I always wanted a Roomba and still do to this day. My parents had one and this little self-automated vacuum cleaner had a bloody mind of its own it seemed. We’d often come home and find it doing donuts in the corner of the room as if it had decided to kick off its heels and just do what it wanted, flipping the bird to its proverbial human overlords. Developed by Samurai Punk, “Roombo: First Blood” takes this premise of cleanliness and puts it on acid.

You play this stealth title as Roombo, a sentient robot vacuum, surprisingly full of spunk and attitude for such a small mechanical entity. When his owners leave the home and go out of town, thieves descend of the estate and try to break into your fortress of solitude to steal all the valuables. Being the only one home, it is your job to be the saviour and defend the house with your mighty Roombo skills the best ways you can. While the story is very basic the characterisation of Roombo is actually quite endearing.

Objectively, the game requires your to sneak around the house and lure the assailants into traps. By hacking household items that are highlighted, you can neutralise the target in some creative ways. From making the fireplace explode to slipping on water from the sprinkler above, there is a range of ways to eliminate the invading threats. While it is initially fun you do eventually run out of options, and you quickly feel like you have seen them all. Perhaps some enemy types would have elevated the repetitiveness.

Once you have taken out the various targets in a spray of blood splatter, you must clean the mess in the wake of the aftermath, like a good little robo vacuum. This is a mini-game that has a time limit and I found there was a dire need to clean up as much as I could before my owners got home. While also repetitive, I appreciate the inclusion of it to tie in the functionality of the Roombo.

With other objectives like saving valuables and accuracy of your trapping skills, you are given a score at the end of the mission much like a school report card. To add some challenges, the title has two modes; free-roaming with full 360-degree movement or for the extra difficulty the traditional 4 angle turning restricting your movement. This does actually add the needed extra, but the levels are the same so there is no real drive to dive back in once you have smashed through them.

I really liked the simple art style. It is very bold, blocked, and bright in stylings and it definitely catches your eye. There isn’t a lot of music present other than a typical whimsical suspense tune, but the sound effects of the items doing their destructive thing is a great touch. Roombo: First Blood just seems to lack some atmosphere which is a shame as it’s pretty solid gameplay-wise.

Overall, Roombo: First Blood a charming little title and while it is repetitive in gameplay its unique spin on a vacuum cleaner and fun traps while have you entertained long enough in its short time to complete.

Written by: Stacey