Bluey: The Videogame Reviews
A family-friendly adventure that captures the essence of the show, despite rough edges and a steep price.
Bluey: The Videogame may look the part but, with shonky controls and barely two hours of gameplay, everywhere else it’s a dog’s breakfast.
Even if it were left as it is, Bluey: The Videogame is a step above every other game built with children playing their very first video game that I’ve played with my son to date. The Peppa Pig games are great, the Paw Patrol ones are okay, but much like when you compare the shows, what Bluey has to offer on the video game front is comfortably superior. The show is for adults and kids alike, but the short runtime and minor bugs mean the game is far more catered to the little ones - but as one of the best of its kind, it’s pretty wackadoo.
Bluey: The Videogame successfully emulates the look and feel of the iconic TV show, but unfortunately it fails to recapture the same family magic. The gameplay is incredibly repetitive across the one-to-two-hour experience, relying on locating items dotted around the five core environments. Minigames break up the monotony somewhat, but even these fail to maintain attention for too long. That said, young children are going to get a kick out of simply existing within this world and playing as their favourite Bluey characters. If that's all you're looking to get out of this game, this does a decent job. But when you compare it to the all-ages magic of the show itself, and other family-focused games on Switch, this falls well short of the source material.
Whether you're bouncing on the trampoline in the backyard of Bluey’s house or looking for stickers at the playground, Bluey The Videogame is an assuredly fun time. It gives players a chance to create their own Heeler-style family game night memories, all the while teaching new gaming skills.
Bluey: The Videogame is a promising thesis of a game, but all the easter eggs in the world can't make a rushed product complete.
If your child is a Bluey fan, they are going to absolutely adore Bluey: The Videogame – it’s as simple as that. An art style that matches the cartoon and the use of original voice actors make this an authentic experience, with simple and well-considered gameplay that’s enjoyable for players of any age. Yes, this is an experience aimed at the youngest players – but even as adults, we’ve had some fun with this. It’s a game you’re going to be more than happy to play with your kids, let’s put it that way.
It does a good enough job of capturing the look and feel of the animated series, and even after completing the four episodes, my kids keep going back to mess around in the world. There's a framework here that could make for some electric little kid gaming experiences and I hope to see the world of Bluey in video game form expand beyond this opening salvo. Bluey the Videogame is the kind of game Bandit would roll his eyes about but begrudgingly play with Bluey and Bingo anyway, and that's okay, because Bandit's the kind of dad that recognizes not everything is meant for him.
It looks like Bluey and sounds like Bluey, but Bluey: The Videogame falls short in capturing the magic that makes the show so endearing.
Even if tell you that I think Bluey: The Videogame deserved a bigger budget, more development time, and bigger emphasis on the narrative, if the target market keeps pestering me to hang out in it every day, can I really ignore that intrinsic enjoyment?
The big question I asked myself when it came to writing a review was this: Is this just a low-effort cash grab, or is it worthy of the fantastic show? I’m pleased to say, I feel they’ve landed firmly in the latter camp. The usually impeccably imparted ‘lesson’ each episode of the show delivers arrives here in the game exactly where it should be, heart and warmth intact.
With the source material being so well known for its quality, it’s a shame Bluey: The Videogame is nowhere near as good in writing, gameplay, animation, or anything for that matter. Even with the target audience being young gamers or parents wanting their kids to try something they are familiar with, it’s hard to see many people finding joy here.