Common Sense Media Review
By Erin Bell
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Whimsical and creative adventure with mild adult themes.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 13+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Play
Videos and Photos
The Next Big Thing
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's It About?
THE NEXT BIG THING takes place in a world where monsters are real and make a legitimate living by acting in horror movies. Many monster actors are uncomfortable when a major movie mogul decides to shift his business from horror to family entertainment, and this leads to a strange series of events that must be investigated by the two main characters of the story: Liz Allaire, a loopy but dogged investigative journalist and her reluctant partner, sports reporter Dan Murray.
Is It Any Good?
The Next Big Thing is a unique adventure game with top notch production values (including crisp HD graphics and a stellar soundtrack), interesting characters, and dialog that is decidedly oddball. The game can be so off the wall at times, in fact, that it can be hard to intuit what to do next because the usual adventure game tropes don't necessarily apply.
Thankfully, the game comes to your rescue by offering a hint system that nudges you in the right direction without completely giving the answers away. While some players might be frustrated by the game's challenging -- and unskippable -- puzzles, The Next Big Thing is a polished and fun romp that should have no trouble appealing to fans of adventure games and entertaining stories.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what it would be like if monsters really did exist in real-life as the game depicts. What other jobs might monsters be good at besides acting in horror movies?
Families can also talk about the use of hints in adventure games. Do you prefer to use hints to solve puzzles or would you rather take the time to figure the puzzles out all by yourself? At what point does a game become too easy if hints are used?
Game Details
- Platforms : Mac , Windows
- Pricing structure :
- Available online? : Not available online
- Publisher : Focus Home Interactive
- Release date : April 21, 2011
- Genre : Adventure
- ESRB rating :
- Last updated : August 29, 2016
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate