XBLIG Review: Bumblepig

That'll do, Bumblepig... that'll do.

By: Jess Castro

The world of gaming can be a dark and ugly place, often implanting nightmarish imagery into our minds. Endless rounds of ammunition rain through flesh while rusty chainsaws rip into hellish beasts that live only to tear us limb from limb. As awesome as that sounds, you need a getaway from the madness; a reminder that you’re not made of stone and you’re allowed to like cute things like sneezing pandas and corgi puppies. Perhaps you need to pencil Bumblepig into your schedule. This top-down shooter-esque Xbox Live Indie Game from Kindling Games is a uniquely charming title that will appease your flower-sniffing side but has the potential to put your hardcore skills to the test.

Half bee and half pig, Bumblepig is on a mission: pollinate flowers for money so he can buy new hats and costumes. (He’s like that eclectic neighbor that is probably a hoarder with too many cats, but that’s not important right now.) Flying around in 2D vertical shooter style, this adorable hybrid bug is controlled swiftly and smoothly with the left stick while all the work is done with the bumpers and triggers. To get started, he’ll have to collect primary colored pollen blossoms, which are stashed on his left and right side.  While hovering over flowers that scroll by, pressing the triggers will shake pollen down below causing them to blossom and release collectable coins.

To maximize cash output, the idea is to bloom flowers of the same color in rows of five. Mixing and matching the color of pollen and flowers earns bigger money as long as the bloom color is a consistent five times in a row. This will increase the amount of money the flowers spit out as illustrated on a meter on the bottom of the screen. Bumblepig can only hold two stashes of pollen, one on each side, so pressing the corresponding bumper to release one color in favor of another is part of the gameplay as well.

Bumblepig definitely falls into the “easy to learn, difficult to master” category of games. Gamers of any skill set can quickly get accustomed to the excellent controls and clever gameplay. There are few enemies in the game ranging from pesky flying insects to hungry tongue-lashing frogs, but none of them are life threatening. These critters only serve to knock your pollen stash off and reduce the amount of money you receive from pollinating. Basically, making it to the end of the stage alive is guaranteed. Making it to the end with top dollar is where the true challenge lies.

Beating a stage will earn you a ribbon rank determined by how much money is earned. Getting the top ribbon is achieved by avoiding all enemies and building the money meter to the max. At first, flowers spit out pennies, but as you chain same colored blooms, the meter moves up. Pennies become nickels, then dimes and finally, they become quarters. At that point, chaining same color blooms isn’t necessary anymore; Bumblepig can go hog-wild and pollinate like crazy, bringing him one step closer to that Indian headdress he’s always wanted. (For real, it’s one of the silly costumes he can buy in the stage select menu!)

In the early stages, getting top rank will come naturally to those aiming for big bucks, but this game advances quickly in terms of speed and stage layout. Quick thinking and reflexes will be needed as flowers scroll by faster, enemies become more aggressive and color patterns become more complex. After mastering all 30 stages, seasoned shoot-em-up fans will be tested even further as a night time mode becomes available. In this mode, the colors of pollen and flower are masked by the night sky and the fireflies attack more aggressively than previous baddies.

Whether you’re a hardcore pro or a casual beginner, this game is tons of fun and has a fair amount of replay value. Bumblepig’s costumes and hats act as an achievement guide; in order to gain usage, you’ll have to earn plenty of cash and meet prerequisite tasks, such as beating stages and pollinating a set number of certain colored flowers. Though as fun and diverse as the costumes are, they are only cosmetic changes and do not enhance the little guy’s abilities. Online leaderboards would have been a welcome addition to compare your cash flow with other players, but competing with your own score will have to suffice.

Bumblepig is sure to garner praise due to top-notch execution in all fields. The addictive gameplay and silky smooth controls are complemented by colorful graphics and a delightful charming soundtrack. The design has a storybook and construction paper vibe that works perfectly without becoming annoyingly over-sweet or patronizingly childish. Only the most jaded and cynical of gamers will resist the need to crack a smile when they hear the cute little squeals of our funny hat-loving hero. And for the low price of 80 MS points ($1), it’s easy to break your bloodthirsty white knuckle gamer agenda to take some time to smell the flowers.  And then, of course, pollinate them with your own filth.

OVERALL (4.25/5)

Stop the senseless violence and play something adorable for once! Add Kindling Games’ Bumblepig to your Xbox Live Indie Game library. Easy on the eyes and ears, kids can pick up this game and be thoroughly entertained while the hardcore will strive for score perfection and 100 percent achievements. Unless you hate cute things and 2D vertical scrolling shoot-em-ups, you have little reason to pass this one up.