Blow is a Puzzle game developed by Vector 2 Games featuring 70 Handcrafted Singleplayer levels, procedurally generated Singleplayer levels and a completely original soundtrack. The game will set you back 400msp(£3.40).
The objective of Blow is to use fans to blow your bubbles to the goal, sounds simple, and on many levels the game is indeed extremely simple. You can place fans on any pieces of the environment, setting them on a speed level of 2, 3 or 4. Each speed level costs you the corresponding amount of money - a resource you have a limited amount of. You must navigate the bubbles through a variety of obstacles in the environment, hitting 'flowers' as you go along, which open up the end portal. As simple as the game starts out, things soon ramp up when the game starts to throw bubble temperatures, winds, wheels and various other elements into the mix.
The beauty of Blow is that the core gameplay remains simple, yet steadily builds additional concepts on top of this. For example hot bubbles rise, and cold bubbles fall, combined with the ability to add the various heat levels to your fans results in the player using this to slightly (or dramatically) tweak the bubbles aim to achieve the perfect 'shot'. This is exactly what Blow is about - tweaking. The game offers a ghost outline of where the bubble will go if the fan is placed in that position, yet it never punishes you for trying repeatedly and picking up your fans to move them around. When you have the perfect 'line' set up, simply hit the Back button and out comes the King Bubble. When the King Bubble reaches the end portal - the level is complete!
Graphically Blow is simplistic yet charming with its colourful handcrafted style. On a technical level nothing jumps out at the player yet everything is so vibrant and consistent throughout the entire experience. The soundtrack to Blow is absolutely superb with its mellow calming background music adding to the beauty of the game - combined with the warm graphical style means this really is one truly relaxing experience.
Blow is a bundle of high production values, simplistic forgiving gameplay, and one of the best soundtracks yet to be heard on the service. At 400 Microsoft Points the game is in the top pricing bracket however justifies it in almost every way. It would have been nice to see Multiplayer of some sorts, possibly a cooperative mode, but with 70 core stages and a challenge mode which procedurally generates levels you are getting a good amount of content here for your money. Blow has done something which many other games on the service fail to do - keep me coming back for more. The game is so relaxing and forgiving that you'll never feel any form of frustration towards it. Do yourself a favour and check this one out.
Chaz gives Blow a 4.4/5
Blows charm comes from it's simplicity. It's an addictive puzzle game that will keep you entertained with it's pretty art style and fun gameplay.
Puzzle games are part of a genre that has to be approached carefully, they have to offer fun and addictive gameplay and try and balance the difficulty, to hard and the game becomes frustrating, to easy and people will quickly lose interest.
Blow isn't paticularly difficult, but it's unique and enjoyable gameplay will keep casual and hardcore puzzlers entertained for a long time.
Chaz pretty much sums up all of Blows strengths and weaknesses and I agree with most of his points wholeheartedly. The game is priced at 400MSP's so it's one of the higher priced Indie Games on the Marketplace, however it justifies that price by offering a fun and charming experience that'll keep you hooked. I keep using that word, 'charm' because that really does sum up the game perfectly, from it's pretty graphics to it's simple yet addictive gameplay, Blow is a charming game through and through and you could do alot worse with 400 Microsoft Points so if you're a fan of Puzzle games do yourself a favour and pick this up, you won't regret it.