If you’re reading this review, you’re likely familiar with the Australian animated preschool television series that Bluey: The Videogame is linked to. If not, well, you and the kiddos in your orbit might be in for a pleasant surprise.
Bluey, the show, debuted in 2018 and has pretty much become a must-watch (and rewatch) staple for kids worldwide, thanks to the likes of BBC Studios, Disney Jr. and Disney+. It focuses on an anthropomorphic and very high-energy 6-year-old Blue Heeler puppy named Bluey and her Ausie family. The show delivers a series of sweet, short episodes that demonstrate how Bluey, her little sister Bingo, and her parents, Bandit and Chilli. experience, well, the challenges and joys of family life.
Of course, this isn’t supposed to be a review of the show. But—thanks in part to the original voice actors lending their talents to the game—Bluey: The Videogame feels a lot like a sandbox version of the show itself. Only here, young fans can actually move their favorite character around with their own little hands and fingers.
The game is made up of a series of episodes in which kids guide one of the four central family members through easy-to-follow, move-click-and-jump adventures that are tied to a specific but simple family-focused storyline. (If a child plays in single-player mode, the other NPC family members follow wherever she goes.)
In the midst of each episode, Bluey and sister Bingo not only have specific objectives, such as cleaning up scattered toys or finding dress-up costumes, but they also learn fun games. For instance, there’s “Keepy Uppy,” which challenges players to keep a balloon bopped up in the air, and “Ground is Lava,” that demands that the pups hop to safe benches and teeter totters to stay above the playground sand. With those kinds of fun-focused goals, the game teaches its young players a little platforming finesse and controller handling.
There’s no reading required since Bluey: The Videogame guides players along with little picture cues and the other characters’ vocal encouragements. Up to four gamers can play together. Which also means that Mom or Dad can slip in if a little parental Keepy Uppy is required.
There are tons of story-connected stickers, toys and costume bits that players can collect. And there are a variety of different areas (the playground, home, the creek, etc.) to go back to play and explore after their connected episode is completed.
The colorful 2-D game looks and feels very much like the show it’s derived from. And the fully voiced characters make all the difference on that front. They keep the parent-and-pup interactions sweet and surprisingly funny even in the simplest of moments. Young gamers will definitely bark out a few of their own tail-wagging giggles during the adventure.
From an adult gamer’s perspective, the game will feel decidedly unchallenging, maybe even boring, but that lack of complexity makes the play perfect for kids. Beyond the simple play, though, Bluey: The Videogame also communicates a sincere encouragement toward real-world family bonding, play and interaction. And the adult characters, while sometimes playful and silly, are very positive role models.
Bandit, for instance, will sometimes offer up a very dad-like encouragement such as “If something’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well.”
Not much to worry over here. Some surprised exclamations pop up in the dialogue such as “cheese and crackers!” and “Oh, biscuits!”
Probably the biggest drawback for many will be this game’s brevity. If played by an adult, the whole four-episode game adventure will probably only last between 30 to 40 minutes.
(However, that isn’t necessarily a major drawback. The separate episodes’ playtimes can be very manageable if parents want to limit youthful gameplay to short chunks. And with a younger player at the helm, and all the many collectables waiting to be found, that total playtime will stretch out considerably.)
Older players in the crowd might call Bluey: The Videogame a lot of phooey. But kid fans will be yelling, Wackadoo!
After spending more than two decades touring, directing, writing and producing for Christian theater and radio (most recently for Adventures in Odyssey, which he still contributes to), Bob joined the Plugged In staff to help us focus more heavily on video games. He is also one of our primary movie reviewers.
