Bumballon Review Adventure Casual & Indie Game by Angelo Gamedev published by Ratalaika Games S.L. released date 16 Dec, 2021 – Join the adorable Bumballon on this frenetic adventure through a colorful world filled with perils! Quick, entertaining, and with the ability to control your superspeed. Collect all of the magical emeralds to complete each level and uncover new gameplay mechanics as you progress through the expedition.
Watch Gameplay of “Bumballon Adventure Casual & Indie Game” on YouTube below:
Did you know that thirty people have been killed by human cannonballs? These individuals have voluntarily climbed into a cannon and launched themselves into the air for others’ amusement. Apparently, the preponderance of human cannonballs are killed by the landing, not the cannon. The majority of fatalities occur due to faulty safety nets; we are not being facetious.
What relevance does this have to Bumballon? Well, you may not be a human, but you are undoubtedly a projectile. You are a plump duck that has been crammed into a cannon and shot out like an Angry Bird. And you’ll be fortunate to limit the number of deaths to thirty. Because this duck repeatedly perishes in a puff of downy plumage. And similar to our observation about safety nets, it is not the cannons that will murder you, but the landing.
There is a narrative that encompasses all of this. The enchanted Princess Moon has been kidnapped, and you are being shot from planet to planet in an effort to rescue her. It is unclear why being shot out of a cannon is advantageous and why you are avoiding the enemies who captured her instead of murdering them, but you can dismiss it all with a wave of the hand. All of this is a pretext for setting the detonator and aiming for level after level.
Each level begins with you trapped inside the cannon. Simply select A to explode out of it, and you will be on your way. Your Bumballon hurtles towards bumpers resembling pinballs that launch you in various directions, and you may miraculously land in another cannon. Then, you time your explosion once more as you progress through the level, aiming to whistle through a keyhole that represents the level’s conclusion.
The first few levels of Bumballon follow this pattern, and the game would be exceedingly brief and straightforward if it continued in this manner. But beginning with the second world war, there are additional factors to consider. As enemies such as spiders, wasps, and squids sway across your flight lines, you must time your cannon shots for when the path is clear. Occasionally, the cannon itself moves, so you must wait until you have a line of cannons or you will fall into the abyss.
Again, if it weren’t for that A button, this would be impossible or, at best, exceedingly random. By pressing A during flight, you can temporarily slow down time for a period. This slowdown of time is solely for Bumballon. It enables you to activate bullet time while flamethrowers block your path, and then deactivate it once the danger has passed. There is a cooldown, so you cannot slow-mo the entire event; therefore, knowing when to use it is crucial.
With proper execution, levels can pass in a flash, accompanied by the flicker of accomplishments. However, they are frequently punctuated by abundant mortality. A convenient tally indicates how many Bumballons you’ve consumed on your way to saving Princess Moon, and it becomes increasingly embarrassing. We have thrown dozens of Bumballons onto the pyre in a single level while muttering and spitting like a mad duck.
Occasionally, the levels introduce a unique diversion. You can place Bumballon in a minecart, and the levels resemble an interminable runner in which you must tap A to avoid obstacles. On a space level, you land in a flying saucer and press A to jet through caverns, reminiscent of Solar Jetman. A hot air balloon performs a similar function. Bumballon walks a fine line when it comes to interrupting the normal gameplay with something new, and the worlds arrive so quickly that you can expect a new theme, enemy, or vehicle to soon land in your lap.
I could not help but sense that Bumballon was the result of a labor of love. Someone has lavished an inordinate quantity of care on this indie game, demonstrating a sincere belief in its potential success. At least for a budget pixel-art game, the visuals are excellent. It explodes with color, pyrotechnics, and animations worthy of a Saturday morning cartoon. And there is an overabundance of ideas, with levels taking abrupt left turns that you must rapidly accommodate.
This makes it much more difficult to criticize. Even though Bumballon is lavish and beautifully prepared, we never truly relished it. It was an exasperating game of trial and error: a series of traps masquerading as a game. It sounds great in principle, but when we fired it from the cannon, we discovered that it ignited and fell to the ground like ash.
As it turns out, being shot from a canon leaves you with very little control. You are left to helplessly observe yourself plowing into adversaries and flames. You are already at a disadvantage; you have little control over the destiny of little Bumballon. Obviously, you have the time-slow, but Bumballon has no indication of when an enemy will appear. Most of the time, you discover an impending hazard by crashing head-first into it. The alternative is to continually slow down time, taking baby steps out of fear of death. But that’s not very entertaining: if you’re a human cannonball, you want rapid action, not slow. Moreover, there is a cooldown, so you can only employ this strategy occasionally. As a consequence, gameplay is completely random. You are selecting A based on intuition. You believe an impediment is forthcoming.
Without many checkpoints and with reasonably lengthy levels, we can only assume that Bumballon wants us to memorize the levels and complete them through muscle memory. You must rely on the player wanting to employ such patience and perseverance for this to work. According to our tally, that was not present. As soon as we acquired every achievement on the second world, our motivation began to wane. The breadcrumb trail of unlockable costumes and a growing number of enjoyable game mechanics was insufficient to lead us away from frustration.
Our time with Bumballon was comparable to being shot from a cannon. Initially, we admired the scenery and marveled at the pace. We were in flight. Then, however, we realized where we were headed. We crashed to the ground in a tangled jumble of frustration, impatience, and a total lack of agency over our fate.
Bumballon, which resembles a human projectile, is entertaining to observe, but not for the participants.
Bumballon: Join the adorable Bumballon on this frenetic adventure through a colorful world filled with perils! Quick, entertaining, and with the ability to control your superspeed. Collect all of the magical emeralds to complete each level and uncover new gameplay mechanics as you progress through the expedition. – kendajaya