Several years ago, Xbox 360 gamers had De Blob 2. A game that many may never have heard of, or even considered giving a chance. Primarily a title that could well be considered a “kids game”, De Blob 2 offered a fair challenge, working within time limits for each level, plenty of enemies and traps to thwart progress. The INKT Corporation intent on removing colour from the world, and in its place, a lovely shade of black, with some grey thrown in for good measure. It was up to you and your friends to free the Raydians, and bring colour back to the world. Now, Blob returns to battle the INKT Corporation once more in De Blob. Can it recapture the satisfying gameplay? Read on.
As with the previous generation’s title, De Blob returns to continue the fight against the colourless oppression from the miserable INKT. Not much has changed, the goals are the same, the colour palette is the same, and the world is the same dreary, drab colourless existence. Time for Blob to come to the rescue.
There’s 10 large levels to explore and paint throughout the story, with plenty of items to paint. And I mean plenty. Splashing colour everywhere is immensely satisfying and therapeutic. Along with a choice of music to accompany you as you mix up the colours to paint each level. All while disposing of the INKT as you go about bringing colour back to the Raydians. There’s plenty of challenges for each level, given to you by your associates, along with collectibles that award points. These points once rallied up at the end of each level determine what medal you’re awarded. So naturally, that means getting a Gold medal will take some work, and even more so if you intend to fully complete each one.
Visually, each level looks depressing upon arrival, and given that spreading colour is the aim of the game, I found that colouring in everything made each world look so much more enjoyable. Sure you could earn the bare minimum to progress through each section of the levels, but that’s not much fun now, is it? The primary colours are available, and mixing them can create further colours in; purple, brown and green. How do you get these colours though? Well, there is Ink Bot spiders littering the world, that once you slam attack them, paints Blob that colour. The more Ink points you collect, the bigger Blob becomes, and therefore allows you to paint longer before requiring a top up. Once finishing a level, being able to look back at your handy work will leave you feeling satisfied that a job is well done. But it’s the rewards screen where you get to see how much you actually got done. Paint all the trees? Complete every challenge? Beat the par time? It’s all there for you to see. The option to go back and retry is always available to you should you be a completion-ist.
Aside from the story, there’s a challenge mode, that’s sees you racing against the clock in smaller levels to earn more Gold medals. A tough ask, as there are some that have strict time limits, but nothing that is impossible. If you have friends and extra controllers, then you can play 8 levels with up to 4 people in split screen.
Despite being an enjoyable game, and a relaxing one at that. There is one issue that I need to bring up, and that’s the camera. Awkward to control, and always trying to locate itself in positions that leave it directly above Blobs head, or up against buildings, structures and the like if you’re up against them. It doesn’t feel free flowing and totally under your own control. This is incredibly annoying when you’re trying to time a jump or an attack. An issue that was present in De Blob 2 on Xbox 360. Aside from this, De Blob is almost flawless. There are fewer enemies present this time around, allowing casual gamers to get involved in the action. Collectibles are easier to find as well, being less hidden than the previous iteration.
The audio is once again of a high quality, with a satisfying variation of genres. It doesn’t just loop on repeat, instead giving you an option to choose the track that you want to listen to before the level starts. Although you will need to unlock new tracks which you do by progressing through the game. Chatter with your allies is just incomprehensible babble as games of old from Rare. Which isn’t a problem.
Overall, De Blob is a fantastic game, with therapeutic properties. Kids will enjoy it, adults can enjoy it too. The asking price is surprisingly low, and for that I can’t recommend it enough. With several game modes and plenty of colour to spread around the world to annoy the grumpy dictator of the INKT Corporation, De Blob is a wonderful title full of bright, vibrant colours for you to colour buildings and well, everything in sight. If it sounds up your street, then it most likely will be if you’re open to trying something new. Especially if you have children.
Overall Score 9/10
Developer: Blitworks
Publisher: THQNordic
Release Date: 14th November 2017
Price: £15.99
File Size: 9.07GB
Available on: Xbox One, PlayStation & Steam
Xbox One copy supplied for review