So, Noby Noby Boy.
Noby Noby Noby Noby Boy.
Hoo, boy. Where to begin with this one?
Okay, so you know how the PlayStation Network Store has a sort of “poetry bar” section? You know, those little arthouse games that are all about music or movement, where there’s absolutely no sweaty biceps and no casting of firaga? Most people either love those titles for their innovation and high-mindedness, or hate them for their stark simplicity and liberal college pretentiousness.
Noby Noby Boy could well be the most polarizing of those titles. It’s the least game-like of all the games on the PlayStation Network Store (unless you count Aquatopia as a game, which unless you are a cat you probably should not). It’s not just that there are no goals. There’s no progression, at least not any you can make significant strides towards. Controls are floppy and obtuse. Graphically, it’s on par with a CG animation demo from the early 1980s.
On the other hand, it could become the only game in this loose “genre” that is uniformly beloved. The art style is undeniably charming and completely unintimidating. And because at first glance the game doesn’t seem to have any sort of message, it can’t bludgeon the player over the head with any sort of message.
Do you see why this is so difficult?
I feel like no matter how anyone ends up feeling about it, the first impression of the game will be the same for all: delirious confusion. For me it was a delighted delirious confusion. “What is that parrot doing?” “Whoa, I’m stretching!” “Oh no, I fell off the edge of the world!”
But shortly thereafter, the apparent lack of breadth of the situation began to take its toll. Self-instantiated goals all just seemed to be new and creative ways to battle the bizarre control scheme, and the small size and homogenous feel of the randomly generated maps quickly began to feel stale.
And yet, every time I was about to feel like I was truly done with this crazy dreamscape, Noby Noby Boy would do something unexpected and completely, brilliantly mad. So the earliest experience of the game is minutes of a kind of fruitless, trying experimentation followed by a random, sudden discovery that tickles your brain with new ways to experiment. Eventually it’s fair to believe that these discoveries will snowball into a flash of insight moment where Noby Noby Boy clicks—hence the multiple-part review.
It’s pretty rare that a five-dollar downloadable game requires a two-part review, but Noby Noby Boy is a pretty rare sort of work. The first impression of the game demands to be chronicled, but at the same time it feels like the sort of thing that needs time to really sink in before you understand why it’s worth playing. Next time: the sinking in.
Past Reviews:
Big Bang Mini
Retro Game Challenge
Edge
Game & Watch Collection
Valkyria Chronicles part 1 & part 2
Karaoke Revolution Presents American Idol Encore 2
Prince of Persia
LittleBigPlanet part 1, part 2
Dead Space
LOL
Dragon Quest IV
Ninja Gaidan 2 part 1 & part 2
Metal Gear Solid 4 part 1 & part 2
Wii Fit
Grand Theft Auto IV part 1, part 2 & part 3