. This version brings improved visuals, but not a whole lot else, though upon its original release, de Blob was well received both critically and commercially. 10 years later, though, the videogame landscape looks a whole lot different to how it did in 2008, and does de Blob do enough to stand out in the modern day?
De Blob focuses on color, and the repainting of Chroma City, where the populace finds themselves under the rule of INKT, and organization devoted to the removal of color from the world. Playing as the eponymous Blob, players are tasked with returning color to the world, by defeating enemies, completing missions and removing INKT from the streets. Through a mixture of combat, platforming, color-management and races, Chroma City will once again regain its joie de vivre and will look a whole lot brighter in the process.
Controlling the blob as it makes its way around Chroma City is fairly straight forward, with movement, a lock-on ability, and a slam button. Slamming is your way to both defeat enemies and gain paint points, which are the currency used to restore color to the city and wrestle away control from INKT. The primary colors of Red, Blue and Yellow are freely available to you, and by mixing them you are able to create further colors, all of which will eventually be used in your quest. Paint is widely available and easy to gather and mix, though it can be a little frustrating, as even the slightest touch of a different color will change the hue of the blob.
You’ll work your way through various regions of the city, from dams and prisons to holiday resorts and downtown areas, and each region is typically gated into three different sections. The gates are opened once you reach a certain score milestone, and your score is increased each time you restore color to an object, free members of the population, or complete challenges, of which there are a decent amount, both in terms of number and variety. Some will have you battle members of the INKT police force, some have you taking over INKT buildings, and others ask you to restore particular colors to a certain neighborhood. Challenges vary in difficulty, from one to three stars, and all have a time limit, though this is fairly forgiving, and even if you run out of time, you’re able to start again from the point that you left off, with all the time restored, which begs the question of there being a time limit at all.
de Blob is generally an easy experience, and though you may have some navigational issues at times, or points where too many enemies on screen cause you to lose too many paint points and expire, I found for the most part that my progression through the game was generally unimpeded. The main challenge in de Blob comes from attaining rewards, which can include painting every object in a region, completing a level in a certain time, or defeating a number of enemies. These rewards unlock bonus modes within the game, from extra multiplayer modes, to replaying particular challenges for extra points, and even the ability to return to a region in Free Paint mode, which lets you explore a part of Chroma City without worrying about enemies or challenges. There’s a lot of content in de Blob, and those that enjoy the game will find a lot to keep them occupied and challenged.
The major downside that I found to de Blob was its repetitiveness, to the point where I found it difficult to play for prolonged periods of time, as it never really asked you to do anything different. The main marker of progression, aside from moving through a different region, is the introduction of new enemy types, but so long as you play sensibly and collect enough paint, none of these foes will pose much of a challenge. With each level taking at least 15-20 minutes to complete, and with most of your time spent performing the same handful of tasks, I found that I often lacked the motivation to play one level directly after the next.
That’s not to say that I didn’t have with de Blob, though. At times I felt the same level of platforming joy that I experienced with Banjo-Kazooie or Super Mario 64, feelings that I’ve had all too rarely since, and I spent much of my time actually playing de Blob with a smile on my face. I just found that the lack of a compelling story, and the fact that each region doesn’t feel all that different from the rest, with the activities performed in each one feeling similar, meant that I often gained what I was looking for from de Blob after a single session, and was then ready to move on to something else. It’s a great game to play in short bursts but lacks the staying power that some other games possess.
For a game that originally came out close to 10 years ago, de Blob holds up surprisingly well in 2017. It’s perhaps proof of the old adage that good gameplay is always good gameplay and just because de Blob may lack some of the fancy graphical tricks of modern games, it doesn’t reduce its playability. If you’re looking for a platformer with a unique twist, de Blob is a great option, with a ton of content and some excellently designed mechanics. It might not have enough to keep you glued to your couch for hours at a time, but in short bursts, de Blob is right up there in terms of fun.
