Paw Patrol: World marks a significant change for the Pixel Panda Arcade, not only in the way I do things, but also because of the games I am now open to reviewing. With that being said, I am not the target audience for Paw Patrol, and I recognize that. It doesn’t matter, though, because I am treating this review like any other review.

Paw Patrol: World is an open-world 3D platformer. You can play as any of the pups and switch between them freely. They also come with their vehicles, which come right from the show, and yes, I did tune into 3 episodes of the show just to make sure. You will follow a series of missions which will take you all around Adventure Bay and beyond.

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Look and Feel 

Paw Patrol: World looks like a cartoon, which is on par with the source material. I like the textures and the graphics. Nothing looks blurry or washed out. Though the models of the dogs could’ve used some work, especially when they’re in motion. The animations could’ve been a lot better. You’ll notice it right away when you jump: the dogs look like they’re action figures, complete with a thousand-yard stare. 

General Thoughts

The people look fine enough, if not a little creepy. I will give the game credit for the voice acting, though. Paw Patrol: World is for a younger audience, so the dialogue expectantly has a lot of repetition. For a younger audience, I believe that this is a good thing because it drills core gameplay mechanics into the player. 

You can play this game in split screen, which I found worked great. I didn’t get to play with someone, but I did use two controllers to run around the environments and didn’t experience any lag or stuttering.

The Gameplay Formula 

You take control of one of the pups and or their vehicle and complete missions. This is an extremely simple setup, but it works because of the target audience, which I believe is anyone from 3-10 years old, if not slightly younger than 10. As you play through, you’ll have the opportunity to use the vehicles, which will be your primary source of navigation. 

You’ll be moving your character with the left stick, and there is no camera movement. It took me a bit to get used to this, but once you do, it doesn’t feel so clunky anymore. Getting used to this while driving was a pain, though, especially when trying to turn down a street.

You will travel to a variety of environments, though I didn’t get too far before setting the game down. Regardless, the environments are simple, but I think done just fine. 

As you traverse each of the areas, you will collect pup treats, which will unlock some kind of customization or a piece of art to view. The customization is basic, but that is to be expected. What I wasn’t expecting was that this game has multiple paid DLC costume packs, which I found to be irritating. The selling of DLC packs doesn’t normally bother me, but because of this game’s target audience, I found it to be irritating. 

For the little kids 

Paw Patrol: World feels like it was fine-tuned for the younger audience. Starting with the way that the dialogue is paced. The constant repetition, plus the 3 to 5 second pause in between world bubbles, feels like it might be a great tool to keep kids engaged at the same time as being a clear way to deliver information. 

There are a couple of things I will list below that I find important for a younger audience. 

• There is no combat in this game, meaning there is no health or stamina to manage. You can pick up the Ben 10 games by Outright Games to get your combat fix in. However, I believe the lack of these features is important because it will keep kids on task. 
• The map size is perfect for a beginner gamer, especially if they have watched the show. If you are not a beginner, it might feel a little small. 
• The pup treats are perfect as a reward because they don’t require any counting, and the meter is always on the screen. 

If you are picking this game up expecting educational content, you’re going to be disappointed. There is nothing of educational use here, which to me is fine, but for parents, if you want something more educational, there are other things.

Score

Paw Patrol: World is getting a Golden Token