About to Blow Up!

About to Blow Up! is a first-person graphic adventure game developed by Jerkazoid Gamez and published by Facepuncher Worldwide LLC, released in 2012 for Windows and Xbox 360. Set in a comedic narrative, the game features fixed flip-screen visuals and point-and-click gameplay, immersing players in a unique adventure experience.

About to Blow Up!: Review

Introduction

In the crowded and often formulaic landscape of 2012’s indie gaming scene, About to Blow Up! emerged as a defiantly eccentric anomaly. Developed by Jerkazoid Gamez and published by Facepuncher Worldwide LLC, this quirky point-and-click adventure arrived on Xbox 360 and PC with a promise of “hilariously insane hip-hop cartoon adventure” and “mind-melting puzzles.” While its premise—a lovable loser battling the tyrannical Mr. Sleez to save an indie record label—might suggest a niche curiosity, the game’s bold art style and earnest charm carved out a unique legacy. This review will dissect About to Blow Up! through its development context, narrative intricacies, gameplay systems, artistic execution, and enduring legacy, arguing that despite its flaws, it stands as a testament to the creative vitality of the Xbox Live Indie Games (XBLIG) era and a prescient example of how thematic ambition can elevate even the most constrained gameplay.

Development History & Context

About to Blow Up! materialized in a pivotal moment for indie gaming. Released on June 19, 2012, it was birthed from Jerkazoid Gamez, a studio operating within the constraints of Microsoft’s XNA framework and XBLIG ecosystem. This platform, while democratizing development, imposed severe technical limitations: low budgets, minimal visibility, and a reliance on niche audiences. The creators, whose identities remain shrouded in mystery, envisioned a game that would subvert the stodgy point-and-click genre by infusing it with vibrant, surreal hip-hop aesthetics and self-aware humor. Their vision was explicitly animated by the rebellious, exaggerated style of John Kricfalusi (Ren & Stimpy), as noted by the Indie Gamer Chick reviewer, who credited this stylistic choice as the game’s initial hook.

The gaming landscape of 2012 was dominated by triple-A blockbusters like Call of Duty: Black Ops II and Diablo III, yet the indie scene was undergoing a renaissance. Crowdfunded successes like Double Fine Adventure and FTL: Faster Than Light signaled a hunger for innovative, developer-driven experiences. About to Blow Up! arrived alongside other quirky titles such as Fez and Journey, but its XBLIG roots placed it outside mainstream critical discourse. The platform itself was a double-edged sword: it allowed creative freedom but struggled against perceptions of low quality and market saturation. The developers compensated by leaning into absurdity, crafting a game that felt intentionally unpolished yet bursting with personality—a deliberate counterpoint to the glossy, homogenized outputs of larger studios.

Narrative & Thematic Deep Dive

At its core, About to Blow Up! tells a deceptively simple tale of David versus Goliath in the cutthroat music industry. Players assume the role of an unnamed “lovable loser” aspiring to manage a hip-hop act, only to find their city—and the entire independent music scene—under the thumb of the cartoonishly villainous Mr. Sleez. The narrative unfolds through a series of zany encounters, where players must thwart Sleez’s schemes by solving puzzles that grow increasingly surreal. The plot is less a cohesive story and more a framework for comedic vignettes, populated by eccentric characters like a cheese-hoarding rat and a laser-shooting henchman. This episodic structure mirrors classic cartoon shorts, prioritizing slapstick over continuity.

Thematically, the game operates as a sharp satire of corporate greed and artistic integrity. Mr. Sleez embodies the soulless mogul who crushes creativity for profit, while the protagonist represents the indie spirit fighting for authenticity. The “hip-hop” setting, however, is largely aesthetic; the gameplay rarely engages with the culture beyond superficial trappings like record labels and boomboxes. Instead, the real focus is on absurdist humor and the joy of subverting expectations. The dialogue, peppered with non-sequiturs and fourth-wall breaks (“well duh, why didn’t I think of that?” as noted by the Indie Gamer Chick review), leans into the game’s self-awareness. This meta-humor positions the narrative not as a serious drama but as a playful mockery of adventure-game tropes, where illogical solutions are part of the charm.

Gameplay Mechanics & Systems

About to Blow Up! adheres rigidly to the point-and-click adventure template, a choice that both grounds and limits the experience. Players navigate static, flip-screen environments by clicking hotspots, combining inventory items, and solving environmental puzzles. The interface is minimalist, with a cursor and inventory panel harking back to 90s classics like Monkey Island. This simplicity, however, masks significant design flaws. Puzzle logic often hinges on arbitrary guesswork, exemplified by the infamous “wig on the rat” solution cited in multiple reviews. As one player lamented in the Indie Gamer Chick comments section, “item puzzles are solved by total random guesswork,” leading to frequent frustration and reliance on external guides.

The game lacks traditional combat or progression mechanics, relying instead on inventory-based puzzles that test patience over skill. While the Indie Gamer Chick acknowledged that “puzzles are pretty simple,” she also noted that “times where you’re generally lost without direction can be draining.” The absence of a hint system exacerbates this, forcing players to brute-force solutions. Yet, the designers infused the experience with emergent humor through unpredictable interactions—combining a watering can with a card, for instance, yields absurd results that reward experimentation. This unpredictability, while frustrating, becomes a core strength, transforming tedious trial-and-error into a source of comedic payoff.

World-Building, Art & Sound

The game’s world is a hyper-stylized, neon-drenched cityscape that blends urban decay with cartoonish excess. Environments range from grimy record stores to bizarre underground lairs, all rendered in hand-drawn 2D animation. The art style is the game’s undisputed triumph, directly inspired by John Kricfalusi’s frenetic, rubber-hose animation. Characters feature exaggerated proportions, garish colors, and expressive faces that amplify the slapstick tone. Mr. Sleez, with his suit-and-tie villainy and grotesque sneer, epitomizes this aesthetic—he is both menacing and ridiculous, a fitting antagonist for a story that rejects realism.

The sound design amplifies the visual chaos. An “old school hip-hop soundtrack” pulses through the game, though its integration is superficial. Instead of driving gameplay, it functions as atmospheric backdrop, reinforcing the urban setting without deepening the narrative. Sound effects—laser blasts, squawking rats, and exaggerated impacts—prioritize cartoon clarity over realism. This cohesive audio-visual package creates a distinct atmosphere of controlled anarchy, where the world feels alive with possibility even when the puzzles falter. The art’s boldness and consistency elevate the experience, making even mundane locations feel like stages in a bizarre, animated comedy.

Reception & Legacy

Upon release, About to Blow Up! received minimal critical attention, a fate common to XBLIG titles. Metacritic and OpenCritic list no professional reviews, reflecting the game’s obscurity beyond niche circles. However, player feedback was polarized. Some embraced its humor and art, as evidenced by the Indie Gamer Chick’s praise for its “best story… graphics and characters” on XBLIG. Others, like frustrated commenters on her review, lambasted its illogical puzzles and sparse content. Commercial performance remains undocumented, but its presence on both Xbox 360 and PC suggests a deliberate, if limited, reach.

The game’s legacy lies less in its immediate impact and more in its role as a time capsule of XBLIG’s golden age. It exemplifies the platform’s ethos: ambitious, unpolished, and unapologetically weird. Its hip-hop theme, while underexplored, presaged the industry’s later embrace of cultural curation in indie titles. While it never spawned the planned sequels hinted at by its “Part 1” subtitle, it remains a cult favorite among retro gamers. Its resurrection on platforms like GOG and in YouTube retrospectives underscores its enduring cult appeal—a testament to the power of distinctive art and earnest chaos.

Conclusion

About to Blow Up! is a flawed, fascinating artifact of a bygone indie era. Its point-and-click puzzles often frustrate, its hip-hop veneer remains underdeveloped, and its narrative is more a series of vignettes than a cohesive story. Yet, its hand-drawn art style, self-aware humor, and refusal to take itself too seriously make it a standout achievement. In an industry increasingly dominated by AAA polish and monetization strategies, Jerkazoid Gamez created a game that felt alive with personality—a defiant celebration of creativity within constraints. While it may never achieve the historical reverence of Fez or Journey, About to Blow Up! holds a unique place: as a love letter to cartoon absurdity and a reminder that the most enduring games are often those that dare to be gloriously, unapologetically themselves. For players seeking a dose of unfiltered, unironic fun, it remains—quite literally—about to blow up.