REVIEW / Blippo+ (Switch)

I don’t believe nostalgia is inherently a bad thing. While I don’t buy the idea that modern streaming is worse than old linear TV, it makes sense to want to return to media from older, simpler times. Media sticks around years later, so it’s one of the few ways we have to relive the past. Blippo+; a new game from developers YACHT, Telefantasy Studios, & Noble Robot and published by Panic; mixes the old and the new by presenting retro-style FMV TV broadcasts from another planet. It’s an awesome idea that speaks to the 90s kid in me, and the developers did a great job in nailing that feel. But as with all nostalgia, the genuinely good things are mixed with some that should have stayed in the past.

Blippo+ isn’t really a game in the traditional sense; the only goal is to watch alien TV shows. These are short, fully acted FMV videos representing various genres, split between a variety of channels. The shows range from news to music to documentary, all with that 80s/90s public access feel. When playing, you use a guide similar to what you’d get with digital cable or satellite in the real world to see what’s on and switch channels. The only other interactive features are a very simple mechanic for fixing your picture and navigating “Femtofax,” a teletex-style message board. You can access one “day” of shows at a time, and this progression is important, because Blippo+ does have a story. 

The shows on Blippo+, emanating from the planet Blip, really do run the gamut. There are news and documentary shows that reveal more about the world and move the stories along, special interest shows that sometimes interact with the story and other times are just fun to watch, and some filler that admittedly doesn’t really feel necessary but adds to the realism of this fake TV network. Shows can’t do much with the short time they’re allotted, but most of the major ones do a great job of building up characters and lore. The way this game tells its story by having information peppered through different shows on different days is really clever and charming; it’s probably my favorite thing about Blippo+. For example, the host of a science show in the early weeks ends up becoming a major character in the storyline later on, and an early chat show interviews the star of another show on the same channel. The actors are all dedicated to their characters, and it makes them that much more believable. I found the story’s conclusion to be lacking, but I still appreciate it.

The likeability of the characters, both those meant to be real and those meant to be fictional, really helps offset some of the complaints I have about the content. For one thing, there are some shows that are just kind of boring, or are funny once and then feel less worth watching (e.g. a cooking show featuring bizarre alien ingredients.) But even as a whole, I found the programming wasn’t funny enough to really make the most of the concept. I commend the creative people making these shows, but they’re missing something. They’re a little too same-feeling, a little too “wholesome” for lack of a better word, and just lacking a bite or sense of satire. There is satire here, but not enough. For what it’s worth, I did find myself coming around to shows I originally disliked, even getting excited to see the next episode. Those moments were rare, though, and there’s so much more the developers could have done with the concept of TV from an alien planet. For example, there are no commercials in Blippo+; I’d love to see what ads look like on planet Blip, and they play a big part in my nostalgia for watching TV as a kid.

Especially given the clever storytelling, it would be easier to forgive this lack of humor if not for one of the game’s big selling points: it’s based on linear TV. That means you can’t just pick the shows you want to watch; you have to tune in to the right channel at the right time. Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t so bad; each channel has only a handful of shows, and the shows aren’t very long. But it’s really annoying having to wait between them because you got the timing wrong and only saw half an episode, or because the shows you want to see are sandwiched between filler shows that aren’t that interesting. Granted, I realize this is intentional; I’m old enough to have lived through linear TV being the only option, and these feelings unlocked some memories for me. I like the idea of bringing that concept back in theory; there’s nothing wrong with practicing patience. The problem is that there are things that helped make linear TV more bearable that aren’t present here. There’s no way to know when the next show is going to start if you’re not looking at the program guide, you can’t use your Switch to do anything else while you’re waiting, and the small number of shows makes channel flipping unsatisfying. More interactivity really would have helped here; for example, simple minigames to play on the side of the screen. I know this would go against the concept of a simpler time when you just had to watch whatever was on, but this is meant to be a video game after all.

I can’t deny that I was disappointed by how Blippo+ implemented its creative ideas; it should be funnier for what it is. I expect that a lot of people trying this game would give up on it fairly early, especially as the story plays out slowly and the linear programming can be obnoxious. However, for me, I’m glad I experienced it. I just love the concept so much, and it’s clear the developers worked hard to make this world believable. The characters and some of the shows keep me coming back even when I think I’m too bored to continue. If you enjoy cheesy productions and have nostalgia for the days of waiting for your favorite show to come on, it’s worth giving Blippo+ a try for its low $14.99 price. But if you’re looking for stronger comedy or something more interactive, you should probably change the channel.

P.S. There are a few notes I couldn’t fit into the review proper that I still want to include. First, there’s a persistent bug that sometimes makes the subtitles freeze up, and the only way to fix it is to restart the game. Second, there are some features and references that only make sense when you remember that Blippo+ was originally released for the Playdate handheld system.