Tales From Space: Mutant Blobs Attack

Genre: Platformer

Players: 1

.

Review:

Tales From Space: Mutant Blobs Attack, elsewhere referred to simply as Mutant Blobs Attack, is a Platformer first released on PC and PlayStation Vita in 2012 and gradually ported to other platforms, with the Nintendo Switch getting a version of the game in 2019. This game has you playing as one such mutant blob escaping from a science facility, absorbing objects as it goes.

The presentation here uses a whimsical 2D style that’s clearly not taking itself too seriously, and this works well for the lighthearted nature of the game. This is paired with a soundtrack of tunes that seems inspired by surf rock, of all things, and again this silly pairing seems to work well for the game.

As for the gameplay, at its best Mutant Blobs Attack is wildly inventive, mixing the Platforming genre with various games and mechanics, including an absorb/grow mechanic like what was in Katamari Damacy, physics-based propulsion mechanics like some old-school space shooters, and even making use of the touchscreen and gyroscopic controls at times to enable different kinds of interactions within the game.

When Mutant Blobs Attack makes use of these inventive forms of gameplay, it is an absolute delight. However, when it focuses on just being a Platformer, it falls flat on its face. Suffice it to say, the platforming mechanics here aren’t very good, with the controls feeling a bit sluggish and unresponsive. Likely, this was intentional, to make your character feel appropriately sticky and to emphasize the game’s physics, but it nevertheless results in making the platforming less engaging than the rest of the game. This is most apparent in the game’s frequent obstacle course sections, which require quick use of those poor platforming mechanics in a way that doesn’t feel like a challenge so much as a tedious ordeal.

However, while Mutant Blobs Attack certainly has its tedious and frustrating moments, on the whole this is a delight of a Platformer that does a good job of giving players a good variety of fun mechanics to work with. It’s a shame that the actual platforming is the worst mechanic of the bunch, but even so, this is a fun game well worth playing.

tl;dr – Mutant Blobs Attack is a Platformer that puts players in the role of one of the mutant blobs escaping a research facility. This is a fun and lighthearted Platformer that infuses the genre with a good variety of fun mechanics. The actual platforming itself isn’t very good, but the game has such a fun variety of other distracting mechanics that it more than makes up for this flaw.

Grade: B

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