Peppa's making a big splash, again!
By Paul Hunter
There are only a handful of console games that my four-year-old son can play unassisted, but one of them is 2021's My Friend Peppa Pig from developer Petoons Studio and publisher Outright Games. Now the duo is back with a sequel of sorts, Peppa Pig: World Adventures, which offers a more streamlined experience while retaining the accessibility and charm of the original.
When I told my son that we'd be reviewing the new Peppa Pig game together he jumped around the house yelling 'new Peppa video game!'—clearly his excitement was through the roof. In World Adventures you'll get a chance to visit iconic locations around the globe including Paris, London, Hollywood and more. If you have a young child in the house obsessed with Peppa (and really, isn't that nearly all children?) then you won't want to miss Peppa Pig: World Adventures. Let's head into Peppatown to see what this game is all about, here are three things I liked about it...and two I didn't.
In a change from the prior game, this time you can create your entire family including whether you have one or two parents (and their genders) and up to two siblings if you want. It turns out that for this adventure your family moves in next door to Peppa's family and you get to build a custom house thanks to Mr. Bull. You're given the option to customize your home's wall colour, roof, window and door type, and what decoration your front yard has—such as a slide, swing or tent.
After meeting Peppa Pig along with Daddy, Mummy and George Pig, you and Peppa head off to playgroup led by Madame Gazelle. She tells you that today is International Day and gives the class some fun trivia facts about iconic locations like New York, Barcelona, Paris and London. And wouldn't you know it, Captain Otter coincidentally is in town and offers to take you and Peppa's family on a tour of these popular destinations using his cruise ship. It's a little strange that your family doesn't join you (and gives you permission to travel with Peppa, whom they just met!) but whatever, this is a Peppa Pig game so I'll let it slide.
In total, there are eight locations you'll have a chance to visit, which include New York, Germany, Barcelona, Australia, London, Italy, Paris and Hollywood. It's a bit peculiar that some locations are cities while others are countries, you'd think for educational consistency it'd be better to choose one or the other. What's great about structuring the game by destination is that each feels like an episode of the TV show and they can all be completed in about 20 minutes. It gives each play session a natural beginning and cut-off point, letting you pace the experience with your child by tackling one or two places per day.
There are so many different activities you'll get to partake in across the eight locations, ranging from going up the Empire State Building for some sightseeing in New York to visiting a German theme park and playing on a Helter Skelter slide to hopping in a submarine to see Australia's Great Barrier Reef up close and personal. No matter how silly the tasks were my son had a great time and clearly, the developers know what kids love most: eating a pizza in Italy, jumping in puddles in London or eating ice cream in Paris. That about sums up living with a young child.
As a parent, I can't help but have a lens toward the educational value of the games my son plays, and overall I thought this game did a fine job. Kids will get introduced to world-famous structures like the Statue of Liberty, the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben, and Barcelona's Gaudi architecture. It was heartwarming to see my son's curiosity about these places, many of which he was introduced to for the first time. Peppa Pig: World Adventures does skew towards entertainment though, so while your kids may learn a fact or two about famous landmarks, the focus of this game is way more about doing fun kiddie activities. In other words, expect a lot more pizza, puddle splashing and painting pictures than educational lessons.
Much like the TV show, Peppa Pig is constantly curious and asking questions likely on the minds of kids playing, like how a skateboard or a boomerang works, or silly questions like why is the Statue of Liberty is holding an ice cream cone. The Pig family is exactly like they are on the show as well, like how George has a tendency to scream "dinosaur!" or how every trip ends with Daddy Pig saying something ridiculous that gets the entire group to fall down laughing. You can tell the developer has done their Peppa Pig research and strived to make this game experience as authentic as possible.
World Adventures is actually even easier to play than My Friend Peppa Pig because the world is much more compact. After you leave your home, walking to the right takes you to the playgroup while heading left sends you to the harbour for another world adventure. Even better, for each country or city your visit you'll always walk to the right screen-by-screen until you reach the trip's end—then every time you'll be sent back to your house. The original Peppa Pig had a much larger game world, which may be more interesting for us older gamers, but I would sometimes find my kid got lost and wasn't sure how to get back to Peppa's home.
I also found that it was pretty easy for my son to understand the basics of the landmarks and activities the game presented him with since Peppa Pig is always asking questions like 'What is this?' or 'What does this do?'. Her natural child-like curiosity means that adult characters in the game will explain what you're seeing or doing. While I love gaming with my son, it's really cool that with World Adventures I can walk away for ten minutes and have full confidence he'll continue to work his way through the game without getting stuck or needing help.
What's also a little strange is some landmarks are not named in the game, for example, the Empire State Building is simply called the 'New York skyscraper' in-game. The same goes for the Sagrada FamÃlia church in Barcelona, which is never explicitly named in the game, yet it's obvious given the unique architecture. I can only guess that these buildings have licensing fees to reference them by name, so it was cheaper to just refer to them in generic terms. For this reason, I suggest parents play this game with their children to explain more about what they're seeing, despite this being a game that otherwise younger plays will have no problem playing alone.
One other downside worth mentioning is that it sounds like the game doesn't feature some of the original voice cast as characters like Daddy Pig or Rebecca Rabbit appear to be soundalikes. Younger players that are very familiar with the TV show are likely to point this out, despite the soundalikes doing a decent enough job. What's strange is the original Peppa Pig featured the full voice cast, so it's a wonder why this next one doesn't, other than the obvious cost savings.
Final Score: 8/10 - Great
Developer: Petoons Studio
Publisher: Outright Games
Genre: Adventure
Modes: Single-player
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
A key was provided by the publisher.
By Paul Hunter
There are only a handful of console games that my four-year-old son can play unassisted, but one of them is 2021's My Friend Peppa Pig from developer Petoons Studio and publisher Outright Games. Now the duo is back with a sequel of sorts, Peppa Pig: World Adventures, which offers a more streamlined experience while retaining the accessibility and charm of the original.
When I told my son that we'd be reviewing the new Peppa Pig game together he jumped around the house yelling 'new Peppa video game!'—clearly his excitement was through the roof. In World Adventures you'll get a chance to visit iconic locations around the globe including Paris, London, Hollywood and more. If you have a young child in the house obsessed with Peppa (and really, isn't that nearly all children?) then you won't want to miss Peppa Pig: World Adventures. Let's head into Peppatown to see what this game is all about, here are three things I liked about it...and two I didn't.
Liked: World-hopping Fun
Peppa Pig: World Adventures starts off with a character creator just like the original game, only this time there are more options to customize your animal character. You can choose your character's skin colour, clothes colour, if they wear glasses and what type they have, and their hat—including options for a fedora, pirate hat, hair bow, painter's cap and a punk baseball hat. Plus, of course, you can choose what animal you are with more options than ever, like a cat, dog, rabbit, kangaroo, goat, donkey and more. For our playthrough, we chose a raccoon wearing heart glasses and a bobby helmet, naturally.In a change from the prior game, this time you can create your entire family including whether you have one or two parents (and their genders) and up to two siblings if you want. It turns out that for this adventure your family moves in next door to Peppa's family and you get to build a custom house thanks to Mr. Bull. You're given the option to customize your home's wall colour, roof, window and door type, and what decoration your front yard has—such as a slide, swing or tent.
After meeting Peppa Pig along with Daddy, Mummy and George Pig, you and Peppa head off to playgroup led by Madame Gazelle. She tells you that today is International Day and gives the class some fun trivia facts about iconic locations like New York, Barcelona, Paris and London. And wouldn't you know it, Captain Otter coincidentally is in town and offers to take you and Peppa's family on a tour of these popular destinations using his cruise ship. It's a little strange that your family doesn't join you (and gives you permission to travel with Peppa, whom they just met!) but whatever, this is a Peppa Pig game so I'll let it slide.
In total, there are eight locations you'll have a chance to visit, which include New York, Germany, Barcelona, Australia, London, Italy, Paris and Hollywood. It's a bit peculiar that some locations are cities while others are countries, you'd think for educational consistency it'd be better to choose one or the other. What's great about structuring the game by destination is that each feels like an episode of the TV show and they can all be completed in about 20 minutes. It gives each play session a natural beginning and cut-off point, letting you pace the experience with your child by tackling one or two places per day.
There are so many different activities you'll get to partake in across the eight locations, ranging from going up the Empire State Building for some sightseeing in New York to visiting a German theme park and playing on a Helter Skelter slide to hopping in a submarine to see Australia's Great Barrier Reef up close and personal. No matter how silly the tasks were my son had a great time and clearly, the developers know what kids love most: eating a pizza in Italy, jumping in puddles in London or eating ice cream in Paris. That about sums up living with a young child.
As a parent, I can't help but have a lens toward the educational value of the games my son plays, and overall I thought this game did a fine job. Kids will get introduced to world-famous structures like the Statue of Liberty, the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben, and Barcelona's Gaudi architecture. It was heartwarming to see my son's curiosity about these places, many of which he was introduced to for the first time. Peppa Pig: World Adventures does skew towards entertainment though, so while your kids may learn a fact or two about famous landmarks, the focus of this game is way more about doing fun kiddie activities. In other words, expect a lot more pizza, puddle splashing and painting pictures than educational lessons.
Liked: Wonderful TV-like Presentation
Visually, Peppa Pig: World Adventures is simply wonderful to look at. It captures the essence of the cartoon perfectly with its bright and colourful palette and soft edges. It feels like you're playing an interactive Peppa Pig episode, so it's easy to see why my son totally digs this game. The animations are spot on, too, with Peppa Pig and your character having a bounce when they walk and everyone you meet along your journey having a happy, expressive personality.Much like the TV show, Peppa Pig is constantly curious and asking questions likely on the minds of kids playing, like how a skateboard or a boomerang works, or silly questions like why is the Statue of Liberty is holding an ice cream cone. The Pig family is exactly like they are on the show as well, like how George has a tendency to scream "dinosaur!" or how every trip ends with Daddy Pig saying something ridiculous that gets the entire group to fall down laughing. You can tell the developer has done their Peppa Pig research and strived to make this game experience as authentic as possible.
Liked: Very Accessible - Great for Kids
Peppa Pig: World Adventures is one of the most accessible console games out there, great for kids as young as four. This is one of only a few games my son has played where he requires minimal assistance. I gave him a hand during the character and house creation setups, but after that, he happily played the rest of the game without issue. Controlling your character is simple and anytime there's a character or object to interact with there's a button prompt on the screen.World Adventures is actually even easier to play than My Friend Peppa Pig because the world is much more compact. After you leave your home, walking to the right takes you to the playgroup while heading left sends you to the harbour for another world adventure. Even better, for each country or city your visit you'll always walk to the right screen-by-screen until you reach the trip's end—then every time you'll be sent back to your house. The original Peppa Pig had a much larger game world, which may be more interesting for us older gamers, but I would sometimes find my kid got lost and wasn't sure how to get back to Peppa's home.
I also found that it was pretty easy for my son to understand the basics of the landmarks and activities the game presented him with since Peppa Pig is always asking questions like 'What is this?' or 'What does this do?'. Her natural child-like curiosity means that adult characters in the game will explain what you're seeing or doing. While I love gaming with my son, it's really cool that with World Adventures I can walk away for ten minutes and have full confidence he'll continue to work his way through the game without getting stuck or needing help.
Didn't Like: Missed Educational Opportunities
Given that Peppa Pig: World Adventures is a game centred around taking a world tour to iconic locations like Buckingham Palace, Central Park and the Arc de Triomphe, it would seem like an amazing opportunity to covertly teach children about them through play. And while you're often given an interesting fact or two about these places, there's definitely a missed opportunity to go a little deeper and explain their history or cultural significance better. But don't get me wrong, my son had so much fun playing the game and didn't have a single complaint, so it has the 'entertainment' aspect on lock. But as a parent, I'm always thinking about what my son is learning, and in that regard, the game score's a straight average. It's too bad because the game exploration theme just begs for more educational tidbits.What's also a little strange is some landmarks are not named in the game, for example, the Empire State Building is simply called the 'New York skyscraper' in-game. The same goes for the Sagrada FamÃlia church in Barcelona, which is never explicitly named in the game, yet it's obvious given the unique architecture. I can only guess that these buildings have licensing fees to reference them by name, so it was cheaper to just refer to them in generic terms. For this reason, I suggest parents play this game with their children to explain more about what they're seeing, despite this being a game that otherwise younger plays will have no problem playing alone.
Didn't Like: Technical Bugs
While rare, during our three-hour playthrough, we encountered a few bugs, like text that didn't disappear when it was supposed to or glitches when changing costumes, such as your player's costume not fully changing. To the game's credit though, the launch day patch seems to have ironed out most of the wrinkles.One other downside worth mentioning is that it sounds like the game doesn't feature some of the original voice cast as characters like Daddy Pig or Rebecca Rabbit appear to be soundalikes. Younger players that are very familiar with the TV show are likely to point this out, despite the soundalikes doing a decent enough job. What's strange is the original Peppa Pig featured the full voice cast, so it's a wonder why this next one doesn't, other than the obvious cost savings.
The Verdict
Peppa Pig: World Adventures is an easy recommendation for parents that have kids into this popular series. Its wonderful presentation will have your young ones thinking they're playing an interactive TV show featuring their favourite loveable pig family. The streamlined gameplay and greater emphasis on education this time around are both welcome pluses. It's too bad some of the original voice actors don't reprise their roles here, but the soundalikes do a decent enough job. The best part about this latest Peppa game is my son's ability to play it all on his own, which is surprisingly rare among kids' games.Final Score: 8/10 - Great
Peppa Pig: World Adventures details
Platform: PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PCDeveloper: Petoons Studio
Publisher: Outright Games
Genre: Adventure
Modes: Single-player
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
A key was provided by the publisher.