A Boy and His Blob Remains a Platforming Classic

I'll forever hold a soft spot for good ol' fashioned platformers. 3D Super Mario adventures remain hard to beat, Sonic and Ratchet & Clank are long-term favourites, while I've thoroughly enjoyed indie or AA efforts like Iconoclasts and A Hat in Time. But if anyone ever asks me for platforming suggestions, I'll always recommend A Boy and His Blob.

Created by Imagineering, the original A Boy and His Blob has a long history dating back to 1989 on the NES, receiving a Game Boy sequel before falling into relative obscurity. 2009 is when the series graced home consoles once more, with a successful re-imagining from WayForward on the Wii that's since received HD ports elsewhere. To this day, it's one of the most delightful remakes I've ever experienced.

It’s the sort of pleasingly nostalgic story you might expect from the 80s, where the nameless young boy quickly befriends the alien Blob after it crash-lands on Earth. Where are his parents, you ask? Excellent question, moving on. This fantastical tale sees us defending the Earth and fighting Blobolonia’s evil emperor, delivering a relatively simple tale that’s all you really need.

Our young protagonist is fragile and only requires a single hit to be defeated, so no pressure there. What’s particularly fun is how you work together by feeding the Blob jelly beans to help it transform, cleverly overcoming different obstacles by transforming into ladders, anvils, balloons, trampolines, bowling balls and more. This unique system effectively makes Blob a jelly bean stuffed tool kit, creating an engaging platformer that rarely feels repetitive.

I feel bad when using the ‘scold’ button, even though it’s to ensure our versatile friend stays in place for puzzle-solving reasons. However, on the flip side, this is where the game’s most adorable features come into play; the boy can also hug the blob. WayForward previously described this as a remnant of a scrapped emotion system it didn’t wish to remove, and it’s incredibly heartwarming.

As someone who never clicked with the NES version, I’m still really taken with WayForward’s reimagining all these years later. Clearer guidance is in place across each level alongside frequent checkpoints and unlimited jellybeans, making the remake more accessible for a younger audience. This does dampen the difficulty across some levels, meaning more experienced platforming fans might find this a little too easy initially.

Still, the difficulty increases as you progress, and the puzzle elements mean you won't just barrel through. 40 levels split across four worlds ensures there's a decent campaign length too, and each stage packs three treasure chests with welcome bonuses like house decorations for further replayability. Additional challenge levels providing incentives like developer storyboards are a great reward that gives a closer look at the process, too.

I cannot understate how gorgeous the presentation is, either. A Boy and His Blob takes inspiration from Studio Ghibli’s Hayao Miyazaki, invoking the memory of animated films from the 80s. It’s proof that a good 2D art style can feel timeless in the right hands, and that’s especially true when compared against plenty of 3D games from the 00s. The animation feels smooth, it’s visually striking even now and ultimately nails the atmosphere well.

I originally beat A Boy and His Blob’s remake on the Wii, eventually picking up the PS4 version before my latest venture into the Switch edition. Even in 2025, WayForward’s puzzle-platformer remains an incredibly charming game that rewards those willing to put the time and effort in. What’s here is an engaging platformer from start to finish that remains worth experiencing, and it comes highly recommended.

A Boy and His Blob is out now on Switch, PC, Xbox, and PlayStation.