Fantastic Flash Friday: Blush

I'll admit it, every now and again at work you need to take your mind off whatever task is at hand and focus it on something else, and what better to focus it on than an idyllic underwater landscape? I'll tell you what better, how about an underwater environment in which you are a tentacled creature fighting for you life and mere existence among jellyfish, crabs, squids, octopuses, sea serpents, clams and eels? Oh yeah, and you only get four minutes to eek out your survival and rack up the big points, how does that sound? I got two words for ya on how it sound: Awe-Some!

That game is named Blush and is fantastic in both its simplicity of gameplay and the marvel of its graphics. The controls consist of using the mouse to point the creature in the direct it should move, and using the mouse click to propel it in that direction. The physics engine in the game is superb, and gives a feel of fluid underwater movement, allowing you character to whip around quickly, flaying its tentacles at enemies and eggs alike. Kill enemies and collect the eggs on your tentacles to then carry them into glowing light sources scattered around the sea to increase your speed and tentacle length. All the time while you play, you are basking in the warmth, glow, and beauty that are the graphics in this game. All creatures have a translucency to them and glow in different neon colors. Just watch out for when they turn yellow, though.

The 4 minute play limit for each game seems restrictive at first; however, with each successively played game, you learn just how quickly and adeptly you need to move your little squishy to rack up a high score or just grow big enough that the giant sea serpent does make you drop a pile of eggs in your diaper when you happen to run into it. I've played the game a number of times this week, and no matter what, each game is different and rewarding. The best part about it is that all these fantatic elements combine in way that always seems to leave me relaxed and invigorated once my four (or 8 or 12 or 20) minutes end, and ready to go deal with collecting eggs on my tentacles in real life and blush a little when my coworkers ask what the hell I am doing with their egg salad sandwich.

Disclaimer: The game in this article actually uses Unity instead of Flash, but that's part of the reason the game looks so awesome, so just a forewarning that if you don't already have Unity, it'll ask you to install it... and yes I know that the title is Fantastic Flash Friday, the irony is not lost one me.

Blush [Blurst]