Welcome to EXPlay, (Explain & Play) the review series where we care not for scores but tell it how it is when it comes to every game we get our hands on, whilst also taking the time to include some lengthy gameplay, to give you the reader, the chance to shape your own impressions and views whilst watching and reading. In this installment, we’re covering Bob Help Them! by developer Gagonfe.
Bob Help Them! (The Explanation)
Bob Help Them! is a strategy adventure game that puts the player in the role of Bob, a helpful soul who helps tend to the needs of others. Throughout each of the 35 levels of the game, Bob is given a time limit in which he must work as efficiently as possible to fulfil the requests of the NPC’s.
Each stage has a number of the NPC’s that require a certain amount of items like fruit, wood, fish, or even ore. Some even require the ore to be refined into ingots or the wood to be sawn into timbers, the fruit to be made into pies and so forth. You have to gather each item from the trees, the rocks, the ponds, and the barns.
When picking the fruit trees, you will take all of the fruit that is on it at the time. The tree will bear more fruit over time so you can return to pick it again. The same goes for the barns and the well in that they will generate more stock over time until they reach maximum capacity. The wood and ore on the other hand, are obtained over time by holding the A button next to the rock or tree that you are interacting with.
It is worth pointing out that you can only hold one specific item at a time. This means that you will have to drop some items at times so you can pick up another one. However, you are not limited to quantity so you can hold 20, 35, 47 of the same item (should you even need that many).
When you finish a level, you can earn stars relative to how much time you have left on the timer. You can earn up to three stars per level and when there are 35 levels, that means there are a total of 105 stars to collect if you are up for the challenge. As you progress further into Bob Help Them!, the pacing get gradually faster. Not so much in speed but your are given more and more requests to fulfill and less time to do it in. You have to manage your time and how you distribute yourself in gathering items and in what order.
Bob Help Them! won’t take you very long to beat and there is no limit to how many times you can repeat a level. You can also return to any stage you have played previously from the level select, which is handy for those who may want to three star each stage. If you enjoy games that have a relatively simple goal and the challenge lies in how quickly you can complete the change, then this game may just catch your eye.
Bob Help Them!: (The Gameplay)
Game Specifications:
Developer: Gagonfe
Publisher: No Gravity Games
Platform: Nintendo Switch (eShop)
Category: Adventure, Education, Strategy, Lifestyle
No. of Players: 1 player
Release Date: March 10, 2020 (EU & NA)
Price: $7.99
File Size: 60 MB
Nintendo.com Listing
