De Blob is a game many may remember from the 2008 Wii release. It opened to fairly decent reviews on the console. It was recently ported to the Nintendo Switch in June. How well does the Puzzle platformer hold up?

The story is fairly simple, The INKT Corporation has taken all the color out of the Chroma City after declaring color as a crime. The Raydians, the former residents of Chroma City, have formed a resistance group known as the Color Underground. You play as De Blob and, as the newest member of Color Underground, your goal is to go up against the INKT Corporation and return color to Chroma City.

Gameplay is simple while you are free to paint as much of the level as you want. The main goal is to complete tasks that are given to you by members of the Color Underground. Most of the tasks that are given are to repaint a part of the city in a certain time limit. The challenges are given a difficulty level, from 1 to 3, but I never really came across a challenge that felt too hard.  There are also times where you have to stop INKT police patrol. Each level can be painted to completion which takes a fair amount of time.

Although not a huge concern, controlling De Blob does take some getting used to. Attempting to jump from building to building could sometimes be a tad difficult as I would find myself jumping in the wrong direction. I suggest getting used to jumping and overall controls before attempting a challenge.  

The biggest complaint with the game was the lack of being able to save. Saving only occurred once the completion of the entire level happened. So allowing for a fair amount of time to play through each level is a must. It would have been helpful to add an option for the player to save between completion of challenges so progress isn’t lost.

Aside from story mode, De Blob offers Free paint mode and Multiplayer mode. Free paint allows players to go and free paint any previously completed level without having to complete any challenges. Multiplayer mode is classic split screen multiplayer. Players select a color and a level. In the time limit of 3 minutes, each player has to try to paint as much as the city as they can. Players can steal buildings from other players by simply jumping on them. They can also target other players and attack them. Attacking another player causes that player to lose their color.

De blob has a lot of replay value in story mode alone. Players can spend an hour or more just trying to 100% paint a level. With the addition of completing every task available, players certainly will have plenty of chances to replay. With multiplayer mode it has even more to offer.

Ten years after its initial release, De Blob still holds up. If you were lucky enough to have played it on Wii it is certainly worth a second look. Players who have never played De Blob should take the time to play. Even if the game was just single-player, it is worth it but with the addition of multiplayer it is definitely worth the $29.99 price tag. Players who enjoy platforming games and have not played this game should give it a try.