The Grinch: Christmas Adventure | Review – Let’s steal Christmas early
Although it never had the same cult following in Italy as it did in the United States, that is Grinch He is a figure that is now part of the pop imagination around the world. This misanthropic green creature was created by the famous Dr. The character was played by Jim Carrey.
There have been several attempts over the years to bring the Grinch’s efforts to steal Christmas into the world of video games, and today we’re here to talk to you about the latest attempt. We refer to The Grinch: Christmas Adventuresavailable on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch And PC.
For Christmas we decided to give space to some themed video games specifically designed for very young peopleto help our readers discover ways to play together for the whole family. The Grinch Will it fit under your gaming Christmas tree? Let’s see.
The Grinch is ready to steal Christmas again
The history of The Grinch: Christmas Adventures It’s what we all know by now. The Grinch is one loner, who lives isolated from the world in a cave in a mountain. Despite his distance from Chinonso (Whoville in the original version), the Grinch resents the Whos and their love of the holidays, especially Christmas.
After years of silent endurance, he finally decides to do something: will stop the Whos from celebrating ChristmasThey steal the party they love so much. Supported by his loyal dog Max, the Grinch embarks on an adventure that takes him far from his beloved cave into a dangerous world full of presents, candy canes, fairy lights and many other things that are exactly the opposite of his nature. .
In the game, the story is told through short films and by reading a few pages of the book, which can also be viewed in full through the extras in the main menu, a feature that will certainly be greatly appreciated by those who still have the story never heard. Story. The whole thing was too dubbed into Italian, so it is also suitable for those who do not yet have a basic knowledge of the English language. A very sensible choice given the production goal.
Esthetic, The Grinch: Christmas Adventures It is a Good mid-budget production from the last generationwho honestly defends himself much better than we expected.
On PlayStation 5 (you can still find the original version of the console on Amazon), where our test took place, we did not find any technical problems; We can’t comment on the other versions, especially the Nintendo Switch version, but we doubt that there were any problems during the conversion phase since this is an undemanding game.
also good Soundtrackwhich, despite the lack of catchy titles, manages to adequately convey the Christmas atmosphere.
In the platform school
From the perspective of Play style, The Grinch: Christmas Adventures (You can grab a copy via Amazon) is mostly in 2.5D platformer with a very simple structure. You take on the role of the Grinch and his loyal dog Max and have to travel through three worlds, each consisting of six levels.
The game is aimed at a very young audience: an advantage that should not be underestimated at a time when well-made children’s games are not available in abundance.
In each level, the main goal is “simply” to reach the end of the scenario while avoiding the enemies and obstacles scattered along the way. However, like any good 2D platformer, there are collectibles that enrich the experience: scattered throughout each layout you’ll find collectible gifts as well as puzzle pieces.
Structurally, The Grinch: Christmas Adventures And simple but functionaland that is clearly visible there Their main target is childrenand generally people having their first experiences with the genre.
If you are a more experienced player, you are unlikely to find the challenges that the game proposes really problematic, but it is not a design flaw that we can simply speak of conscious decision to target the game to a very specific target group. This should not be underestimated at a time when children’s games (especially well-made ones) are in short supply.
To make things a little more complex, as I said, there is the following: The Collectibles. THE Puzzle piecesIn particular, it allows you to unlock gods upgrades for your characters, and there will be cases where a new tool allows you to access inaccessible areas of levels you have already visited. There are also situations where a character change is necessary, as there are areas that can only be reached by Max.
Again, we’re really talking about the basics of a platform game, but The Grinch: Christmas Adventures It covers them all well enough, just enough to meet its goals.
To break the rhythm of the “normal” levels, there are a few 3D sections inside houseswhere the Grinch has to walk around carefully to avoid attracting the attention of the fearsome cookies, who could hug him at any moment if they notice him.
These sections were also designed as a real first test, so don’t expect anything complex: the game offers you many hiding places and the “enemies” just have to lose sight of you to completely forget your existence.
To enrich the experience The Grinch: Christmas Adventures there is the possibility of this Play the entire adventure with companywith one player taking control of the Grinch and the other taking control of Max. Be sure to play along cooperative It makes the experience more entertaining and helps ensure that even small challenges in the game can be overcome with ease.
There’s little else to say, just because The Grinch: Christmas Adventures It is not intended to provide a complex or layered experience. All in all, it is a very simple game, but one that lives up to its objectives: it certainly does not intend to set new standards for the genre or to propose anything really new.
Its main aim is to be a good platform game, intended mainly for children, but “clean” enough to be appreciated by older people too, without too many pretensions – perhaps together. And with that the goal has been fully achieved.
This is likely the case for veterans as well the best adaptation of the Grinch story along with the tie-in to the live-action film released in 2000 on PlayStation, Dreamcast and PC. In this case it was a 3D platformer, but just like in this case, it was precisely the simplicity and accessibility of the game that made it a valid title for its target.
Of course, even considering it’s a no-brainer, a few other complaints still remain. First, We would have liked a scaling with a greater degree of difficulty: It’s fine to be aimed at children, but even from that perspective it wouldn’t have hurt to have a slightly more challenging level to challenge them too.
Second is adventure really short. It will only take you a few hours to complete it, and considering that the collectibles aren’t exactly out of reach, you’ll be able to complete everything there is to do in a short amount of time.
Considering the budget price – and again the main target – The Grinch: Christmas Adventures it still remains a good idea, developed without any strokes of genius, but without any major flawsto spend some time together this Christmas and introduce your children, grandchildren or very young friends to platform video games.
