The Game Awardscaptured a lot of attention recently, with several high-profile announcements through the show, but there was one game that caught my eye more than any other announcement made last week, and it wasn’t even during the show itself. My personal highlight was featured in the associated Day of the Devs presentation the day before, which focused on upcoming indie games. For its intriguing weirdness, unique aesthetic, and endearingly-absurd sense of humor,Blippo+is my most anticipated game of 2025.
There were manyhighlights from the Day of the Devsshowcase, which featured 20 upcoming titles across a slew of genres. One of the biggest reasons I’ve always loved indie games is because they often take bigger chances when it comes to their overall eccentricity, embracing weirdness more fully than many AAA titles tend to. Whether it’s a particularly wacky sense of humor likeJazz Punk, uniquely silly combat likeThirsty Suitors, or just being outright strange likeKentucky Route Zero, indie games tend to lean into their oddness and whimsicality more - and this is especially true forBlippo+.
The trailer forBlippo+was probably the most vague and confusing one featured in the entire show, and that immediately made me want to know more. Instead of showcasing any sort of concrete gameplay, it instead featured a series of clips from fictional television stations that were purposefully in poor-quality black and white, referring to it as a “revolutionary television experience.” These ranged from things like talk shows and ads to a news broadcast and something called The Rubber Report - none of it made much sense, and it was the highlight of my day.
The Publisher Of Blippo+ Has A Great Track Record
Fans Of Panic’s Games Should Keep An Eye On This New Title
Blippo+is the debut release for developer YACHT, which is working in collaboration with Telefantasy Studios. After doing some research into the latter on theTelefantasywebsite, I learned why the footage featured in the trailer looks so truly vintage: the studio specializes in maintaining old analog television equipment to film with, resulting in pieces that look straight out of another decade. The company’s work has been getting a lot of exposure lately, having previously worked on all the promo material for Sabrina Carpenter’s current Short n’ Sweet Tour.
The game’s publisher is also a selling point in its own right, given the company’s history.Blippo+’s publisher Panic previously helped produce two of my favorite games of the past few years: 2019’sUntitled Goose Game, andthis year’sThank Goodness You’re Here!, which I reviewed this past summer. Both are delightfully offbeat in their own ways, one essentially a puzzle game about being a jerk, and the other about helping the strangest, most aggressively-British people you’ve ever seen.
Untitled Goose Game: Complete Walkthrough To All Tasks
Untitled Goose Game is an indie game full of challenges. Follow these tips, tricks, and walkthroughs to achieve your ultimate prize: the golden bell.
I’m not the only one who thinks so either -Thank Goodness You’re Herecurrently sits at a 90 on Metacritic, andUntitled Goose Gameisn’t far behind at 81. There are some publishers that amass a track record of such stellar releases that I - for better or worse - begin to expect each release to be, simply put, a certified banger. Alongside the aforementioned titles, the company has also been behind a few other critically-praised games, like thenarrative adventureFirewatchand turn-based RPGArco, making for a catalog that gives me a lot of hope forBlippo+.
Blippo+ Is Interesting Far Beyond Its Publisher
The Game’s First Trailer Left Me With Many Questions
It’s important to point out that I don’t simply love the idea ofBlippo+solely because of the developer’s choice of collaborators - the game also has a lot going for it all on its own. I’ve always loved the comedic concept of weird, fake television shows, like the many made-up programs featured in30 RockorRick and Morty’s Interdimensional Cable. Those featured inBlippo+seem to take that strangeness to the next level, with unsettling characters and ridiculous concepts that raise far more questions than they answer in terms of what the game is.
That in itself is another reason this game intrigues me so much: I barely understand what it is. Could it be a sort of voyeuristic title like theDo Not Feed the Monkeysseries, where players are more interactive participants? Is it more in the style of aunique FMV gamethat leans more into watching than playing? I have absolutely no idea, and that makes me want to play it even more.
The overall stylized nature of the project has also piqued my interest - it takes the already-odd nature of the game and really helps solidify its intended tone. It manages to give both vintage and sci-fi vibes at the same time, making for a mish-mash that seems to purposefully be a bit unnerving. It’s a game with a clear aesthetic vision that is most likely more than meets the eye, and regardless of what specific gameplay it has in store, getting to see more of these oddball clips is very appealing.
What Players Can Expect From Blippo+
Though Much Is Unknown, A Few Elements Can Be Inferred
A lot of the specifics aboutBlippo+have been intentionally left vague, but there are a few things that seem likely about the upcoming game. For one, it’s implied that there’s something sinister afoot about how the player is able to interact with the channels. In the trailer, the narrator states, “Don’t like what’s on? You can always change the channel,” and is then abruptly cut off by a static screen that says “Wonky Signal.” This may mean players are somehow trapped in the television watching experience, or have less control over what they see than the announcer implies.
The implications of this could go a myriad of different ways: perhaps players must work to escape the clutches ofBlippo+somehow, or can interact with the FMV in ways similar to games likeImmortalityto uncover more about the TV provider. Of course, I could also be completely off base in all of this conjecture, which is part of the game’s charm. There’s a lot left to learn aboutBlippo+to be sure, but whatever it winds up being, it’s the announcement fromGame Awardsweek that I’ve been thinking about the most by far.
The Game Awards
thegameawards.com
The Game Awards is an annual event that celebrates achievements in the video game industry, recognizing excellence in categories such as game design, storytelling, and innovation. Established in 2014, it features award presentations, world premiere game announcements, and performances. The event is produced and hosted by Geoff Keighley and is streamed globally.
