Parents' Guide to Bluey: The Videogame

So long as you have realistic expectations of a game based on a kids show, you'll no doubt appreciate Ludo Studio's and Outright Games' BLUEY: THE VIDEOGAME, an interactive adventure for young players (and/or their parents). The beauty of the game is that it also appeals to parents as it does to kids, allowing families to share their love for gaming in a very introductory way. The dialog and actions of dog mum and dad, Chilli and Bandit, are about managing the stress and pride of watching their canine offspring learn a life lesson. Right off the bat, the faithful visual look of Bluey will be appreciated, as you select your character, rendered in a 3-D space, such as one of the dogs in the Heeler family. You'll use a controller to move your character around, solve simple puzzles, collect items, and explore the world -- as you also aim to unlock new costumes, stickers, playable episodes, and locations. Be aware you can't use a mouse and keyboard in the PC (Steam) version, as you'll need a game controller to play. The animation may not be as smooth as the television show, but little kids probably won't notice the difference. Plus, the game features voices from the English speaking cast of the show, including Dad, Bandit (David McCormack) and Mum, Chilli (Melanie Zanetti), along with smart writing from those who work on the show, as well. While its four episodes won't take more than a couple of hours to complete for more advanced gamers, the quality makes up for the (lack of) quantity in Bluey: The Videogame and it's a great intro for new young gamers. It's a good stab at letting fans be part of this popular kids show -- with familiar characters, voices, locations, and storylines -- and so it should be a welcomed and gratifying interactive cartoon for the entire family.