There’s nothing quite as magical as the relationship between a young boy and his blob. Something which never really occurred to me until I spent some magical hours in the company of A Boy and His Blob. A re-imagining of the NES classic, A Boy and His Blob is immense fun that oozes charm. It’s unfortunate that the latter levels don’t quite live up to the first three quarters of the game but it’s still a great puzzle platformer for the Wii.
You play ‘boy’, a nameless child who comes across a friendly white blob. Together they must stop the evil emperor of Blobolonia, so far so very cutesy. And it actually is. Everything about A Boy and His Blob can’t help but make players smile as they work their way through the 4 different worlds comprising of 40 different levels in all as well as another 40 challenge levels. You see, to traverse the many puzzles in your wake you have to feed Blob jelly beans. Each coloured jelly bean produces a different effect. Whether it be Blob turning into a ladder, or a parachute or even a hole, it’s all really rather charming to see. In the early stages of the game, everything is quite simply done. The puzzles are quite obvious with various wooden signs helping to lead the way, and players quickly learn what is required through simple observation. Frequently a level begins with a simple, non essential puzzle just to get the player’s grey matter ticking so they know what jelly bean to use in what situation. Inevitably this means there are many pseudo tutorials throughout, but they never feel like tutorials nor do they feel too patronising. It makes A Boy and His Blob an ideal game to play when you fancy something that isn’t too taxing and that is bound to relax you. At least for the first three quarters of the game.
There are certainly plenty of pitfalls awaiting Boy and Blob but with infinite lives, it’s never frustratingly difficult. Besides having to avoid falling too far or landing in spike traps, there are also various black blob enemies. Some of them are just as blobby as Blob but others look like evil blob bulls which charge at you, making the hole jelly bean perfect to use so that they fall down. At the end of each of the four worlds there are boss battles such as being pitted against a giant serpent and at the end, the blob emperor. These require a bit more thought in how to approach them making fights as much to do with lateral thinking as they have to do with quick reflexes.
There is no sign of motion based controls here unlike many other Wii titles, but this is more of a blessing than anything else. While a nunchuk is required, the combination of the remote and the nunchuk works well and motion controls would have only served to have made things awkward. The Wii isn’t particularly challenged graphically by A Boy and His Blob with graphics being more of a hand drawn style. This looks beautiful at times though and is a wonderful manner in which to capture the spirit of the game. Each level of the game offers three optional treasure chests that can be collected. As the player collects them, pieces of concept art and videos are unlocked which is a great addition to encourage people to keep playing. It also makes for a great feature for the many fans of the original NES game.
A Boy and His Blob is positively enchanting and very nearly one of the best puzzle platformers in recent years. That is until players reach the last quarter of the game where things get a little messy. The game’s difficulty level suddenly feels hugely ramped up with fast reflexes seeming to be more crucial than careful thinking. Worst of all though is that A Boy and His Blob loses its sense of fun. Instead it feels a bit of a slog to keep going and the charm that it took so long to cultivate fades. It’s a shame as upon completion it left a bittersweet taste in my mouth. It was so close to being a wonderful game, but the end just lets it down a tad. A number of new jelly bean types that feel a little inappropriate are seemingly flung in during the latter stages as if the developers were a little too keen to throw in new ideas a late stage in the game. The level design was spot on previously so it really jars awkwardly.
However despite the flaws of the later stages of A Boy and His Blob, it’s still a title that deserves strong recommendation. Available at a budget price in quite a few different retailers, it’s really a game that should be sought out and treasured. Just don’t let the last few levels sour your experience too much. It really is rather fun.
VideogameUK verdict: 7/10
