Bluey: The Videogame
Ok, just picked this up today, and I love it. I've gotta say, if you're looking for something super deep that you're going to play as an adult gamer by yourself and feel "yeah this was totally worth it", well, look elsewhere. BUT:
If you have a kid that's into Bluey, and you at least are neutral on it (we're a total Bluey household, love it 100%), this is a great purchase, especially if you're looking for something as an early-gamer game. I sat down with my 5 year old and we blew through the story, which plays out like 4 "episodes" of the show (with a title card screen and everything). You run around the house, park, etc, and perform different tasks (for example, gathering snacks for a Chattermax toy Uncle Rad gives the kids, or getting Muffin's dress up clothes to play with her and Uncle Stripe on the playground), ultimately gathering up map pieces to uncover a hidden treasure Bandit and his brothers buried back in the "olden days" (the 80s).
It's a short adventure, split into 4 short episodes (all of which can be replayed after completing the story), which I think is perfect for the target audience. On top of that, you get to free roam the different areas in the game, and there are objects you can collect to add to your sticker book and collectibles to find, and 4 mini games you unlock over the course of the main story to play at will (keepy-uppy, floor is lava, Chattermax chase, and magic xylophone). All of these also gain you stars that unlock hats you can put on the family members you're playing, which is a fun touch for kids that might want to dress them up a bit. Also, we played the story together, but my 5 year old was able to handle the controls just fine as her first "3d adventure game", and she was able to run around for collectibles on her own (they're identified with sparkles so kids can find them easily).
A couple of notes I'd put out for parents playing with their kids: make sure you're player 1. There's an intentional rubber banding effect to keep players together, and it seems tied to player 1. If your kid likes to mess around a bunch, you might find yourself at their mercy until they choose to go the right way 😅. 2. We're playing on Switch, and overall the experience was great, but there was one point with some funky clipping that had me walking through stairwells and under the floor. I had to close the game and reopen it, but it could have been due to some rapid fire back and forth to the character selection screen my kid had us doing right before that causing a glitch, lol. Aside from that, nothing major to note, and I'd consider it a strongly recommended for the Bluey families out there.
I won't spoil it, but the main story also ends with what you'd expect from your typical Bluey episode. Not anything tearjerking or super poignant like some episodes, but it definitely had both me and the 5 year old locked to the screen as Bandit dropped the point of the story to Bluey.
