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Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland is 90s personified. The basic platforming, vibrant colours, and easy ideas reminded me of the best Mega Drive and PlayStation games. Furthermore, it has a pixelated finish and the ability to play in glorious HD. As such, it’ll appeal to retro gamers and those who like a modern approach.
This platforming adventure title was developed and published by The MIX Games Inc. Furthermore, it is a single-player and couch cooperative title. As such, if you have young kids or a partner who loves to game, you can team up and overcome every obstacle you face. My only complaint is the ridiculously simple action. Unfortunately, I never felt challenged and this was disappointing. Though each stage delivers unique surprises and obstacles, it won’t push you to your limits.
Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland tells a silly tale.
Whenever you have babies as protagonists, you know the plot will be a little outlandish. Well, Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland has a silly and predictable plot that doesn’t disappoint. The 4 babies must use their skills and their agility to explore each key area of their house. Using their imagination, they create an exciting environment that is fun to explore.
Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, and Lil love the Raptor TV franchise. Accordingly, when they see an advert for the latest computer game, they let their imagination go wild. The surrounding world evolves into a computer playground and they must explore and defeat each boss as they collect raptor coins. This treasure is used to open the mysterious Raptor door. As such, the babies are desperate to collect every coin and see what surprises lay behind that door.
Rudimentary ideas.
I normally love a straightforward affair. Being able to pick up a game and get straight into the action is appealing. However, when a title fails to evolve and everything is set at one level, it gets somewhat frustrating. This is exactly what happens when you tackle Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland. The basic concepts are aimed towards a younger audience. Yet, its key demographic will be older gamers who remember the original TV series. Consequently, I was a little confused as things unfolded.
Though the mechanics are easy to understand, I’m not sure that young children will be able to play this alone. There are plenty of minor puzzles to overcome and some platform elements that require finesse. Subsequently, younger gamers will struggle with these moments. What’s more, the boss battles can be tough and understanding how to defeat each antagonist is not always easy. Therefore, this is a title that is best played as a pair if you have younger gamers in your house.
It is missing some key elements.
Retro platformers excelled because of their challenging moments and hidden collectables. Unfortunately, Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland misses this concept. Every key item is easy to find and progressing through each stage wasn’t tough. Yes, there are some branching pathways, but these will rarely challenge you. What’s more, if you miss a Raptor coin, it doesn’t prevent you from moving on. As such, you can fly through each stage and the game continues regardless.
Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland looks great.
Though the core gameplay ideas didn’t float my boat, visually it is great. I loved both the modern visuals and the pixelated graphics. The latter filled me with nostalgia as it screamed Sega Mega Drive. However, the polished HD graphics were perfect for a modern audience. The vibrant colours and excellent character models were nice to see. Moreover, the animation is smooth and climbing ropes, moving boxes, and solving puzzles were fun.
I watched Rugrats as a youngster and the audio brought back many happy memories. I love the music and the sound effects. Additionally, the sound bites and key TV clips bring everything together. Though it doesn’t do anything new, I loved the developer’s attention to detail.
The controls were occasionally clumsy.
The control system is focused towards younger gamers. As such, the layout is easy to understand and you’ll have it mastered in no time. However, things were somewhat clumsy when it came to the climbing element. Furthermore, stacking boxes was somewhat annoying as it wasn’t as accurate or as easy as I’d have liked. Subsequently, though it is straightforward to play, there are some issues to be aware of.
Each of the levels has 4 raptor coins to collect. Furthermore, there is a boss battle and loads of minions to overcome on each stage. Consequently, there is plenty to do as you explore each imaginative zone. Yet, once you tackle each level and grab every coin, there is no reason to return and that was unfortunate.
Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland was a decent game.
This will not set the world alight. The basic gameplay and rudimentary action are pretty familiar. If you then consider the simple platforming mechanics and easy puzzles, it doesn’t test you. However, it is aimed towards a younger audience and anything harder would have been unfair. Accordingly, though it didn’t test me, my kids enjoyed the colourful worlds and loud audio. As such, it is a decent game and I recommend buying it here! Can you open Raptor’s door? Complete each stage, destroy the bosses, and collect every coin.
