The Best Games You've Never Played: a Boy and His Blob

With so many titles being released each week, it can be hard for even the best of us to keep up with what’s available. Game Podunk thus continues The Best Games You’ve Never Played, in which we will highlight a relatively recent game that may have flown under your radar. Each installment will introduce one of these “hidden gems,” pointing out what’s great about it, why you may have missed it, and why it’s worth searching out. So enjoy, and hopefully you can find your next favorite title! This week’s game is the Wii platformer remake, A Boy And His Blob.

A Boy and His Blob

Title: A Boy And his Blob
Platform: Nintendo Wii
Release Date: October 13, 2007
Genre: Platformer
Publisher: Majesco
Developer: WayForward
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)

WHAT IS IT?

The original A Boy And His Blob is a relatively obscure NES title, and, as is typical for games of that era, is also brutally difficult. WayForward decided to revive the forgotten title with a modern Wii reboot, complete with refined gameplay and beautiful hand-drawn visuals.

In the game, you play as a young boy who encounters an alien being (the “blob”), and you two must journey together through various beautiful environments. As the boy, you can feed the blob various different jelly beans that will enable the blob to turn into various shapes/items, such as a balloon, parachuete, trampolene, and ladder. This leads to a bit of puzzle solving as you may have to get creative not only in what beans you use, but the order in which you use them, since you will encounter enemies that will hurt the boy and gobble up any stray jelly beans that fall too close.

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WHY DID YOU MISS IT?

Like other games highlighted so far in this series, A Boy And His Blob wasn’t as highly marketed as some other bigger budget titles, and the fact that the original title was released more than 20 years ago means that many were unfamiliar with the game’s history.

The game also suffered from being released so close to Nintendo’s monster that is New Super Mario Bros Wii, and was probably lost somewhere in that game’s shadow. The fact that the game had an initially lower MSRP than your typical Wii game may have lead some gamers to believe it was a “budget” or “shovelwhere” title, and passed it for that reason.

WHY SHOULD YOU TRY IT?

First of all, the game is beautiful, and despite the fact that the game is 2-D, the environments and the characters really come to life. Beautiful lighting and particle effects really add to the mood of the various levels, and the soundtrack is also enjoyable.

The gameplay is also fun, and vastly improved from the original. For example, a menu tells you what each bean will do, and you are no longer given a limited amount of jelly beans, encouraging creativity and experimentation in puzzle solving. This reboot also strengthens the relationship between the boy and his blob, who has become almost a pet, yet at the same time, they still both need each other in order to progress.

While the game has a story, it’s not the main focus of the game, and is told visually, meaning that even the youngest of gamers can enjoy the title. However, with over 40 levels, hidden treasure, and unlockable bonuses (such as 40 more levels, concept art, and more), there’s also plenty to challenge older and more seasoned gamers.

You can find the game now for $20 or less, Besides, it’s heartbreakingly cute when you command your boy to hug his blob!

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