So you picked up a PSVita and need some great entertainment for it, look no further than Tales From Space: Mutant Blobs Attack from DrinkBox Studios. You play this side scrolling puzzle platformer as a blob, held captive in a lab until one day you escape and want to wreak havoc upon the world. Your method for wreaking havoc is by devouring everything. Like any good blob story it has a 50’s-esque backdrop, government agencies trying to stop you, scientists, blob friends to rescue, and lots to eat. The more you eat, the bigger you get, and the bigger you are obviously allows you to eat larger things.
"Tilt-a-Blob" Old School Style
The game sports 29 levels total, 24 standard platforming levels and 5 tilt-a-blob levels. The standard levels give you a good amount of challenging puzzle designs to live through making you avoid spikes, flames, lasers, crushing walls and whatever else the military can throw at you. The tilt-a-blob levels provide a nice change from the norm gameplay. Their style of play is a top down view where you must use the gyroscopic sensor in the Vita to roll your blob around and complete the mazes while finding new things to eat. I never once got bored of playing this game. It has a very nice check-pointing system within each level, so if you fail an area then you will most likely restart at the beginning of that specific puzzle. It’s like the game is encouraging you to try again. You are given abilities as you progress through the game, such as a smash attack, the ability to fly, polarization to repel or stick to metal surfaces and others which I’ll leave for you to find out. These abilities help you navigate the areas.
Another thing I loved about this game is the amount of humor packed inside. The billboards and advertising throughout the game are jokes about eating and media within our world. So you find yourself actually paying attention to what everything says and getting a chuckle out of it while munching on people, or their homes. The cut scenes are also funny, showing news reports of the growing blob’s exploits, but even the detail of making the screen look like a dirty tube television all help in selling the overall game as a 50’s blob movie.
Overall I can’t really find any flaws in the game; the controls are good, the touch elements are responsive, visuals are top notch for what they are trying to achieve, the story is simple and accessible. At only $7.99 this game is an absolute must have. No if’s, and’s, or but’s. Everyone should own this title. It is the best value on the Vita hands down.
Score: 9/10
For fans of: Super Mario Bros., Super Meat Boy, Rayman Origins, Tales From Space: About a Blob