Nick Jr. Party Adventure is a very specific game for a very specific crowd. But if you’re looking for a colorful and simple adventure video game geared for your first or second grader, this might be the button-pushing introduction to gaming you seek.
The story here is as easy as pie, ice cream and party balloons. Dora the Explorer is planning a super muy bien party for all of her Nick Jr. pals. And, of course, for you, her little gaming buddy. In fact, you’ve shown up at the perfect time to help. All you have to do is round up all the other partiers.
First, Dora guides young gamers through the process of creating their own avatar to look sorta kinda like themselves, using a handful of different customization tools. Easy-peasy stuff.
Then she sends them off to six different Nick Jr. worlds that represent shows such as Dora the Explorer, Blues Clues and Paw Patrol and the like. It seems there are certain obstacles keeping Boots, Skye, Chase, Blue and other besties away. And someone needs to fix things up.
Young gamers then use a magical portal to get into each of the worlds. There are up to 12 levels per world (six initial levels and six bonus levels for those who revisit) and four friends to gather in each world.
The gaming action involves one or two controller buttons per level. Young players use them to raise and lower blocks, change the direction of little vehicles, adjust bridges, avoid cannon blasts and jump through speed-boosting ramps. They’ll be expected to leap chasms, avoid obstacles and thwart any baddies who want to quash Dora’s hoped-for fiesta.
There are also collectables to gather, such as flowers and party hats, as well as new costumes and accessories to earn for your avatar’s customization along the way.
This game does not require an online connection. And there is an option for two friends to play co-op locally.
The simple, positive side of Nick Jr. Party Adventure is that the play is all about helping out friends. And Dora is very agradecida for all your help.
Gameplay is colorful, with very light challenges kids will need to problem-solve their way through. (The levels do get slightly harder as players progress, but young players shouldn’t have any issue figuring them out.)
There is a charm about the visuals and music that little kids will likely enjoy, and players will find lots of recognizable characters in the mix if they are Nick Jr. channel fans.
If players fall off ledges or get hit with a cannon blast, they are simply returned to the game where they dropped off.
There’s no negative content in the visuals or language. But it should be reemphasized that this is a game designed for very little kids. If parents join in with the co-op play, they will likely be bored very quickly. (In fact, that co-op play is not available on every level. And it’s not particularly well designed for beginning gamers, since working together as a button pushing tandem could be a challenge.)
Very young Nick Jr. lovers will rejoice over Dora’s super muy bien introduction to video gaming. Others will just be glad the tykes are having fun.
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.
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