Platforming is an age old ritual in which you jump from place to place, fight bad guys, and utilize your pet giraffe that you got on your birthday to help you get your grandfather back from the infamous Mr. B.
Okay, scratch that. Everything from about the pet giraffe forward is entirely specific to The Adventure Pals, the new console game from Massive Monster, published by Armor Games. However, it’s done so well that you’ll forget every platformer you’ve ever played didn’t include it.
The Adventure Pals is heavily influenced in both art style and humor by Adventure Time, and fans of the series will have no problem getting used to the slightly different aesthetic. Fortunately, it’s also a win for those who are not familiar with the series as its cute animations and repulsive dad jokes will leave you feeling solidly at home.
While fighting off the bad guys sent at you by Mr. B., you’ll get the opportunity to upgrade some weapons, pick up boosts, and even get a pet rock in the early stages of the game. While The Adventure Pals doesn’t have a ton of opportunity to advance your character stats, the costume upgrades for Mr. Rock are top notch. You trade in cupcakes that you pick up (because it’s your birthday, of course) for upgrades, and even have the opportunity to play along with a friend. More on that last piece later.
The world is vibrant and alive. Almost every stage (and there are a ton of them) is brightly colored. Set pieces move around, even if just swaying to the beat of the fantastic soundtrack, and it’s evident a large amount of love was poured into each asset. Including your pet giraffe, Sparkles, who normally resides in your backpack and helps you fall with style, access secrets in each stage, and a few other hidden tricks we won’t reveal. The stages, of which there are MANY, are fairly linear in nature – but they don’t feel static. You can come back and revisit them later and you’ll want to, especially if you missed out on picking up any cupcakes you may have missed.
Combat is basically the definition of a hack and slash with some bombs thrown in here and there. There are certainly actions your character can perform to mix things up a bit, but you’ll pretty much be mashing the same couple of buttons the whole way through. The Adventure Pals doesn’t pack a lot of strategy, but it’s probably fair to say that’s not what they were going for either. Still, if you want constant variety or insane challenges (aside from the small puzzles you may encounter) this title may be a little repetitive for you.
In contrast, this is a fantastic game for kids and video game novices alike. While the combat isn’t exactly what we would describe as easy, it’s certainly not difficult. One of The Adventure Pals’ biggest appeals is its interactive nature when you’re playing couch co-op. You get to bring along a friend and get your grandpa back home safely together. Unfortunately, the co-op feature was also one of the most disappointing pieces of the puzzle for us as well. Having a friend along doesn’t grant you any extra abilities or tricks, it simply lets you have two different looking characters do the same thing. Still, if you’re playing with your four-year old (like I was at points) it’s great to not give them a reason not to constantly be asking if they can have a turn with this masterpiece that you’re also enjoying so much. It’s accessible, and that’s the point.
One piece that did detract a bit was the fact that the levels, though varied in look, didn’t feel very different from each one to the next. The art is always amazing and the soundtrack is to die for, but the gameplay remains pretty much the same. This isn’t going to be a bad thing for everyone though – if you like the way it plays in the first level, you’re going to still love it in the last. You can hop in and out at pretty much anytime, and you won’t feel like you’re missing a beat. The dad jokes do get worse the longer they go on, but some may find it charming – especially if you’re a fan of puns and corny humor.
We had some slight issues with graphics performance, but they really didn’t detract from the overall gameplay. The really interesting bit was that these weren’t reproducible issues, which leads us to believe it could have been an issue with the Nintendo Switch or television on which we were playing.
All in all, The Adventure Pals is a win for Massive Monster’s first big console release. It’s approachable and fun for the whole family. The few flaws the game has are hidden behind a wonderfully enjoyable world where giraffes can put their tongue on pretty much anything they want.
The Adventure Pals was provided to the reviewer at no cost, but this fact did not influence any opinions about the game.
Check out our Review Guide to see what we criteria we use to score games.
