de Blob 2 review for Nintendo Switch

Platform: Nintendo Switch
Also On: PS4, Xbox One, PC
Publisher: THQ Nordic
Developer: Blitworks/Blue Tongue
Medium: Digital/Cartridge
Players: 1-2
Online: No
ESRB: E10+

Here’s how I know that I truly love de Blob: in the past year, I’ve played and reviewed the re-released versions of the original game and its sequel, de Blob 2, in their entirety twice: first on Xbox One, and now again on the Switch. For me to go back to a game after I’ve finished it once is exceedingly rare; for me to do that basically four times in less than a year practically qualifies as a miracle.

Obviously, at this point there’s not much more I can say about the games that I haven’t already said at length at some point in the past ten months. But whatever: when you’re as fond of the series as I am, it always feels worthwhile to point out just how much fun the games are. There’s always something that’s just so wonderfully satisfying about bringing life and colour to a monochromatic world.

de Blob 2 on the Switch is, of course, no exception, and literally everything I about the Xbox One/PS4 edition earlier this year applies here, too. The graphics are much nicer than they were in the re-released versions of the original de Blob, largely because the jump from PS3/Xbox 360 to Switch/Xbox One/PS4 is significantly easier for the game to navigate than the transition from Wii to current gen systems. Likewise, the worlds here feel so much more interesting here than they did in the original, with more to do and, just as importantly, more frequent save points.

Admittedly, the flaws of all the other versions are also present here. This series never did get its camera right (hopefully something that can be fixed if they ever get around to making a third game); even if it’s mildly better here than in the first game, it’s still far from perfect. There’s also a little too much handholding here. It makes some sense, given the family-friendly nature of the series, but that doesn’t make it any less tedious.

But that’s the only thing tedious about de Blob 2. Once you get beyond the early levels, the game is more than willing to let you do your thing, and that’s when you can’t help but be drawn in to its colourful word. There’s no way of telling whether we’ll ever get a third instalment in the franchise, but if we don’t, then de Blob 2 is a delightful high note for the series to end on (and, as a sidenote, it’s great to see the proper sequel finally arrive on a Nintendo system, after Nintendo owners were stuck with a significantly different version last time around).

THQ Nordic provided us with a de Blob 2 Switch code for review purposes.

Grade: A-