The start of each new area is striking in its absence of hue. The world is rendered in black and white, with a few paint dispensers providing the sole splash of color. A timer ticks down during each level, lending some urgency to the proceedings. Extra time can be added to the clock by successfully completing challenge events, painting a certain percentage of the map or locating clock collectibles. The more creative you get with the repainting, the more time is added. While it’s possible to fill up on one color and go to work literally painting the town red, you score more points by mixing things up and spraying a full spectrum of pigments. As you work your way through the game, the challenge level ratchets up, forcing you to adopt more complex strategies to maximize extra-time rewards.

The game continues to build on its core concepts all the way through. The first few levels involve some easy tasks, but eventually enemies who can hurt the blob or hit him with paint-draining ink start to appear, leading to combat sequences that are executed with various wags of the Wiimote and Nunchuck. In addition, environmental hazards such as spikes and color-bleaching water pools appear, requiring you to perform split-second jumps to avoid these threats. Like the best platforming games, de Blob does a nice job of gradually introducing new skills and actions while increasing the challenge, providing a fresh and compelling experience from beginning to end.

While the game’s narrative is foolish in the non-sequitor Katamari vein, the various cutscenes and unlockable bonus movies boast a hearty sense of humor and should bring a smile to the faces of the hardest of the hardcore. It’s not nearly as out there as Katamari, meaning this title should see generous crossover appeal. De Blob also features a great art aesthetic; seeing your character breathe new life into these dying worlds promotes a wonderful feeling of accomplishment.

Apart from the solo campaign de Blob ships with a few multiplayer components. The family-friendly Paint Party mode rids the campaign levels of the timer and the adversaries, allowing you to go nuts repainting the Big City. This is a good mode for younger gamers. Blob on the Run tasks one player with trying to paint as much of an environment as possible, while the competing players strive to attack the main Blob and steal its paint ability, leading to some frenetic crashes and dashes. Paint Match lets everyone rush to coat as much of each stage as possible for points; players add to their totals by painting over their opponents’ colors. And in Blob Race, all players race to paint a specific location the fastest.

Now let’s see if this title will color your life or leave you faded.