The dawn of Web3 and blockchain gaming has made great strides toward acceptance over the past few weeks and months, but there is still a long road ahead. Many games are still works in progress, and others are playable but either horribly imbalanced or just not fun to play. The worst thing a game could be, besides incomplete, is not fun to play.
Thankfully, there are several bright spots in this uncertain time. One of them is a creative party game co-developed by Mythical, Inc. and Third Kind Games, and published by Mythical, Inc.: Blankos Block Party. From top to bottom, Blankos Block Party is instantly engaging, super fun, and surprisingly polished. It is also an NFT game that has the best shot at becoming mainstream thanks to being available to download and play off of the Epic Game Store, the first of its kind.
Will Blankos Block Party be the game to rip open the floodgates to make NFT and blockchain gaming an accepted part of the video game industry? Maybe not, but that doesn’t mean it’s not special in its own right. Let’s dig into the ups and downs of Blankos Block Party in this review.
What is Blankos Block Party?
Blankos Block Party is a free-to-play, online multiplayer party game. It is clearly inspired by several other modern games of this type, but the one that sticks out to me is definitely Fall Guys. It has liberally borrowed much of its presentation and format from Mediatonic’s wildly popular game, but it doesn’t feel like a ripoff.
Blankos Block Party has a style all its own, and it definitely sets itself apart with its unique blockchain implementation. This feels like part of the next wave of blockchain games, and I hope other blockchain game developers take notes from Mythical and Third Kind Games.
You’re a Toy!
Blankos Block Party didn’t need to go out of its way to establish any kind of theming or world-building, but it definitely did and I think the game is better for it. After you install the client, make a Mythical account, and log in, the first thing you’ll see in Blankos Block Party is a titular Blanko. Blankos are Funko POP!-esque toys that can be customized with the cosmetics and items that can be obtained either as rewards for playing the game, or by purchasing them through the in-game store or the Mythical Marketplace.
Once you have your Blanko, you are then introduced to the game and it’s explained to you that you are, in fact, a toy. You can see the scale of your Blanko next to common objects such as pencils, bowls, and tubes of paint as Shaman, the guide character, tells you that toys have been coming to life in secret for ages. Blankos are special among toys though for inventing the Blanko Brawl, a combination of events that determines who the best Blanko is.
It’s cute and silly, but it’s a great framing device for a style of game that doesn’t really need one. I think it shows the thought and care that went into the development of the game, and it reminds me of Toy Story, which can only be a good thing.
There is a pervasive hip-hop feel to many of the environments and characters, and I swear I even heard a Splatoon-like record scratch when characters spoke. Come to think of it, much of the game’s style felt like Splatoon to me, and it definitely works when it’s there.
Tiny Competitors
The format of Blanko’s Block Party is similar to Fall Guys, except there are no eliminations. All 8 players in a block party get to see and compete in each of the three events, and the standings are calculated based on how many points you get in the base event types. The event types the optional tutorial takes you through are Vibe collection (yes, the collectible in the game is called Vibes), races, and a combat elimination game where Blankos can use a baseball bat or a few different guns to take out other Blankos and earn points.
In practice, the games are fun to play. The Blankos feel good to control for the most part, although the sprint function is on a toggle, which felt strange in my time with the game for some reason. It seems like it would have made more sense to have it work based on how long you hold down a button, as Blankos can’t sprint infinitely.
Outside of the minor quibble with the sprint button, I found platforming to collect Vibes and bashing/shooting other Blankos very satisfying. Having a combat event also gives Blankos Block Party an edge over Fall Guys, which seems to go out of its way to be family-friendly and marketable.
There are also additional modes that allow you to build an event of your own to share with the world or hang out with friends in a lobby.
It’s a Block(chain) Party
Blankos Block Party is completely free-to-play, and it doesn’t make its blockchain implementation an integral part of the experience as far as I noticed. Each Blanko is an NFT, and as you rank them up and customize them, you increase their rarity as well as their possible value. You can then take your Blankos to the Mythical Marketplace where other players can also buy and sell Blankos and accessories.
The events and gameplay modes of Blankos Block Party are all skill-based, so you won’t be buying or selling anything that will enable some kind of in-game advantage. It’s all cosmetics, which seems to work even for other games outside the realm of blockchain. Just by taking a look at the Mythical Marketplace, you can see that many items are being minted in decent quantities independent of price, which ranges from $2 all the way up to $5 million. That $5 million “Golden Ticket” Blanko has been minted only one time, but even that boggles my mind.
Get Ready to Party
Blanko’s Block Party is a well-rounded party game that feels great to play and allows for a great deal of creativity. You can enjoy it just as you would any other free-to-play game, by either playing the game and ignoring the monetization, or engaging with it and spending money to create the character you want. Either way, it’s a great time that will continue to grow as time goes on.
Our score: 9/10
