Bluey’s Quest For The Golden Pen Evaluate: A “Super Fun” Sport According To This 5-Year-Old Bluey Fan

The console port is an effective cozy sport for extra skilled players, however youthful audiences might discover it difficult. Bluey’s Quest for the Golden Pen might already be out for cell units, however the open-zone Zelda-lite is coming to consoles in only a few quick days from writer PM Studios and developer Halfbrick Studios.

But as a 32-year-old man with no youngsters and nearly no connection to Bluey, I believed it could be enjoyable to get perception on the sport from my nephew Merrick’s perspective, a five-year-old Bluey die-hard, who isn’t solely new to video games, however isn’t fairly in control on his studying simply but. I wished to know whether or not a sport primarily based on the hit youngsters’s TV present would translate nicely to its goal demographic and whether or not Merrick’s restricted expertise with video games can be an enough introduction to the medium.

After a little bit of a rocky begin, he ultimately obtained the hold of it and was hooked, studying the controls, mechanics, and physics, and having fun with the story like some other episode of Bluey. He wanted some assist from his mother to learn a number of the directions and with a number of the tougher puzzles and platforming sections, however he didn’t need to put the sport down, spending a hefty chunk of time with it proper up till bedtime (a lot to my sister’s chagrin).

Bluey’s Quest for the Golden Pen’s most necessary critics are the children who watch the sequence.

Bluey’s Quest for the Golden Pen sees the Heeler household rained in, pressured to search out ingenious methods to entertain themselves. Bluey and her sister Bingo are coloring footage collectively and telling tales, when their dad Bandit playfully steals the golden pen, setting the stage for a hand-drawn journey throughout international and distant lands.

Bluey and Bingo, who’s taken on the type of a magical goose and is now known as Bingoose, embark on a quest to cease Bandit, now known as Goldie Horns, of their imaginary world (que snort observe). In an authentic story from Bluey creator Joe Brumm that additionally options the present’s authentic voice solid, Bluey’s Quest for the Golden Pen is a particularly enjoyable and lovely story that feels identical to an episode you’d see on TV.

Mechanically, this can be a top-down open zone collectathon, with exploration and puzzle fixing much like one thing you’d expertise enjoying an older Legend of Zelda title. The objective for every world is to gather sufficient Goose Food to progress to the subsequent by fixing puzzles strewn about every surroundings (leading to Bingoose laying silver eggs, for some purpose), culminating in a remaining showdown at Goldie Horn’s fort to reclaim your prize.

Already a hit on cell, this port brings one other Bluey sport to console.

Some of the puzzles and platforming sections are fundamental, entry-level issues five-year-olds may deal with simply, like stepping on each pressurized tile or digging it out of the bottom with a easy string of button presses. But in response to my nephew, just a few of the bouncing and gliding sections had been notably difficult, and he had a tough time with a number of the extra pressing sections the place the platform breaks out from beneath you.

Merrick needed to retry just a few occasions to get the timing proper, and with some assist from his mother, was capable of beat these elements. Luckily, failing isn’t actually a factor on this sport; when you fall off a ledge, you’re despatched again up in a bubble to proceed on. Once you acquire sufficient Goose Food, the women’ mother, Chili, flies down and provides to take you to the exit to progress the story. But you possibly can refuse when you’re a completionist or need to discover extra of the realm.

Gallivanting round every space is pretty cozy, with crisp visuals in a hand-drawn type that Bluey and Bingo may’ve drawn themselves, and the music is vibrant and matches every world it’s composed for nicely. The open-zoned worlds supply all kinds of biome varieties, comparable to an deserted mine or a snowy mountain prime.

Bluey’s Quest for the Golden Pen is “super fun” for all ages, however youthful gamers will want a mother or father’s assist.

No two worlds had been all too related on this Bluey online game, providing a refreshing motivator to maintain enjoying as soon as one space wore out its welcome. And one thing that my nephew and I each admire in its design is that whereas every degree requires a finite variety of Goose Food to progress, ranging wherever from eight to 12, every zone provides almost triple that quantity to search out, considerably lowering the frustration of getting to search out these McGuffins and making it a lot simpler for youthful players to play on their very own.

Some areas supply bespoke traversal mechanics that can assist you get round and clear up their puzzles, like ice skates, a jet pack, and even a mine cart trip. I used to be curious if this can be a sport my nephew would suggest to different youngsters round his age, and my sister chimed in with some good perception. She says sure, however with a caveat: play with a mother or father.

In Merrick’s case, a number of the extra advanced puzzles require hand-eye coordination that’s a bit too superior for a five-year-old, so having the assistance of an grownup would end in an total smoother expertise. And my nephew can’t fairly learn independently but, and regardless of the well-acted cutscenes, the moment-to-moment gameplay is sort of wordy and with out voice appearing, so she recommends youngsters round six or seven is likely to be the suitable viewers.

This Bluey online game is a comfortable Zelda-lite with greater than sufficient to get misplaced in.

Bluey’s Quest for the Golden Pen initially launched as a cell title, however porting this to consoles (we performed on the Switch) felt seamless; the controls had been intuitive, and studying the ropes didn’t include a lot of a studying curve, even for my nephew, who prefers to attempt to management the characters by shifting his total physique.

Most importantly, I wished to know if my nephew discovered this sport enjoyable. He replied with an ecstatic sure, saying, “Yes, I liked it! Because you get to collect beads and fruit for Bingoose, and she lays eggs.” After he performed it for hours and I heard the thrill in his voice and his physique language over video chat, and after ending the sport myself, it’s clear Bluey’s Quest for the Golden Pen is a worthwhile time for players of all expertise ranges.

I used to be admittedly impressed. With low expectations entering into, Bluey’s Quest for the Golden Pen’s chill vibes and low-barrier-to-entry checklist-style collectathon make for a genuinely enjoyable, cozy sport to get misplaced in whenever you need to play with out pondering too laborious. It’s an incredible sport for onboarding a youthful era of players, however don’t take my phrase for it; my five-year-old nephew can’t put it down.

Bluey’s Quest for the Golden Pen releases on PC, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S on May 28, 2025.