Parents' Guide to Scribblenauts Unlimited

Game Nintendo 3DS , Nintendo Wii U 2012
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Common Sense Media Review

Chad Sapieha By Chad Sapieha , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 10+

Vocabulary-exercise puzzler is an imaginative treat.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 10+?

Any Positive Content?

  • Scribblenauts Unlimited Game: Screenshot #1
  • Scribblenauts Unlimited Game: Screenshot #2
  • Scribblenauts Unlimited Game: Screenshot #3

Parent and Kid Reviews

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age 8+

Based on 3 parent reviews

 

 

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age 7+

Based on 12 kid reviews

Kids say this game is a fun and creative experience, providing a platform for problem-solving and vocabulary building, although parents should be aware of the mild cartoon violence and some themes that could be intimidating for younger players. While there are concerns about the narrative elements and character interactions, the overall consensus is that it's a positive learning tool that can entertain children without any explicit content.

  • creative gameplay
  • mild violence
  • educational value
  • family-friendly
  • enjoyable for all ages
Summarized with AI
 

 

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What's It About?

Max, the perpetually smiling star of SCRIBBLENAUTS UNLIMITED, has done a bad thing at the game's outset. After playing a prank on someone with his magical notebook, which lets him conjure up anything he wants simply by writing it down, his sister is cursed to slowly turn into stone. The only things that can save her are starites -- little yellow stars earned by doing good deeds. So Max heads out into the world looking to use his notebook for the greater good. Under the player's guidance, he helps get cars running again by summoning mechanics, serves people in a restaurant by creating their ideal meals, and even ensures a first date goes smoothly by helping a guy procure some decent duds, a present, and a ride. In fact, players can help these people however they like, writing into existence anything they can think of that might solve their problems, from star-spangled bears to unreliable time machines. The object of the game is not only to solve problems, but to do so in fun and funny ways -- like, say, putting out a kitchen fire with a thunderstorm. There are dozens of areas for Max to explore and hundreds of puzzles for players to solve, which should keep kids busy for quite a while.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say ( 3 ):
Kids say ( 12 ):

As with past Scribblenauts games, you get as much out of Scribblenauts Unlimited as you put into it. It's pretty easy to solve most problems in basic ways, conjuring a guitar for a musician in need of an instrument or a bicycle for a kid in want of something to do. And kids will likely get bored if that's all they do. However, they're apt to have loads of fun if they take the time to think up goofy, outrageous, and unlikely solutions instead. Rather than demolish a building with a wrecking ball, why not summon up a nuclear missile or some sort of destructive monster?

The series' debut on Wii U finally gives Max a much needed backstory, and it sets the action in a pretty, high-definition, connected world where Max moves organically from one area to another, solving puzzles along the way. Not all of the new features work as well as others -- the co-op mode, which has additional players using a Wii Remote to control objects created by the main player with the GamePad, just makes for jealous friends -- but taken as a whole it's the deepest and most satisfying game the Scribblenauts series has yet produced.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about imagination. What sort of things can you imagine that are impossible to make in the real world? Was there anything you imagined that the game didn't let you create?

  • Families can also discuss violence in games. How can you tell what your kids are ready for? Do you factor in their judgment, what they think they might be ready to see?

Game Details

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