I was excited for this game when it came out as it was the first real My Little Pony game since Gen 3 with Pinkie Pie's Party on DS. And when this finally came out, to say it was a disappointment is an understatement. It was an expected disappointment given that I knew it was being made by Outright Games and I have plenty of experience dealing with them, but still disappointing.

This game had potential to be better, but it just doesn't hit. Keep in mind before we go further that this game released for $40. I got the Series X version for $5 in clearance, and eventually the Switch version for $10, but I've also played through every version of the game. That said, you will easily 100% it in under 2 hours. I originally found this out when I played a pirated copy off my friend's Switch upon release to find out if I wanted to buy it and just through my short time sampling it, I ended up 100%ing it. Even worse, it offers no replay value other than replaying the rhythm dance game, of which consists of only one song, with a different unlocked character. The song is catchy at least and to me is unfortunately the highlight of the game, but the only real reason to replay it is if you're desperately grasping for more playtime since you're barely gonna get any.

After that, it's all back downhill, talking to characters, running back and forth fetching things, obstacle courses, bunny and crab herding, and a single chase at the end. The only other replay value I can think of is going to the minigames section and replaying stuff you've already played, choosing who chases Sprout, who herds bunnies, and who runs the obstacle courses, but different characters have no gameplay differences, rather just being there as a way to play as your favorite character, of which you can only do in the minigames, outside of which you're still restricted to just playing as Sunny. And again, the only minigame I ever felt like replaying was the dance one because of the catchy song. Other than that, you'll probably feel no desire to retouch any of the other minigames.

Once you've beaten the game, all that's left to do is run around and change into the different outfit pieces you've unlocked. Like I said, this could've been a better game. It has good voice acting, at least being comparable to the show since it has all the same actors, has an okay story that goes somewhat off of the movie a bit, and while rather barebones, the different outfit pieces would've been nicer if you were able to run around as somepony else and see how it all looks on all of them. In the end, the two main problems were the short length with barely any replay value to justify the high price and it being made by Outright Games. Their games are made to draw children in with the licenses like Paw Patrol and they never offer much in terms of content, yet still charge heftier prices. I feel that were this game made by nearly anyone else, it at the very least would've been a little longer.

So while I've obviously been able to enjoy (or at least tolerate) it enough to play through this on every platform, I would recommend that if you're gonna try this, lower your expectations quite a bit and don't pay more than $5 for it. That's all it's worth.

It's not the worst licensed game I've ever played, but it's also not really interesting at all. Controls are fine, and visually the game is serviceable for what it is, but every new area of the game is the same gameplay loop of having to repair a billboard by going on a 2-3 minute long fetch quest, followed by a short mini game. Doesn't sound too bad, but the fetch quests are literally the same items you have to find in every area, not to mention the fact that there are only 5 levels, and of those 5 levels, 2 of them reuse the same mini game, while 1 of them doesn't even have one, meaning there are only 3 wholey original side games to play. And yes, you heard that right, there are only 5 levels. If you're not 6 you can easily blaze through this game in 2 hours without even trying. Hell, Kids 6 or younger could probably beat this game in a day as well. This game is $40 MSRP, which doesn't sound horrible, but seeing as other recently played children's game Gigantosaur was 3X as longer, is half the price of this game at $25, and is aiming for the same age demographic, if not perhaps a bit younger, there's no way I could ever recommend this game at all unless you have PSPlus Extra and just want a quick and dirty platinum.

For a more serious review this time, this game is about what I expected - a fairly average but decently fun kid's game. As a fan of FiM and G5 MLP, I am glad a new console game released under the latter's brand and wasn't just a mobile pay-to-win Farmville clone like we got with FiM. It is a decent game for kids, and if you liked FiM and G5 as well it is a fun experience, but... not much else. The game can be beaten in about 2-3 hours depending on if you're going for all the achievements and whatnot, and 100%ing the game most likely won't take much longer. I did enjoy going around Maretime Bay and interacting with some of the NPCs, as well as some of the minigames, but after beating it once, there's really not much to go back to. The game's pretty easy with the only real challenge I found was getting trying to get the three crowns for some of the minigames, although even then that usually just took me a couple tries if I even had to repeat it.

It's not a bad experience for fans of MLP, but it's hard to recommend for anyone else. Even then, the game's $30 for a physical copy on Xbox One/Series X and PS4, and $40 for all digital versions (seriously, why is the digital version more expensive than the physical version?) and physical copies of the Nintendo Switch version - for both of those prices you could definitely find something with more content and substance (including Sonic Forces of all games). If you are a fan of MLP, I'd definitely say wait for a price drop or sale.