“Blippo+” Review

When Blippo+ came up in our staff Discord as possibly available for review, I had never heard of it. I checked out the trailer. It took about half an hour for my brain to recover from the short circuit. To…

When Blippo+ came up in our staff Discord as possibly available for review, I had never heard of it. I checked out the trailer. It took about half an hour for my brain to recover from the short circuit. To say that there was a lot to parse would be an understatement. It just bombards you with clips that, out of context, make it seem completely insane.

Not really knowing what I was getting into, I took it on, because it was something I had never seen before. I’m glad I did, since it was one of the more unique and mentally stimulating gaming experiences I’ve had in a long time.

Blippo+ is a linear cable TV simulator. You are given an Electronic Program Guide (EPG), as well as the ability to just surf channels. Also available is a “FemtoFax” channel, which is a sort of chat/message board analogue. The channels deliver the content, and FemtoFax messages let you know what folks are saying.

The thing is, the broadcasts you are watching are alien programming from the planet Blip. A subspace anomaly has opened up near their planet, and they figure they may as well pump their TV signals through it. On the other side through the use of PDs, we are able to pick this signal up and tune in. PD is also the initials of the PlayDate, the handheld which the game came out on prior to this Switch and PC release.

The play loop is really very simple and straightforward. First, you scan the available channels. Once that is done, just watch TV and start to get to know the Blipians. Read through some FemtoFax messages to get a feel for what Blipians are thinking. Once you have watched enough of the content, you’ll see a notification on your guide indicating that you have a new “Packette” of content available to download. You do this by going to your EPG’s Messages section and downloading the attachment. There will also be other messages in there from time to time.

That’s really how it works. The gameplay experience is largely passive, and it relies on your own mental parsing ability to put the pieces of the story together as you move from Packette to Packette.

One thing I do want to call out relates to the Switch version of the game. In the options, there is a setting for “Single Joycon Mode.” If you turn this on, it effectively turns one Joycon into a good simulation of a TV remote control. This is a really nice touch.

There is a lot of content to watch using that simulated remote, too. Everything from talk shows, to news, to weather, to erm…. Adult entertainment, scrambled, just like the old days of cable. There is also a channel dedicated to educating us on Blipian life and vocabulary. Though, they could have probably picked a less disturbing host for Bliptionary, which is meant to help us learn their vocabulary.

I am being deliberately vague about the narrative, other than the subspace anomaly that I mentioned, because I’d like to let you folks experience the fun of discovery for yourselves. I will say, though, that the characters grew on me, and some of the themes did hit close to home.

Depending on how much of the content you watch and how many FemtoFax messages you take the time to read, you can get through the story in about five to 10 hours. My playthrough was around seven. I was left wanting more, as the ending and credits hint at more, but whether this story will continue I can’t be sure. I really enjoyed my time with Blippo+, it was unlike anything I have ever played.

Of course, your enjoyment of the game is going to depend entirely on whether you can enjoy the low budget TV feel that is on offer here. This isn’t a knock on the game. This is a stylistic choice, and it is consistent throughout the entire game. The video quality is also fine, and they’ve even included a “Low Data” mode that toggles the PlayDate aesthetic on and off, reducing the resolution, size, and color to match the PlayDate. A lot of detail is lost when using this mode, but it also has a charm of its own.

As is becoming a habit for me, I look at how the game was for me to play, as a person with a severe visual impairment. For the most part, I got on just fine, but there were a few areas where I think the team could improve without sacrificing the game’s vibe.

The EPG, Program Info, and messages have some contrast issues that make things more difficult to read than they need to be. The highlight bar on the EPG makes the show you’re hovering over hard to read. I got around this by clicking down one on the guide, as the unhighlighted channels are easier to read. A dedicated Dark Mode with proper contrasting colors would help here. This also applies to the Program Info. While this bit does have contrast, it’s the wrong sort for my eyes.

The Messages and FemtoFax areas are the most difficult parts to navigate for me, though. I could hardly read the messages at all. The FemtoFax, with its wildly different styles and colors, was the biggest issue I ran into, and it caused me to just not read much of them.

My suggestion here is a “Terminal Mode.” Have incoming Messages and FemtoFax posts display on a Terminal Style window green console font on a black background. This would make things a whole lot easier while maintaining the retro vibe.

Other than those small things, everything else was fine.

Blippo+ is a great example of what happens when creative people think completely outside the box. It doesn’t make you struggle with difficulty. It lets you watch at your own pace and take the story how you want to. It’s a game that respects your intelligence by presenting the programming, then letting you put the pieces together. Blippo+ isn’t a hard game, and that’s fine. Sometimes you just want something to enjoy without stress, and Blippo+ provides that. Definitely check it out if you’re looking for a game that isn’t afraid to be different.