by Cartoon Network’s mobile division—particularly that behind its edgier Adult Swim-branded fare—has historically been a pretty good fit for goofy, whimsical little arcade-style titles that focus on simple game design while still managing to be fun. Globlins doesn’t really fit that criteria, despite looking decent enough at a glance, with colorful storybook art and a cute, kid-friendly premise involving blotting out tiny microscopic organisms.
The puzzle design also seems solid on the surface. Scattered across a grid, each stage requires you to get rid of all the so-called globlins using a finite supply of water droplets. Smaller critters need a few drops before they’re big enough to pop, at which point they send goo flying in cardinal directions. Goo works just like a droplet, so poppable globlins can cause a chain reaction with other nearby microbes when hit. Of course, the higher the chain reaction, the more replacement droplets and in-app currency you earn.
While it can be fun to watch a grid full of globlins go off like a series of firecrackers, the way they’re often herded together undermines any incentive you might have to carefully strategize which to grow or pop. Generally, you have between 8-10 droplets at your disposal, and a big chain will net you a large replacement cache. So go ahead, choose a random clump of smaller globules before popping the catalyst—it’s almost always a completely risk-free action. When the last glob has popped, you’ll have plenty of droplets left to take out any stragglers, making the whole exercise feel neither challenging nor particularly rewarding.
On the other hand, the difficulty spikes immensely when facing bosses, which are damaged by wayward goo and consequently regenerate health by sucking up any remaining globs you fail to clear with one calculated pop. You’ll move through a handful of grids in each showdown, meaning bosses have multiple chances to regain their health if you make a bad move. Power-ups and specials are typically locked behind hefty currency prices, making them an ineffective strategy for those unwilling to shell out actual cash. With such abruptly exacting standards amidst otherwise middling tasks, you’ll probably want to step away from the microscope.
The bottom line. Despite the cute aesthetic, Globlins is not one of Cartoon Network’s finer efforts.
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