A mighty fun adventure awaits
By Paul Hunter
Considering how much fun 2021's PJ Masks: Heroes of the Night was, for the inevitable sequel developer Petoons Studio could have easily replicated the formula and given us more of the same. But kudos to them for instead going all out with an expanded follow-up that's bigger and better in every way. PJ Masks Power Heroes: Mighty Alliance, available now on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, Xbox and PC, features an expanded roster of heroes, more levels, more replayability, and best of all, five different mission types that keep the action fresh and the kids entertained.
With a cutscene rivalling that of the Disney Junior TV series, the story begins with the PJ Masks Power Heroes hanging out in their Power Q space station with Newton Star showing off his latest creation: an Asteroid Magnification Machine that will let the team control asteroids in the galaxy. However, the demonstration backfires, sending parts of the Power Q and crystals flying to Earth and across space.
The Nighttime Villains catch wind of the accident and being the opportunists they are, set out to collect the Power Q pieces and crystals for their next nefarious scheme to control the Earth. Meanwhile, the PJ Robot begins locating the missing parts while the heroes form teams of two to retrieve them. Catboy teams up with Bastet, Owletter with Lilyfay, Ice Cub with Newton Star, and Gekko with An Yu. Curiously, the ninth and final member of the Power Heroes, Armadylan, is mysteriously absent, presumably because the game focuses on teams of two and he'd be the odd person out.
PJ Masks with its fantastic heroes, creative world and out-of-this-world storylines is a perfect fit for video games, and Mighty Alliance proves this with its thrilling and varied gameplay. While the previous game focused on side-scrolling 2D platforming, this latest game has missions that allow the characters to take full advantage of their superpowers.
Ice Cub and Newton racing missions remind me of SNES classics like Uniracers or the zany mine cart levels in Donkey Kong Country. In them, Ice Cub rides on his snowboard while Newton glides on his floating asteroid through 2.5D racetracks that feature loop-to-loops, wicked jumps and branching paths. You'll also need to dodge (or shoot) enemies like Luna Girl's moths, Romeo's robots or Night Ninja's Ninjalinos along the way—but don't worry, hitting any of them merely stuns our heroes. One great thing about this being a kids' game is your characters have unlimited health, so there's no way to lose a level even if you get stunned many, many times.
The Owlette and Lilyfay levels let you freely fly around 2D side-scrolling environments that can be several screens high. Like in the racing levels, you'll have to contend with enemies like ninjas and moths but they're easy to get rid of with Owlette's wing wind or Lilyfay's starlight rays. These levels are my favourite given the freedom to zip around and grab the hundreds of crystals and find all the hidden secret areas holding even more collectibles to nab.
The remaining duos—Catboy with Bastet and Gekko with An Yu—have more traditional 2D platforming missions, although the Gekko portions have his signature wall-climb sections that are even more refined and more fun this time around. Each character has their own way of attacking, with An Yu using her magical flute, Gekko swiping with his tail and so on, used to break objects or stun the villain's robot, moth and ninjalino army.
Missions have a nice flow to them where you'll play the first half as one hero, then mid-level you'll face an obstacle blocking your way and requiring the assistance of your teammates, and then you'll switch to the other character for the level's second half. The constant switching of heroes adds interest and excitement to each stage as you employ their different powers and appreciate their different personalities that keep the action fresh.
Levels all feature hundreds of crystals to collect, which is a task children will love to undertake as they try to collect them all, and there are Hero Masks and collectible presents to find in each level, too, with trophy pops if you manage to get every one. The great thing about all these collectibles is that they make levels highly replayable, and I know with my family we would keep replaying until we nabbed every last crystal, mask and present tucked away in each level.
Each of the four worlds has a second racing level, only these ones are similar to endless runners like Subway Surfers where you race forward into the screen and can move through three different lanes. You'll take turns using the various heroes in these racing levels, using their signature vehicles like Catboy's Cat-Car or Ice Cub's Ice Dasher.
In these special racing levels you'll need to avoid obstacles while grabbing as many crystals as you can, and also staying on the lookout for collectible Hero Masks. What's neat is these races take place on land, sky and sea, which not only adds visual variety but mixes up the gameplay as well. In the sea level, you can dive underwater momentarily to get collectibles hiding below, and in the sky level, you'll need to jump into the air frequently to hop over obstacles or collect floating crystals.
The sixth and final level of each world is yet another endless runner-type racing level that then culminates in a cutscene where the Power Heroes confront one of the Nighttime Villains. These 'boss battle' sequences are fully animated and scripted, although there are times when you'll need to button-mash to unleash one of your hero's powers. The characters are all voice-acted and sound great, and overall there's a polish on these sequences that makes them look like segments straight out of the cartoon.
My family is having a blast playing PJ Masks Power Heroes: Mighty Alliance as the controls are simple to get into and the missions are action-packed. Like most other Outright Games titles, accessibility is baked into the experience with responsive controls and easy-to-follow level designs kids can easily grasp and master.
There are many adaptive playability features found in the game for anyone who needs a little extra boost to complete the levels. You can toggle on an easy enemy AI option to lower the difficulty and have crystals magnetically come to your character to make them a snap to collect. You can also turn on a jump assistance feature designed to help younger players dive right into the action and experience entertaining gameplay no matter their skill level.
Overall, in virtually every way Mighty Alliance is a big step up compared to the previous PJ Masks game, but the biggest way is just how exciting it is from start to finish. There are so many heroes to play as, each with their own powers, and the sheer variety of level types means there's never a dull moment across all 24 levels. While the game is clearly targeted at preteen kids, there's enough here for adults to enjoy too, especially if you love getting 100% collectibles.
Final Score: 8/10 - Great
Developer: Petoons Studio
Publisher: Outright Games
Genre: Platformer
Modes: Single-player
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
A key was provided by the publisher.
By Paul Hunter
Considering how much fun 2021's PJ Masks: Heroes of the Night was, for the inevitable sequel developer Petoons Studio could have easily replicated the formula and given us more of the same. But kudos to them for instead going all out with an expanded follow-up that's bigger and better in every way. PJ Masks Power Heroes: Mighty Alliance, available now on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, Xbox and PC, features an expanded roster of heroes, more levels, more replayability, and best of all, five different mission types that keep the action fresh and the kids entertained.
With a cutscene rivalling that of the Disney Junior TV series, the story begins with the PJ Masks Power Heroes hanging out in their Power Q space station with Newton Star showing off his latest creation: an Asteroid Magnification Machine that will let the team control asteroids in the galaxy. However, the demonstration backfires, sending parts of the Power Q and crystals flying to Earth and across space.
The Nighttime Villains catch wind of the accident and being the opportunists they are, set out to collect the Power Q pieces and crystals for their next nefarious scheme to control the Earth. Meanwhile, the PJ Robot begins locating the missing parts while the heroes form teams of two to retrieve them. Catboy teams up with Bastet, Owletter with Lilyfay, Ice Cub with Newton Star, and Gekko with An Yu. Curiously, the ninth and final member of the Power Heroes, Armadylan, is mysteriously absent, presumably because the game focuses on teams of two and he'd be the odd person out.
PJ Masks with its fantastic heroes, creative world and out-of-this-world storylines is a perfect fit for video games, and Mighty Alliance proves this with its thrilling and varied gameplay. While the previous game focused on side-scrolling 2D platforming, this latest game has missions that allow the characters to take full advantage of their superpowers.
Ice Cub and Newton racing missions remind me of SNES classics like Uniracers or the zany mine cart levels in Donkey Kong Country. In them, Ice Cub rides on his snowboard while Newton glides on his floating asteroid through 2.5D racetracks that feature loop-to-loops, wicked jumps and branching paths. You'll also need to dodge (or shoot) enemies like Luna Girl's moths, Romeo's robots or Night Ninja's Ninjalinos along the way—but don't worry, hitting any of them merely stuns our heroes. One great thing about this being a kids' game is your characters have unlimited health, so there's no way to lose a level even if you get stunned many, many times.
The Owlette and Lilyfay levels let you freely fly around 2D side-scrolling environments that can be several screens high. Like in the racing levels, you'll have to contend with enemies like ninjas and moths but they're easy to get rid of with Owlette's wing wind or Lilyfay's starlight rays. These levels are my favourite given the freedom to zip around and grab the hundreds of crystals and find all the hidden secret areas holding even more collectibles to nab.
The remaining duos—Catboy with Bastet and Gekko with An Yu—have more traditional 2D platforming missions, although the Gekko portions have his signature wall-climb sections that are even more refined and more fun this time around. Each character has their own way of attacking, with An Yu using her magical flute, Gekko swiping with his tail and so on, used to break objects or stun the villain's robot, moth and ninjalino army.
Missions have a nice flow to them where you'll play the first half as one hero, then mid-level you'll face an obstacle blocking your way and requiring the assistance of your teammates, and then you'll switch to the other character for the level's second half. The constant switching of heroes adds interest and excitement to each stage as you employ their different powers and appreciate their different personalities that keep the action fresh.
Levels all feature hundreds of crystals to collect, which is a task children will love to undertake as they try to collect them all, and there are Hero Masks and collectible presents to find in each level, too, with trophy pops if you manage to get every one. The great thing about all these collectibles is that they make levels highly replayable, and I know with my family we would keep replaying until we nabbed every last crystal, mask and present tucked away in each level.
Each of the four worlds has a second racing level, only these ones are similar to endless runners like Subway Surfers where you race forward into the screen and can move through three different lanes. You'll take turns using the various heroes in these racing levels, using their signature vehicles like Catboy's Cat-Car or Ice Cub's Ice Dasher.
In these special racing levels you'll need to avoid obstacles while grabbing as many crystals as you can, and also staying on the lookout for collectible Hero Masks. What's neat is these races take place on land, sky and sea, which not only adds visual variety but mixes up the gameplay as well. In the sea level, you can dive underwater momentarily to get collectibles hiding below, and in the sky level, you'll need to jump into the air frequently to hop over obstacles or collect floating crystals.
The sixth and final level of each world is yet another endless runner-type racing level that then culminates in a cutscene where the Power Heroes confront one of the Nighttime Villains. These 'boss battle' sequences are fully animated and scripted, although there are times when you'll need to button-mash to unleash one of your hero's powers. The characters are all voice-acted and sound great, and overall there's a polish on these sequences that makes them look like segments straight out of the cartoon.
My family is having a blast playing PJ Masks Power Heroes: Mighty Alliance as the controls are simple to get into and the missions are action-packed. Like most other Outright Games titles, accessibility is baked into the experience with responsive controls and easy-to-follow level designs kids can easily grasp and master.
There are many adaptive playability features found in the game for anyone who needs a little extra boost to complete the levels. You can toggle on an easy enemy AI option to lower the difficulty and have crystals magnetically come to your character to make them a snap to collect. You can also turn on a jump assistance feature designed to help younger players dive right into the action and experience entertaining gameplay no matter their skill level.
Overall, in virtually every way Mighty Alliance is a big step up compared to the previous PJ Masks game, but the biggest way is just how exciting it is from start to finish. There are so many heroes to play as, each with their own powers, and the sheer variety of level types means there's never a dull moment across all 24 levels. While the game is clearly targeted at preteen kids, there's enough here for adults to enjoy too, especially if you love getting 100% collectibles.
The Verdict
My family had a blast playing PJ Masks Power Heroes: Mighty Alliance. From the accessible gameplay for kids to the superb voice-acting and presentation to the large variety of mission types, this is the dream PJ Masks video game this popular franchise deserves. Best of all, the thousands of collectibles extend the game's life long after you complete it, as I know first-hand how fun it is to replay the exciting levels in search of 100% completion.Final Score: 8/10 - Great
PJ Masks Power Heroes: Mighty Alliance details
Platform: PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PCDeveloper: Petoons Studio
Publisher: Outright Games
Genre: Platformer
Modes: Single-player
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
A key was provided by the publisher.