When I say FMV game, your mind may start wandering to the late 90’s. Games like Night Trap or Plumbers Don’t Wear Ties made, often maligned names for themselves. The technical novelty of these games is nowadays replaced by full-on cutscenes. Yet, there is something entrancing about exploring the overlap of film with interactive game design. Though the games Her Story and Immortality may be the modern touchstones, Blippo+ forgoes the serious and often bleak tones that these games go for. Instead recreating the experience of flipping through television channels as a story slowly starts playing out in the background. It kept me returning to Blippo+ night after night. This is television for the internet age and I cannot get enough of it.

Blippo+ is presented as an interactive television channel. You only have two main methods of interaction, moving on to the next channel or going to the previous channel. Every channel has their distinguishing programs, such as the talkshow ‘Small Talk’, the TMZ-like gossip show ‘’The Rubber Report” or more absurd programs like Quizzards, which combines a traditional quiz show with Dungeons & Dragons. All these programs are created for a society that sort of resembles ours, but is clearly distinct. From the way that ‘Brain Drain’ broadcasts interviews with the brains of dead celebrities or how seemingly millions of people are tuned into their ‘Peedees’ television stations.

One of the things that I tend to do when traveling abroad is turning on the television in the hotel and simply flicking through channels. It’s a way to occasionally stumble on programs that show what is going on in a specific part of the country, cultural programs, or simply something I’ll never understand thanks to a language barrier. Blippo+ recreates this experience almost perfectly. Each program is about a minute in length and therefore rarely overstate their welcome. One minute you may watch a group of dancers, flick to the next channel and learn something about the Blippian culture you’re watching. I really do not want to spoil the twists and turns over the course of the programs, but there is certainly an underlying story. I loved to see how slowly the story started to overtake other programs and even shows I had considered to be fluff became essential into understanding what was going on in the background.

As a game it is hard to judge it on traditional merits. Once you’ve watched ‘enough’ of a certain set of programs, you’re able to download new packages that air the nextset episodes of the shows. There isn’t really something you will do in Blippo+, but that also made it a lot of fun to just put on every evening and watch for a bit. I rarely watch any kind of television these days, but Blippo+ uses the shortened attention span that social media has taught us. Above all, Blippo+ is a love letter to the art of performance. It is clear that the creators didn’t just have fun creating all the shows, characters and world of Blippo+, but especially in the way they’ve visualized the world. For my day job I work in a television archive and part of the grandeur of television programs, especially back in the 80’s and 90’s was to look dazzling in front of the camera. But in reality most of the props are nothing more than paint, duct tape and a lot of lighting to hide all the shortcomings. Blippo+ destroys the artifice, but that heightens the care and love that the creators have put into this game and its production. No two programs are alike and it is truly a game unlike any other.

That having been said, I will say that a few channels that are mostly static and serve little purpose. It is fun the first few times you come across them, but once you know where they are they aren’t really something I ever wanted to visit. Especially when other programs became something I was actively looking forward to or trying to ‘tune in’ using the programming guide. I also had the subtitles glitch out on me a few times, which is unfortunate as for certain programs they were really essential to follow along. For some programs there is quite a bit of repetition due to their structure. It feels appropriate to spread out your time with the game over multiple days or weeks. It is how television as a medium was designed after all. Encouraging you to ‘tune in next time’’. While that doesn’t make it easy to review as a game, it is most definitely an experience I’d recommend if you’re looking for something in-between games to play more passively. In our current hellscape of streaming services it was almost a blessing to flick between channels and not needing to decide on ‘what to watch’.

Blippo+ definitely isn’t for everyone, but I do think it is something that can be enjoyed by everyone. Whether you’re into FMV-like games or not, there is a spark of joy that can be felt in every program you come across. The overall story is fun and will keep you engaged over the six to eight hours of Blippo+ you’ll be watching. There is a variety on display here that is so rarely found in modern games of any type. The real stand out is that it shows a new avenue for what FMV-games can be about. Not just mysteries or dark tales, but fun and creativity are what drive Blippo+. There is no game like it I’ve played all year and is something that I will often be thinking about in the months to come. If you’re looking for a game that’s both passive and creative, you will simply need to tune in to Blippo+.