Descendants
Movie tie-in about fashion, stereotypes, and purchases.
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Based on 1 review
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Descendants
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this app.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Descendants is a high school simulation game featuring characters from the Disney movie and series. The free download is playable without the many in-app purchases, but kids have to play quite a while to earn enough coins and rewards to advance through the levels and unlock more content without a purchase. They'll have to wait an hour between missions, too, unless they buy their way out of the wait with an in-app purchase. Disney's privacy policy is fairly straightforward but covers all their products. Read the full policy to learn what information is collected.
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What’s It About?
Join the kids of Auradon from Disney's Descendants at high school and around town in DESCENDANTS. Create a custom character and choose hair, skin, facial features, and clothes. Then complete missions, following instructions of where to go and whom to talk to. Keep up with what the other AKs and VKs are doing via the social media news feed and explore Audabon Prep. Collect coins and rewards while exploring (or buy them as in-app purchases) to unlock other places to explore. As kids complete their assignments, they can earn achievements such as "musician," "athlete," and "besties forever" with the description that "[N]othing is better than a good friend. Except maybe a friend with two tickets to Disneyland."
Is It Any Good?
When your parents are fairy-tale royalty or villains, high school is apparently all about finding the next party and deciding what to wear -- at least at Auradon High. If you're a real-life kid, you're going to have to fork over some cash for in-app purchases, though, if you want to find out about that party or talk to your friend without waiting an hour. Beyond the shallow facade and pricey play, young kids will likely get a kick out of texting and chatting on social media with their imaginary friends. The character creator scores points for honoring diversity with the range of skin colors, hair styles, and facial features. Fans of the show will enjoy hanging out with their favorite characters, and they can play and explore without racking up lots of in-app purchases if they practice some restraint. However, classic high school stereotypes are reinforced through the achievements kids can earn while playing -- from "beauty and the geek" and "athlete" to "cheerleader" and "drama queen." It's the shallowness of high school at its worst with a Disney spin.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the high school life portrayed in the game. How realistic is it? What do the characters seem most focused on? Is that good or bad?
Even though the kids playing are likely too young for social media, go ahead and start talking to them about smart social media use, pointing out positive and negative examples in the app.
App Details
- Devices: iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android
- Pricing structure: Free (Kids can buy upgrades to speed game play with packages ranging from $1.99 to $39.99.)
- Release date: November 15, 2015
- Category: Kids' Games
- Topics: Book Characters, Friendship
- Publisher: Disney
- Version: 1.15.1
- Minimum software requirements: iOS 8.0 or later; Android 4.2 and up
- Last updated: July 12, 2020
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