Parents' Guide to

Despicable Me: The Game - Minion Mayhem

By Christopher Healy, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 10+

Fun puzzler may be too challenging for younger fans.

Game Nintendo DS, Nintendo DSi 2010
Despicable Me: The Game - Minion Mayhem Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this game.

  • Despicable Me: The Game - Minion Mayhem: Screenshot #1
  • Despicable Me: The Game - Minion Mayhem: Screenshot #2
  • Despicable Me: The Game - Minion Mayhem: Screenshot #3

Community Reviews

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age 6+

Based on 1 parent review

Lebron12James3
Lebron12James3 Parent
December 18, 2021
age 6+

This game doesn’t even work

See all 1 parent review

What’s It About?

The plot of DESPICABLE ME: THE GAME -- MINION MAYHEM is loosely based on that of the film it is named after, but focuses on supervillain Gru's adorable minion henchmen. Gru is in competition with Vector, another evil genius, and wants to outdo him by creating one monstrous device after another. To create these evil machines, he calls his minions into service. In the game, you will control the minions. Well, sort of -- Minions basically go where they want, but you have to manipulate the environment to make sure they're not hurt or misdirected in the process.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: (1):
Kids say: Not yet rated

Despicable Me: The Game -- Minion Mayhem is a novel and entertaining approach to adapting a film into a video game. Putting the focus on the scene-stealing minions, rather than the movie's protagonist, Gru, was a bold, but ultimately successful idea. The game plays out like the evolutionary descendent of games like Lemmings. Once you set a minion loose, it will move along on its own -- you have to hit buttons, slide levers, move elevators, and more in order to get the minions where you want them to go and keep them safe from obstacles. The pace can be quite frantic, especially when you've got four or more minions milling about at once. And figuring out how to get them where you want them can be very challenging. But the game is incredibly entertaining even while it's making you shriek (in a good way).

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the way the minions work together. Each must use his own special skills to the benefit of the group. What life lessons can we take from their example?

  • If you've seen the film, you can also discuss how this particular version of the game relates to the movie. Is a puzzle-type strategy game a good way to translate Despicable Me into an interactive format?

Game Details

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