Gobliiins? I haven't heard that name in years, since the days of Amiga and Atari. The team at RED ART GAMES is releasing a lot of retro and nostalgia-inspired games, and the Gobliiins Collection is no exception.
The Gobliiins Collection is coming to Nintendo consoles for the first time and includes the first five legendary games that older generations grew up with, an interview with the main and responsible creator of the series, Pierre Gilhodes, exclusive illustrations, and a Music Player where you can listen to music from all the Gobliins games.
The first game, Gobliiins, was released in 1991, and in it, three heroes, Oups, Asgard, and Ignatius, embark on a mission to rescue King Angoulafre, who has inexplicably gone mad.
The second game in the series, Gobliiins 2: The Prince Bufoon, was released in 1992, and in it, the duo Fingus and Winkle will be teleported to an unknown land to find the missing Prince Buffoon.
Blount, the eccentric journalist, is the star of the game Gobliiins Quest 3, released in 1993. He is also on a mission, reporting on the war among kingdoms for supremacy over the mysterious Labyrinth.
After 16 years of waiting, Gobliiins 4 was released in 2009, in its first and last 3D version. King Badigoince sends Tchoupa, Stucca, and Perluisa to find and return his missing anteater, Riri.
And finally, in Gobliiins 5: The Morgloton Invasion from 2023, King Angoulafre once again sends his most loyal subjects, Oups, Asgard, and Ignatius, on a mission to save the kingdom that the evil wizard Morglott wants to turn into potatoes.
You will immediately notice that the story of none of these games makes any sense, but that is the forte and trademark of the Gobliiins saga. Absurd characters, animations, silly sounds, all aimed at solving some equally absurd task.
All the games are point-and-click adventures, where you will control one or more characters, each with some advantage, for example, one can collect and carry items, another is a wizard who uses spells to manipulate characters and objects, and one is a fool who can only use his fists to solve all problems. You will need to combine all their abilities to progress through the game.
Considering these are quite old games (at least the first three parts), you will often find yourself having no idea what to do, so you might reach for online walkthroughs and gameplay videos, but honestly, I wouldn't recommend that. In an age where we are all busy and lack the patience to struggle a bit to solve something, this series is a real breath of fresh air. Sit down, play, team up with someone from your household (I called in my 8-year-old son for help), and we had a great time puzzling over seemingly silly situations. But sometimes, that's exactly what we need. Stop and smell the roses.
Play Gobliins Collection, you won't regret it.
The Nintendo Switch copy for the review was provided by the publisher RED ART GAMES.
