Every game genre starts out as a single title with a unique gameplay loop that unintentionally inspires a trend. Hell, back in the day, first-person shooters used to be called “Doom Clones”, and who can forget all of the “Resident Evil Clones” that spooked us before gamers settled on labeling them as “Survival Horror”?
I bring this up because there are clear comparisons to be made between Eldelic Games’ Inky Blinky Bob and a certain other tongue-in-cheek horror title from a few years ago – one where players also managed an unconventional vehicle while scavenging for resources and fending off a bizarre and seemingly unkillable creature. However, despite being an overly familiar and frequently janky experience, I’d argue that Eldelic’s latest release is both fun and creative enough to warrant being respected as more of a consolidation of this emerging genre than a blatant rip-off.
If you haven’t heard about this curious indie experiment, Inky Blinky Bob is a first-person Survival Horror title where players take on the role of an investigator who crash-lands inside a mysterious archipelago after flying into a storm. Fortunately, our protagonist is saved by a fellow castaway who proceeds to gift the player with a weaponized hot air balloon and instructs you to use it to explore the islands and find a way to unlock a mysterious research facility. The only problem is that the dark skies are currently being patrolled by a massive flying octopus affectionately nick-named “Inky Blinky Bob”, with this colorful creature becoming hellbent on destroying both you and your rickety aircraft.
In gameplay terms, this creative premise translates to piloting the high-tech balloon around the islands in search of upgrade materials and electrical fuses meant to activate “Tesla Towers”. Once you land, however, the game shifts into a first-person stealth experience as you sneakily look around for supplies while evading soldiers and strange experiments who attempt to hinder your progress (though you can eventually find both an axe and a shotgun, which allow you to deal with these enemies in a more permanent manner).
Of course, at this point, it’s only natural that you’d want me to skip ahead and just tell you if the game is better than Choo Choo Charles. While the short answer is a resounding no, this doesn’t mean that Inky Blinky Bob is a bad game by any stretch of the imagination. The developers just seem to have bitten off more than they could chew in their attempts to differentiate their title from its inspirations.
There’s an undeniably fun gameplay loop here, and I appreciate the project’s dedication to absurdist humor, it’s just a shame that the experience is plagued by a series of minor issues that make you wish Eldelic had left their game cooking for just a little while longer – though I’ll admit that it’s hard to step away from the title after investing so much time looking for supplies meant to upgrade your balloon into a floating tank.
You’ll need every bit of scrap you can find, as defending yourself against Bob is a surprisingly thrilling endeavor. Not only do you have to contend with the balloon’s finicky controls, but you also have to manage an overheating machine gun (as well as an assortment of upgradeable weapons) while aiming at the correct targets in order to “parry” the monster’s attacks and do more damage. These recurring battles may be simple, but they’re challenging enough to always keep you on your toes during flights, and the escalating difficulty makes the endgame that much more satisfying once you’re finally ready to take the damned octopus down for good.
I’m also a fan of the game’s overall atmosphere. The curious mix of colorful lighting effects and dark forest environments – not to mention a surprisingly effective musical score – helps to sell the illusion that Inky Blinky Bob had more money behind it than it really did. Unfortunately, the illusion is quickly broken when you start to notice how little polish went into other aspects of the experience.
Some of the game’s areas are clearly cobbled together from ready-made assets pulled straight from the digital bargain bin, with this patchwork of disparate designs sometimes undermining the mood. While Choo Choo Charles also suffered from similarly low production value, I feel like this is one area where Inky Blinky Bob could absolutely have surpassed its predecessor. This is also another reason why I’m a bit disappointed in the demo’s disclaimer about how AI tools were used to streamline development.
Of course, the biggest issue here is the fact that these environments feel lifeless despite this being a game about exploration. Don’t get me wrong, there are frequent dopamine spikes whenever you manage to scrounge up some scrap metal sheets or stumble onto a hidden collectible (and I enjoyed several of the random side quests), but the vast majority of these areas are disappointingly empty. Even when you find the occasional interesting object, these assets tend to be static set dressing that you can’t really interact with.
Yet, Inky Blinky Bob feels like more than the sum of its parts. The dead open world and clunky stealth mechanics can get downright frustrating, and I wish a little more effort had been put into the (admittedly humorous) story, but there’s still something special about this hot air balloon trip from hell. That’s why I’m rooting for Eldelic to polish up some of the experience through added patches and updates, as I’d love to see “Choo Choo Charles Clones” take off as a successful new genre.
Inky Blinky Bob is now available on Steam.
