The Adventure Pals is a colourful platformer with a unique style and amazing humor. It is available for PC, Mac, PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. Would you like to delve into something super fun and a bit challenging but not really difficult? Then this game may be exactly for you.
The game develops:
#Attention #Logic #Sociability #Accuracy #Spatial orientation
Lighthearted everything
Many games try to create a tense atmosphere to keep players motivated during their virtual missions. “Life of the whole world depends on you!” Or at least the whole settlement will be saved from the evil monsters, so you should keep this burden of responsibility in mind and keep going no matter what (something of that sort you’ll find in Ever Oasis).
The Adventure Pals is absolutely different. It rather gives you an excuse to start exploring the world and fight various creatures (and such an attitude makes the game spirit similar to one of Lego Worlds). Nothing is too serious here and this allows players to relax and spend the playing sessions with a lighthearted mood.
Mr. B is an evil guy, all right. His idea of turning people into something else may seem terrible. But he turns them into hotdogs. How can you take this too seriously? Then he plans to destroy the planet - awful indeed. But in the game, he reveals his intentions in a so stupid and obvious way that you just can’t consider him the same dangerous as, for example, monsters of the game Phoenix Point or antagonists of many-many other games.
The same is true for bosses in The Adventure Pals. They are like enormous living pieces of food, it’s hard to get scared of them.
What about motivation? While playing, I feel motivated by the adventure itself, not by the final goal. The humor in many small details, bright visuals, pleasant music, and lots of other aspects make this virtual world a nice place to let yourself unwind (the same role as Animal Crossing plays for many gamers).
Balance of difficulty
The gameplay of The Adventure Pals is quite straightforward. It’s a platformer, like Rayman Adventures, and here you explore locations, collect items, and fight some opponents. You have to reach the endpoint and probably complete some quest on the way. Lots of very fun creatures try to stop you, but they are never too hard to defeat. Some traps wait for you on the way, but they are never frustrating. And the game gives you as many attempts as you need to just enjoy your journey and don’t bother with difficulties.
The boy, Wilton, has two pals in his adventures. The giraffe Sparkles - he can open special locks with his strong teeth and he helps to glide in the air and swim underwater by spinning his tongue as if it was a helicopter or a motorboat propeller. Mr. Rock flies around the boy, hits opponents, protects from shoots, and brings useful objects.
The game has some RPG aspects - after reaching a new level of experience, players can activate one card of ability. These updates are helpful but your choice determines only what will be activated first. The number of abilities is limited and all of them will be yours anyway at the max level. So, it’s not like Pokémon Sun, where you really develop in-game creatures.
Also, The Adventures Pals gives a few choices in the story, and they seem to be more meaningful. Who would you support, Lady Pancake or the fat Dino? Will you give rubies to Mr. B? This makes the game even more interesting.
Wilton can carry bombs and potions. He collects coins to purchase items, and the game gives him bonuses in the stages. Two types of collectibles motivate players to stay super attentive - try not to miss hidden cupcakes and stickers. The cupcakes can be turned into fun hats for the boy and Mr. Rock. Stickers give players another goal - there are 44 of them, one in each level and in battle arenas. You can also purchase them, and get some while speaking with verious characters.
The Adventure Pals even allows bringing your real-life pal into the game. It has a co-op mode, so two heroes appear on the screen. This feature may be practical only for playing with small kids, but it carries the same mission as the whole game - bring something fun into your gaming life. For PC, the co-op mode works only with two gamepads.
First, the game felt too simple for me, even a bit hollow. I thought for a while, it has no depth in the gameplay, no real challenge. This feeling remains for almost the whole playtime, but my understanding of this simplicity has changed completely. It’s nice to have something so welcoming and forgiving. You never feel like there really are enemies in that world, and you never have to struggle with difficult puzzles. It’s not like the game is boring - it offers good challenges for your skills, but these challenges are always reasonable, never meant to get annoying and destroy the atmosphere of a fun adventure. Do you like such games? Then why not give a shot to this one?
To play The Adventure Pals, buy the game for your system:
See also…
If you think about creating your own game, take a look at Super Mario Maker 2 for Nintendo Switch or Dreams for PlayStation 4:
For a bit more challenging platformer, take a look at the game series Ratchet and Clank, available on PS3, PS4, and PS Vita:
