GoobnBalloonsDX Review

GoobnBalloonsDX is a bright and colourful twin-stick shooter that has you trying to save your home planet, Goobstar, by defeating waves of invading balloons, on your own, or co-op. In the start the only mode available to play is Goob Odyssey, this is the game’s story mode, but once you complete the first stage, which is essentially a tutorial, the Arcade Mode will be unlocked for you to try out on the main menu. 

In Goob Odyssey, there are over 100 challenges to tackle over three worlds. This can be played solo, or locally with others. At the beginning, you only have one character unlocked, named Goobert, this isn’t an issue with multiple players as everyone can be a different colour. There are other characters that you have to save while playing the story mode, they have been captured and trapped in Prison balloons that you need to break to set them free.   The first one that you save is Bethany, allowing her to be used in any of the stations that you challenge, once released. She isn’t just a clone of Goobert, her shots hit the enemy and then bounce off, hitting another balloon that is in its way. If playing with others, someone in the group is sure to die, but this isn’t permanent as they will be resurrected once you obtain the required amount of points, shown on the screen. I’m sure this will happen a lot as if you get hit at all, you are dead. 

The first level you play is called “Break The Targets!”. This stage will have you practising your balloon-popping skills by trying to destroy all the moving bull’s-eye objects that are on the screen as fast as possible. The game tells you how to change characters with the left and right triggers, and to change the accessories they are wearing with the shoulder buttons. At the start, you only have one goob to select from and no accessories, so keep this in mind for later use. To shoot at the enemy balloons, use the left face button for a single shot, or, like other twin-stick shooters, use the right thumbstick to auto-fire while using the left stick to move around the stage. Your character can shoot straight left, right, or straight up, but you can also shoot on an angle. 

Some of the stages in GoobnBalloonsDX will have a timer to see how long it takes to complete the stage, while others have you trying to take out all the targets before you run out of time. Some of the more unique ones are the ones where you have to avoid shooting the birds flying over, if you hit a bird, you are dead. The developers, IconicArts LLP, have done a great job changing the requirements to complete each new stage, which really helps the game from feeling repetitive!

The overworld map that lets you travel between stages feels like the one used in Super Mario World. You can select which direction you want to go and the order you play some of the stages, there are a few that require you to complete others first, but for the most part you aren’t forced to follow a certain path. There are also bonus levels that you can play, and instead of taking place during the day, you play the stages at night.

Completing a stage will earn you a medal that appears on the stage card in the bottom right-hand corner. Your ranking will change depending on your score and how long it took to finish the level, ranging from Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Besides knowing how well you did, this also makes it very easy to see which level you have completed so far as you walk to each of the points on the world map. 

Some of the more challenging stages you encounter will reward you with an accessory that you can put on your character. The first is Stage 1.5 where you are introduced to a new mechanic we haven’t encountered so far: it’s large balloons that are unpoppable. Instead of destroying them, you will try to survive against these immortal balloons until the time runs out. The title cards for each stage tell you before you play if completing this stage will unlock one of these special items for you to adorn your character with.

There are a variety of different balloons you will have to destroy and not just colour swaps. Some are red with an angry face that grows every time you hit them until they finally explode, these aggressive foes are called Bully Balloons. Ones with a star design on them will take out all the remaining enemies currently on the screen. One of the scariest enemies is the evil sun, which swoops down at you just like the sun in Super Mario Bros. 3, you can't hurt it so you need to try to stay out of its way, which may be easier said than done. 

Everything in the game has a great hand-drawn look to it which adds to GoobnBalloons charm. The music, for the most part, is pretty relaxing and may feel like lobby music, but once you get into a boss battle it really picks up and is super high energy. At first glance when you see the bright colours, cartoony artwork, and the fact you are fighting balloons, you may think this game is for a younger audience. Though it can be a lot more challenging than you expect!

When you get to the end of that stage, you will have a boss to fight. In this battle, you can choose between two difficulties: Easy, where the boss has less health and you don't get an achievement, or Normal, where you get an accessory and an achievement once you are successful. You challenge the Queen Balloon with the King Balloon, who is substantially smaller than his wife, they both have a design reminiscent of a character from Cuphead. This is a very challenging fight, no matter the difficulty you select. I was either getting squished by the Queen jumping on me or slapped by the King's large hand, dealing with dying after getting hit once, this felt pretty unfair!

Arcade mode can be played on your own, or cooperatively up to four players concurrently. You are working together to get the highest score possible, but if one character dies during your attempt, don't worry, they can be revived. They will come back to life once you get the required number of points shown on the screen. The Arcade mode has seven stages available to play, but only one is available from the beginning, the others you will unlock by playing the story mode. Fortunately, there is no friendly fire here, so you don't need to worry about accidentally taking out your team members unless you were trying to, then you are evil. You are supposed to be working together! 

GoobnBallonsDX is a fun arcade-like twin-stick shooter that is an entertaining experience to play on your own, or along with friends. Trying to get the highest score possible makes this a game you want to come back to over and over again, along with collecting all the accessories and achievements. Popping balloons is quite therapeutic, that is until you are swarmed by a huge amount from every direction! In this situation, it would have been helpful to have someone else in the battle with me.