When God of War Laufey was unveiled a few weeks ago, the titular late wife of Kratos was supposed to be the star of the showcase. Things turned out differently, however, as much of the online discussion was centered around one of Laufey’s sidekicks: a square of goo by the fancy name of Phranque. The sludgy sidekick–voiced by Jack Quaid in one of the funniest mo-cap setups we’ve ever seen–quickly stole the show, whirling and twirling as he helped Faye mow down a mob of foes with shocking agility. The consensus is clear: We stan the cube.
Phranque, however, is just part of a long-running legacy of slimes in gaming. These slippery characters have been friend and foe, obstacle and companion, and sometimes even playable heroes. Let’s step back and take a look at the trail of game history our bubbly buddies have left behind.
Slime monsters have been a staple in pop culture for eons, but the creatures’ continued presence across gaming comes primarily from an analog source: the great Dungeons and Dragons. Slime creatures have existed in D&D since its genesis in 1974, but one particular muck-monster has endured in popularity throughout the years: the Gelatinous Cube. This 10-by-10-foot carrion-feeder sweeps dungeons to consume the remains of living things that have perished in the depths.
The Gelatinous Cube’s appeal is understandable–there’s something fascinating and morbidly humorous about a massive, mindless cube of toxic jelly that feeds on dead adventurers–and the recent uptick in popularity for all things Dungeons and Dragons has given the cube a fresh fanbase (though I wonder if Minecraft’s slimes taking a cubical form has also bolstered the AD&D OG’s profile). Heck, the Gelatinous Cube even occupies prime real estate on Stern’s recent Dungeons and Dragons pinball table. So while Phranque’s relatives may lack intelligence, they’re certainly not lacking in prestige.
D&D would go on to inspire the first wave of computer RPGs, including the legendary Wizardry, which featured slimes as some of your party’s earliest enemy encounters. Other early adventure games, like Namco’s Tower of Druaga and Hydlide, also featured enemy slimes. But it was Wizardry’s success and direct influence that led to the creation of gaming’s most famous slime.
Dragon Quest owes much of its early inspiration to Wizardry. Creator Yuji Horii wanted to make his own game with similar ideas–including the sorts of monsters that appeared. Wizardry had slimes, so it made sense for them to be in Dragon Quest as well. That’s when famed manga artist and illustrator Akira Toriyama worked his magic to create a gaming icon.
“Originally when we thought up the slime, it was a pile of goo,” said Horii in a 2007 interview. “We had imagined…an icky pool of slime, but when (Akira Toriyama) came back with that perfectly shaped tear-drop monster, we thought it was perfect.”
The baby-blue monster was different from the popular image of slimes. Instead of being a gross, messy pile of sludge, the simple design oozed with charm, greeting players with a big, goofy smile that almost made you feel bad about grinding levels from them. The Dragon Quest slime quickly became the face of the series, becoming even more iconic than many of the human cast members. Through sequels, minigames, and spin-offs, players became able to interact with slimes in ways beyond battle. The slimes even got their own spin-off series of games–only one of which, the excellent Rocket Slime for the Nintendo DS, was released outside of Japan. To this day, the Dragon Quest slime remains an icon, decorating all manner of merchandise with its eternal grin.
After Dragon Quest, video game slime design took a notable turn away from realistic, nature-inspired molds, algae, and snottites to gradually embrace round, jiggly cuteness. You definitely still had old-school slime designs, like the recurring early-game demon recruit in the Shin Megami Tensei series, and creatures like the Final Fantasy series’s Flan monsters mixed anthropomorphic features like big googly eyes with toothy snarls. But mass appeal and marketability for slime characters was definitely in–and a surprise puzzle hit was poised to capitalize on that.
Puyo Puyo was originally a spin-off of developer Compile’s RPG series Madou Monogatari–a game in which the wobbly, squishy Puyos appeared as enemy mobs not unlike Dragon Quest’s slimes. First released for MSX and Famicom Disk System in 1991, Puyo Puyo would find massive success with an arcade release in 1992 that emphasized a fast-paced versus mode. The rules of Puyo Puyo were simple: Link Puyos of the same color together to erase them, and set up big chains to rain a hail of garbage on your opponent’s playfield. Puyo Puyo played faster than Tetris and was just as easy to grasp, plus it featured a charming cast of delightful weirdos that fans ate up. But the Puyos themselves were the crux of the gameplay, and they became iconic in their own right. Puyo Puyo continues to be one of the most popular falling-piece puzzle games out there, and rights-owner Sega markets the cute little blobs in a variety of ways–including continuing a decades-long tradition of making Puyoman, a sweet treat based on the blobs.
With the newfound popularity of slime monsters in media, it only made sense for a game about critter collecting to feature a globular representative. While Pokemon’s original lineup of 151 beasties drew design inspiration from all manner of sources, Ditto stands out from the pack. It’s a surprisingly basic-looking concept–a somewhat lumpy blob with two beady eyes and a laid-back smile–but its ability to morph into other Pokemon and use their abilities is entirely unique. Despite not being a headliner Pokemon like Pikachu, Ditto has lots of fans–particularly those invested in Pokemon husbandry, as it is a universal mate. And recently, Ditto got to assume the spotlight in Pokemon Pokopia, a building/simulation title where Dittos assume humanoid form to create a lively living space, but are able to utilize their transformation capabilities to learn and use other Pokemon’s skills.
The recent success of Pokopia raises a question: there are lots of games where you interact with slimes in some way, but are there other titles where you are the goo? Perhaps unsurprisingly, it can be difficult to make a game focused on a creature who lacks traditional limbs and movement. That hasn’t stopped developers from trying, however.
One obscure gem in the slime-protagonist genre actually comes from a pre-Pokemon Game Freak. In the early days of the Super NES’s life, Game Freak produced Smart Ball–known as Jerry Boy in Japan–a game about a boy turned into a slime creature. The game has some interesting ideas for how the player character attacks and moves, as you’re able to stretch and cling to walls, as well as absorb (and toss out) items into your gelatinous mass. It’s a charming, colorful platformer that also serves as a good look into what Game Freak was doing before its mega-success–but sadly, the sequel got canceled before it ever released.
Another more infamous example of player-controlled slime is The Ooze, a Genesis/Mega Drive exclusive developed by Sega Technical Institute. Hero Dr. Caine is transformed into a puddle of bubbling green slime as he’s preparing to expose a nefarious plot by his former employer to poison the planet. Not only must he foil the plan, but he also needs to find a way to become human again. Like many Sega Technical Institute games, The Ooze is unique and ambitious but not all that fun to play–controlling the slime-ified Caine is awkward, and managing your supply of goo (which increases your size, and thus, your hitbox) is a messy, frequently frustrating affair. The Ooze is mostly remembered for being a very late console release and having some interesting physics for the time–and, well, being a game starring sludge.
If there’s one section of gaming where slimes are getting plenty of love nowadays, it’s the indie sphere (or cube). One of modern indie gaming’s first breakout hits, 2008’s World of Goo (and its 2024 sequel), has you building structures to solve physics puzzles using a supply of slimes. Slime Rancher 1 and 2 are cozy nurturing sims where you raise, feed, and breed oodles of adorable slimes on colorful planets far away from Earth. Indie developers are embracing slime protagonists. The cutesy co-op souls-like Slime Heroes is available across multiple platforms. Former Epic Games artist Asher Zhu has been showcasing development on a 3D slime game with beautiful visuals.
With Phranque soon to be making his mark and an illustrious legacy of gooey glory, one thing’s for sure: as friends or as foes, as blobs, cubes, or slithering piles of mucky mass, Slimes will forever be one of gaming’s greatest monster archetypes.
