The developer hasn't really mucked around with the story, which remains as whimsically flimsy as ever. After the blob crash-lands on Earth, he meets the boy and the two of them embark on a quest first across our planet and then to Blobolonia and eventually to a citadel so that they might together vanquish the evil Emperor who has taken control of the alien terrain. That's about it. The game starts off strong with a gorgeous hand-drawn animation sequence, but the story never really goes anywhere after that, which is disappointing because the characters themselves are positively lovable and would've benefited from a more cinematic treatment.
WayForward, though, hasn't skimped on in-game presentation. The characters travel through four unique worlds ranging from the wilderness and the underground to the aforementioned Blobolonia and citadel, and they all differ drastically in design. The wilderness is green and sometimes silhouetted under the moonlit sky, which looks marvelous. Meanwhile, Blobolonia, with its surreally colorful, almost candy-like backdrops, is much more outlandish and grandiose in nature. And the citadel boasts dark, mechanical contraptions and reddish hues signaling doom and gloom. Within the four themes, you will definitely notice repeating texture patterns and some common designs, but the art is strong and as a result you probably won't mind.
Blob's aesthetics remain inferior to Wii's 2D powerhouse, Muramasa: The Demon Blade, but even so, the graphics impress. WayForward has meticulously hand drawn and animated just about every locale and character in the game, stages take on depth and realism with several layers of parallax, enemies pop and splatter with juicy particle effects, and real-time lights illuminate not only backdrops, but the boy and the blob as they run and jump to the next challenge. It's all very fluid and usually looks fantastic, particularly as the blob transforms seamlessly into all the tools that then interact appropriately with the environments. In addition, the game supports 16:9 widescreen and 480 progressive-scan modes and runs at a solid 30 frames per second. With regard to visuals, the only disappointment is that some of the backdrops occasionally lack clarity. When the duo explores some areas in Blobolonia, for example, you'll be able to see an ultra-blurry version of Earth in the distance.
The meaty game is comprised of 40 adventure levels spread across the four themed locales, a selection that will keep you busy for many hours. Completionists, though, will find the quest much longer because the duo must collect three treasure chests hidden in each stage and when they do, bonus challenge levels become unlocked. There are 40 of them in total, which is considerable -- the only caveat is that most of the missions can be bested in a matter of minutes. Finish these and you'll unlock concept art, videos and more. The Blob package is lengthy, full of replay, and generally rewarding for true fans.
The presentation is scratched by a series of load times, which truly do break the momentum of the game. There are stage loads, which last five seconds or more, but worse, there are also mid-level loads when the boy and blob enter new rooms or areas. These pauses interrupt the pacing of the experience and remind us that the world is not connected, but rather a series of loaded stages -- a disappointment, especially since WayForward aspired to create a sense of connectivity with various hubs, including a charming treehouse.
Blob will be seen by many as a platformer, but once you sit down and play it, you will find yourself engaged in fewer typical run and jump challenges and more environmental puzzles that require some brainwork and the alien's transformational powers. You control the boy, who responds tightly to the nunchuk's analog stick. Tap the A button and he'll jump, but not very high. Therefore, to journey deeper into most stages, you must tap the Z button, which cues the jelly bean wheel. Here, you'll find a wide assortment of beans that, when fed to the jiggly sidekick, induce his changes into convenient tools. A ladder for climbing; an anvil for dropping on enemies' heads; a cannon for shooting the boy to otherwise unattainable areas; a spaceship for flying around stages; a crank for lifting platforms and obstructions; a bouncy ball for floating across waters; a trampoline for springing into the air; and even a hole so that the boy can fall through platforms to walkways below.
The game is at its very best when you discover yourself unable to advance and must call upon your gelatinous friend's powers for aid. WayForward has created some truly smart, challenging levels that require a fair amount of head scratches before you'll be able to progress, but even as you're stumped, you'll be having fun, and when your experiments finally pay off and you succeed, it's very rewarding. There are, of course, some entertaining platformer challenges, too -- at one point, the boy becomes separated from his sidekick and must make his way through a stage on reflexes alone, which is entertaining; I actually wish the studio had included more objectives like this. And there are also four unique boss fights, some of which are clever.
Blob's control scheme works once you get used to it, but it's overly complex and as a result never really feels as intuitive as it might've been. The seemingly quick and simple process of transforming the blob stretches on because there are multiple bloated steps. First, bring up the item wheel and scroll through it with the analog stick -- the beans themselves change depending on the level you're playing and rarely return in the position they were previously, which is unnecessarily frustrating. Second, press the B-trigger to set the trajectory of your throw. Third, move the angle around with the stick. And fourth, tell the blob to go chase it with a tap of the C button. His artificial intelligence isn't the best, so you'll oftentimes find yourself waiting for him to catch up. Even hours into the experience, I found myself accidentally pressing the wrong button when attempting one action or another.Control alternatives might've alleviated or solved these issues altogether, but WayForward has stubbornly clung exclusively to Wii the remote-plus-nunchuk configuration and allowed no deviation. You can't play with the Wii remote held sideways, which is too bad because I would've really enjoyed the reliability of digital control. There are no motion or pointer-based options, either, and the latter omission is particularly unfortunate because aiming at the screen to set your jelly bean trajectory would've been superior. The good news is that you can at least press up and down on the D-Pad to hug and scold the blob. I like to provide both positive and negative reinforcement simultaneously, hugging and then scolding in repetition, certain to scar the alien for life.