"You got a sticker sport. That's awesome!" -Chili Heeler, 2023
I knew this wasn't going to be great, but I decided to check it out anyway because I love the show. (I borrowed it from a library, though - I thankfully didn't pay $40 for it.)
The first half of the game tells a story, and it's like a very long episode of Bluey. However, it lacks the charm, humor, and intelligence of the show. The dialogue is stiff and awkwardly timed, and characters' mouths are a lower resolution than the rest of their bodies. The line delivery is also pretty bad. It's like everything was a first take. It seems like some lines are even ripped from the show and stitched together to make new sentences, like a YouTube Poop.
The gameplay in this first half is very easy and never lets go of the player's hand. The characters will tell you something like "maybe if we move this box, we can get up there and get that thing". Then, there will be an arrow showing you exactly where to move the box. Yes, I know this is for kids, but kids aren't stupid. When I was in Bluey's target demographic, I was playing Crash Bandicoot and Legend of Zelda.
The story also has some holes and nonsensical things in it (why does Chattermax want to eat real food?), and Bluey's dad flat-out explains the lesson at the end. The show is much more subtle.
After that hour-long iffy story mode, I was ready to give the game a 3 or a 4, but then I decided to play the second half of the game. This part lets you explore familiar locations in the Bluey world and look for collectibles. I enjoyed this part a lot more than I expected to. It gives you freedom to move around instead of shuffling you along to the next cutscene.
And the best part? Nobody is talking. (Except for the lines you hear every time you collect something, but if I were thinking, I could have turned off voices in the settings. "Wow, so pretty!" Bluey says as she picks up a newspaper.) It's just you and some lovely background music from the show. I found it very relaxing.
It's very obvious that the developers were rushing to get this game out before a Christmas deadline. I think they do really care about this world, and there are lots of references to the show. They could have made something a lot more polished and robust if they were able to take their time.
I knew this wasn't going to be great, but I decided to check it out anyway because I love the show. (I borrowed it from a library, though - I thankfully didn't pay $40 for it.)
The first half of the game tells a story, and it's like a very long episode of Bluey. However, it lacks the charm, humor, and intelligence of the show. The dialogue is stiff and awkwardly timed, and characters' mouths are a lower resolution than the rest of their bodies. The line delivery is also pretty bad. It's like everything was a first take. It seems like some lines are even ripped from the show and stitched together to make new sentences, like a YouTube Poop.
The gameplay in this first half is very easy and never lets go of the player's hand. The characters will tell you something like "maybe if we move this box, we can get up there and get that thing". Then, there will be an arrow showing you exactly where to move the box. Yes, I know this is for kids, but kids aren't stupid. When I was in Bluey's target demographic, I was playing Crash Bandicoot and Legend of Zelda.
The story also has some holes and nonsensical things in it (why does Chattermax want to eat real food?), and Bluey's dad flat-out explains the lesson at the end. The show is much more subtle.
After that hour-long iffy story mode, I was ready to give the game a 3 or a 4, but then I decided to play the second half of the game. This part lets you explore familiar locations in the Bluey world and look for collectibles. I enjoyed this part a lot more than I expected to. It gives you freedom to move around instead of shuffling you along to the next cutscene.
And the best part? Nobody is talking. (Except for the lines you hear every time you collect something, but if I were thinking, I could have turned off voices in the settings. "Wow, so pretty!" Bluey says as she picks up a newspaper.) It's just you and some lovely background music from the show. I found it very relaxing.
It's very obvious that the developers were rushing to get this game out before a Christmas deadline. I think they do really care about this world, and there are lots of references to the show. They could have made something a lot more polished and robust if they were able to take their time.