Welcome to our review of the port of one of the Wii’s best games, now appearing on Nintendo Switch! De Blob is back!
De Blob is a 3D platformer where players maneuver their hero, de Blob.
Equal parts amorphous blob of paint, struggling artist, revolutionary and juvenile delinquent, de Blob’s goal is to replace the drab, lifeless gray coloring that the I.N.K.T. Corporation has imposed on Chroma City and its inhabitants, the Raydians, with a range of vibrant life-giving colors, all the while avoiding and battling the gray-clad forces of the Inkies.
First off, De blob is basically dutch for “the blob”, half of the names in the game, like INKT, are basically dutch references throughout the game, as a Belgian, my native language happens to be Dutch and I think it is hilarious to keep seeing typos that are written in my own language. Just wanted to mention this as it does provide an extra dimension for me.
Originally released on the aforementioned Wii, it also sathe w light of day on iOS back in 2008 and since, it was also released on current generation consoles, the Nintendo Switch being the last in line to get the ported game. New gamers will see some similarities to current games like Splatoon, but let me tell you, that is just cosmetics as De Blob is more than just about colours.
So how does De Blob work?
In short, you need to perform certain tasks in order to advance. These tasks usually involve colouring buildings, items, rocks, boats, … in the according color. As De blob, you move around whimsically, pick up one of the three basic colors and you just paint the place as much as you want or as much as your task wants you to.
Much like in Splatoon, you have ink reservoirs, but De Blob uses them in a slightly different way. Every item you paint costs 1 ink point. You collect ink by touching the ink paintbots. Often are you asked to mix colors just to paint an alley in coffee color or paint something in brown.
The entire first level feels more like a big tutorial and I loved every aspect of it. It was not hard, but it taught me everything I needed to know. Avoid black ink, don’t touch the water because you lose your ink color, … Even well into the next level, you are still taught so many controls and it just feels great to play this game.
Did it age well?
As it is from a previous generation, I always ask myself this question and I do not think it aged very well but it is not bad either. Originally this game was made with motion control in mind and now on Switch, during my gameplay in handheld mode I sometimes felt the game did feel old, the often whimsical ways that De Blob moves, it felt a little annoying.
Graphic wise, I did enjoy the game. It brings some childish fun to a great console and it does give us a whole different game. It might not be for everyone, but if you want a game that is easy to learn but does provide its own mechanics, this might be one for you. We did upload a little handheld video on YouTube for all to see what the game is like.
In conclusion, while De Blob might not be for everyone, its whimsical approach to gaming can be both fun and annoying. I did overall enjoy the game and thus give it a 70% rating.
