Parents' Guide to UglyDolls: An Imperfect Adventure

Though colorful and initially charming, this game quickly becomes a repetitive exercises in seek, dash, craft, and repeat. The initial concept for UglyDolls: An Imperfect Adventure offers possibilities for a lot of fun and innovative, not to mention clever, gameplay. For example, one of the earlier quests asks players to collect parts to build a machine, which will craft a door. Shortly after this, you then shove a nearby chair under the newly made doorknob to prevent more robots from coming into Uglyville. The game builds up these tasks in such a way that each job seems monumental and vitally important. But what soon becomes apparent, though, is that the missions frequently require players to do the same thing over and over. While that might be good for younger players, it's too repetitive to hold the interest of older gamers.

The graphics help to sell the gameplay, and the kid-friendly environment is a big plus as well. UglyDolls is a colorful, 2D game although its camera requires constant shifting to stay behind the controlled character as they maneuver through the environment. The UglyDolls themselves aren't ugly, and have a certain charm that adds to the setting. Voiceovers, used in the major cutscenes, make even the most mundane of events sound stupendously important. It's just too bad that Uglydolls: An Imperfect Adventure is so simple and repetitive with its gameplay that it doesn't rise to the level of the dialogue. Only young fans of the franchise would be engaged here; everyone else will probably look for something different (and more challenging) to play.