When Bluey: The Videogame was announced a few months back, there was a cheer of excitement in my household. The show upon which it’s based is a favourite for both the kids and the parents, with new episodes hailed as cause for celebration. It truly is one of the best pieces of family media in production today (if not, of all-time). So, hopping directly into the Heelers’ wonderful world with a co-op adventure game seemed like an easy home run.
Instead, Artax Games’ Bluey: The Videogame brought to mind one particular episode of the show, “Octopus.” Bluey’s friend Chloe plays one of the Heelers’ concocted games at their house, then tries to recreate it at home. Her befuddled father can’t quite wrap his head around the rules or appeal of playing “octopus,” nor can he live up to the level of enthusiasm of Bluey’s dad, Bandit.
Bluey, the show, is like playing “octopus” with Bandit; Bluey: The Videogame, on the other hand, is a lot like playing “octopus” with Chloe’s dad.
On paper, the idea is perfect: with up to 4-players in co-op, you step into the shoes of the Heeler family (Bluey, Bingo, Chili, and Bandit) and essentially act out a brand-new episode of the show, involving a treasure map from dad’s childhood. Players traverse familiar locales like the family’s home, the creek, and the park, all of which are packed with little details that fans will adore.
(Notably, a subset of fans who have been trying to wrap their heads around the family home’s “ever-shifting floor plan” for years should have a field day amending their hand-drawn diagrams with the game’s revelations.)
Episodic “levels” take players through these locales, introducing Bluey: The Videogame‘s simple mechanics and minigames. The original cast lent their voices to the adaptation, which goes a long way to sustain the connection—even if some odd vocal editing truncates their lines like an early PS2 game’s dialogue at times.
Bluey: The Videogame should, if nothing else, appeal to its intended demographic: young kids.
The tasks in these levels are incredibly simple, however, which may be jarring to those more accustomed to Nintendo’s way of building family-friendly gameplay experiences. Bluey: The Videogame has players moving objects to reach other objects, running to and fro the map to fetch things, doing simple platforming challenges, and other busywork.
Co-op play is adequate in execution, yet undermined by simple flaws. The camera can be jarring as it tries to follow multiple players in certain environments, and cuts into cinematics from gameplay feel abrupt. This can breed frustration as players take turns trying to complete objectives. Over it all looms a sometimes-shoddy sense of physics, borne from the disconnect between the cartoon-styled character models and the 3D environments.
Outside the short storyline levels, players can explore the locales and fill a sticker book of hidden collectibles, all drawn from the show—like the walking leaf bugs from the show’s sixth episode, and other ephemera and Easter eggs. In the process, you’ll also unlock cosmetic items to tack on your character, or a small array of different balls that can be used to make your own game. (Extra points and some chicken bucket to the devs for sneaking in Unicorse, the world’s most annoying unicorn.)
Speaking of making one’s own games, one of the most interesting concepts in Bluey: The Videogame is the ability to start up some of the games from the show itself, like “keepy-uppy” or “magic xylophone.” The appeal is short-lived, but it’s a fun little feature that pays homage to some memorable elements from the source material.
I realize the picture I’m painting is a little bleak, and I wish it wasn’t so—it seems unfair that one of the most imaginative and creatively rich properties on modern television should receive such a tepid video game adaptation. A younger, more pessimistic, version of me would want to write it off as an attempt to rush a half-complete product onto the market and exploit the holiday shopping season, striking while the show is still popular.
However, the parent in me saw the smile on my kids’ faces as we lived out some familiar scenarios from a favourite show. Bluey: The Videogame should, if nothing else, appeal to its intended demographic: young kids. Parents and older siblings may not be as stimulated as they help the young ones through the game, granted, but callbacks to the show’s charming atmosphere help.
And maybe I’m just glad to have something related to this show that isn’t hidden behind a paywall. The only real competition for Bluey: The Videogame is Budge’s mobile app Bluey: Let’s Play!, which insultingly demands a monthly tribute for the honour of unlocking 98% of its simplistic content. After years of having apps attempt to capitalize on my kids’ transitory love for certain IPs to bleed a few dollars from me monthly, there’s something satisfying about hopping into a proper game instead, even if its corners are cut clean off.
The real tragedy is that Bluey: The Videogame could’ve become something special with more time to polish the gameplay and expand the content. Artax Games’ team clearly appreciated the source material and wanted to do right by it, and I’d love to see how they could build upon this glorified proof-of-concept demo. With another six months to a year, we might’ve had a truly charming adventure worthy of the property, but instead the result resembles a rushed “bush wee.”
