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.
