Have you ever wondered what TV might look like on the other side of the galaxy? Well, put your feet up, grab a blanket, and let’s get stuck into Blippo+
What Exactly is Blippo+
Blippo+ is a live-action cable TV simulator developed by a few teams, YACHT, Telefantasy Studios, & Nobel Robot and published by Panic. Blippo+ has just been released on Nintendo Switch and PC; however, it was originally designed for something called a Playdate. It appears to be a handheld console with a screen and several buttons, but it also features a crank on the side that serves as an additional button. Look it up, I promise it’s a thing!
When I first started Blippo+, I had absolutely no idea what was going on. You are loaded into a menu that instantly reminded me of something from my childhood, Teletext. Teletext is a text-based broadcasting service that provides news, weather, and basic images directly on your TV without the need for the internet. It is what the 4 coloured buttons on your remote were for.
Gameplay
At its core, Blippo+ is extremely simple. You control a digital TV guide. As you flick through the channels, you very quickly discover that the programs are not designed for us humans. Blippo+ has 10 separate channels with dozens of shows to watch. The goal? Watch TV. The more you watch, the more the stories evolve, and the bigger the story of what Blippo is is revealed.
What to Watch
Blippo+ has a range of shows to watch; in fact, there are 50. From Quizzards to Boredome every show is recorded on old broadcast cameras using technology from the 80s to lovingly recreate the aesthetic of watching old TV. There’s static, distorting audio, and you have to adjust your picture to get a better signal.
Each show has a different cast, everything is extremely well acted, and the costumes are fantastic. It looks like it would have been a lot of fun to make.
A few stand-out shows for me were Bushwalker. A first-person view of someone walking through the bush. With a knife and an axe. Where are they going? What have they done? I had to find out!!! Confetti Cowboys is a show about a couple of cowboys who, for whatever reason, are in space.
As you continue to watch, your programs are updated to simulate time passing. As you continue to watch, a sinister understory begins to weave its way into programming.
Verdict
Blippo+ is definitely unique, and I have never played anything like it. I didn’t have any sort of video games growing up, so when I was sick from school, I used to watch daytime television. Blippo+ takes me back to sitting on the couch with flat lemonade watching Days of Our Lives and I am here for it. It is obvious that a lot of love and effort has gone into recording the shows, and it comes across in every aspect.
I would love to get my hands on a PlayDate and experience Blippo+ as it was designed.
The Gamer Social Club received a copy of Blippo+ for review purposes.
Blippo+ was reviewed on PC via Steam. It’s also available on Nintendo Switch and the PlayDate.
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