For over twenty years the Bratz franchise has maintained a solid foothold in the fashion doll space and has spawned a variety of media such as animated television shows, music releases, a live action film, extensive clothing and merchandise and of course, several video games.

Bratz: Flaunt Your Fashion is the latest video game adaptation of the fashion empire, bringing the original Bratz Pack of Yasmin, Cloe, Jade and Sasha on a single player adventure that takes them from Stilesville to Barcelona, Seoul and the Stylin’ Soirée.

The girls set out to catch the latest scoops for their Bratz Magazine while looking as stylish and trendy as the player sees fit. With dozens of clothing and makeup options to unlock, Bratz: Flaunt Your Fashion gives players the chance to let the Bratz Pack do just that.

Starting out in their hometown of Stilesville, players can select which of the four members of the Bratz Pack they want to play as. Cloe, Jade, Sasha and Yasmin all play the same way and offer no gameplay advantage over the other and can be switched out throughout the experience.

The Bratz Pack are more than fashion reporters and run into everyday people that need their help. These optional quests see the girls typically looking for items or talking to other characters to complete. They are short, sweet and simple, and reward the player with money to spend on new styles at the fashion stores throughout the game’s three explorable cities and style points that convert into social media following.

Stilesville introduces players to the map formula that continues on into Barcelona and Seoul. A total of five locations are available at each city with some only unlocking with story progression. The Apartment serves as the base of operations in each city and contains a wardrobe for players to customise their hats, glasses, tops, bottoms and shoes, as well as a vanity mirror to apply a variety of makeup styles. New style options are awarded for completing optional quests, opening chests found in the environment or bought from fashion stores. Customising their appearance is simple and keeps players and their chosen Brat looking stylish and fresh with the wide variety of options at their disposal.

Upon completion of some optional quests and most story quests, players need to interact with a computer in the Apartment to publish stories which converts their earned style points into social media followers, with certain numbers needing to be met in order to progress the story. New computers can be bought at tech stores which will significantly enhance the conversion rate of followers to make this much faster.

Aside from the Apartment, each city has a Mall location that is home to fashion stores, optional quests and a unique racing challenge and faster mobility tools such as a scooter, hoverboard and rollerblades. These can be rented with a one-off fee that lets the player get around the Mall much quicker and the optional racing challenge lets players test their speed and control.

The final location that all three cities share is the airport which lets players travel to the other cities once they have progressed the story. Once a new destination has been unlocked, the player is free to travel between them whenever they please.

With the three fixed locations of each city established, each one also has two unique locations that are related to events such as art exhibitions, extreme sports competitions and a fashion show that are tied to the main quest lines. Players can interact with characters at all of these locations, buy things and find chests as they work through the main and optional quest lines. The core gameplay is very simple, tasking players with simply interacting with people and objects. There are specific points scattered around every location where the player can take a photo, including selfies to unlock some additional style points.

At any time the player can access the map and fast travel to any unlocked location within the city or access their quest log to see where they are at with each of the main or optional quests they have taken on. A clues section is provided for the handful of quests that don’t give players the exact information of where to go or who to talk to. For instance, a clue may say what a character is wearing to help the player find them. It’s a simplistic system but it adds a little layer of thought to an otherwise straight-forward affair.

A handful of sequences function like quick time events such as dancing or singing by pressing the corresponding button with the events on screen. These are pretty simple and forgiving, with no consequence for failing to press them on time.

Bratz: Flaunt Your Fashion has a charming art design and funky soundtrack to keep the experience light and exciting for its younger target audience. Without having been exposed to much Bratz personally, a single frame of this title undeniably screams Bratz, and it’s that brand recognition that will feel so familiar and exciting to fans of Bratz in whatever capacity they’ve seen it in. Majority of the dialogue is presented as voice overs with minimal reading required which goes a long way in feeling more accessible to the youngest of players.

The simplistic gameplay, quest structure and customisation is an easy sell for young players. It does exactly what it needs to do for who it needs to. There is a good four-to-six hours worth of content on offer for players who want to seek out the optional quests and find all of the hidden chests and photo spots. Bratz: Flaunt Your Fashion ultimately delivers a casual gameplay experience that’s accessible, entertaining and surprisingly interesting for the quartet of fashion reporters.

+ Simplistic gameplay is accessible and age appropriate

+ Fun customisation

+ Quests are easy to follow

– Lack of co-op

– Limited replay value

Developed by: Petoons Studio

Published by: Outright Games

Release Date: November 4 2022

Platforms: Xbox One/Series X|S, PlayStation 4/5, Nintendo Switch and PC

 * A digital code was kindly provided for the purpose of this review as an Outright Games Ambassador. *

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All digital imagery was captured by Games of DAYNE in-game on Xbox Series X

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From the very beginning of My Friend Peppa Pig it is nearly impossible to tell the difference between this video game and the uber-popular children’s animated series. Presented as an open adventure that doesn’t force the player in any one direction the wide variety of activities and interactions is largely available immediately. Aside from a handful of story driven cinematic and associated events the interactive experience is presented in a manner that truly represents player freedom and exploration at their own pace.

Opening with a fun character creation suite, the player is able to choose from a variety of different animals, body shapes, fur and clothing colours and accessories. The nameless player character is simply referred to as Peppa’s friend and accompanies Peppa and her family to a handful of locations full of things to playfully interact with.

My Friend Peppa Pig uses single button controls to make the entire experience as easy as possible. Interacting with the many points of interest is as accessible as a result and leans into the pressure-less exploration approach cleverly adopted by developer Petoons Studio. Peppa frequently suggests things the player can do but these don’t need to be followed, rather they exist to help the player push the story forward but not at the expense of the player’s freedom to explore at their will.

Beginning in Peppa’s house the adventure spreads out to a museum, Windy Castle, the playgroup, Peppa’s grandparents house and Potato City to name a few. These locations are all teaming with characters and objects to interact with, all of them wonderfully brought to life with a vibrant colour pallet that keeps the experience bright and playful at all times.

Drawing pictures at the playgroup, skiing down the slopes of Snowy Mountain and playing dress-up with Peppa’s toy-box are just a few examples of the types of interactions these locations offer. These aren’t tied to objectives, again reinforcing the idea that My Friend Peppa Pig is more focused on exploration, interaction and in some cases education.

The simplistic approach to the gameplay, storytelling and interactions truly sets this title apart as one of the most accessible games for the youngest of players set in the world of one of the most beloved children’s television shows of all time.

While exploring the various available locations the player may be tasked with optional objectives such as finding Daddy Pig’s missing glasses, catching chickens, planting seeds and retrieving Peppa’s brothers lost dinosaur toy. Any objective presented is entirely optional but if the player does choose to undertake them, they are all very simple and can be found in very close proximity to where the task was given.

With so much to do and explore, My Friend Peppa Pig doesn’t restrict replayability. The activities can be replayed multiple times  locations can be travelled to at will. A downside to the optional repetition of things is the inability to skip scenes previously viewed. One in particular is a few minutes long, travelling to Windy Castle with Peppa’s family. While little ones may want to go back they may not be as fond of hearing the same unskippable dialogue and scenes played every time.

Given the highly interactive and simple approach to the gameplay, it feels less like a video game in the traditional sense. The narration and voice acting is authentic to the presentation of the TV show, maintaining the illusion that My Friend Peppa Pig is essentially an interactive episode. As such this may be less appealing to players outside of the target audience though as it has been developed with the youngest audience in mind, this does not detract from the experience.

My Friend Peppa Pig is an excellent example of how to introduce video games to the youngest of players. The high level of interaction, educational sequences and freedom to explore at the players pace is fun, simple and accessible. Peppa Pig is the perfect playground for the next generation of video game players to dip their toes into. Full of charm, playful energy and an authentic presentation, there’s plenty to keep the kids coming back for more to further explore the world of the TV sensation.

+ Incredibly simple gameplay

+ Fun interactions

+ Freedom to explore and revisit activities

+ Cool customisation options

+ Authentic presentation

– Music can be absent for lengthy durations

– Co-op would have been nice

– Some objectives lack clarity

The post My Friend Peppa Pig Review first appeared on Games of DAYNE.

Catboy, Owlette and Gekko make the heroic leap from the PJ Masks animated television series to video game adaptation in PJ Masks: Heroes of the Night. Featuring eight locations such as the city, park, mountains and even the moon across 16 stages, the mighty pyjama suit-wearing mini heroes bring their powers and their wits to thwart the dastardly plans of Romeo, Luna Girl and Night Ninja.

With collectibles to find, obstacles to overcome and baddies to stop, the PJ Masks need our help to go into the night to save the day!

Each of the 16 stages open with a vehicle based sequence that tasks players with simply avoiding obstacles and collecting optional glowing gems. Driving, flying or navigating underwater trenches is simple and there are no ways to fail these sequences, or any part of a stage for that matter.

With no health bars, no gaps to fall in to or any form of combat, PJ Masks: Heroes of the Night is all about accessibility throughout the adventure. This approach allows the youngest of players to be able to enjoy the experience without the pressures of defeat.

Once the initial vehicle sequence has been completed each of the three PJ Masks take turns as the playable character throughout every stage. Making each of three heroes playable in each stage goes a long way in establishing a more balanced connection to the game for fans of the animated series.

Certain sections of each stage call upon the player to use special abilities by correctly selecting the character appropriate symbol that is displayed on screen. Catboy has super speed which can be used to bypass electric fences and for instance, Owlette can use her wings to blow smoke out of the way and Gekko can turn invisible to avoid detection and bypass threats.

Catboy brings a double-jump ability to the table that allows him to reach higher platforms, Owlette can use her wings to fly through predetermined sections of levels and Gekko can crawl up or down walls.

Each of these abilities are particularly useful for players looking to collect the 200 gems present in each stage and the three amulets that are hidden for each character. Collecting these awards a statue upon completion of the stage with Bronze, Silver and Gold rankings awarded based on the number collected.

Alternating the playable characters throughout each stage is a great way to introduce alternating mechanics to keep the gameplay exciting for younger players throughout the 10-15 minutes each stage will take to complete if exploring for all of the collectibles. The brevity and simplicity of the missions makes PJ Masks: Heroes of the Night accessible and easy to play in shorter sessions.

The end of each mission brings the PJ Masks face to face with the baddies in a confrontation that requires each of the characters to unleash an attack based on the singular on screen prompt for each hero. In line with the remainder of the experience there is no way to fail these sequences, rather the player is able to retry until they press the correct button.

PJ Masks: Heroes of the Nights serves as a playful introduction to the side-scrolling platformer genre for younger players and the implementation of basic driving/flying sequences are a great way to ease them into multi-genre experiences.

The visuals are a charming and faithful representation of the animated series this title is adapted from. From the characters, environmental art direction and stage design the 16 stages feel authentic and light in tone, and with the accompanying energetic score and frequent control dialogue the overall presentation is very beginner friendly and accessible to the target audience.

PJ Masks: Heroes of the Night has been developed with the youngest of players in mind and is a great adaptation of the animated series they will likely be familiar with. It’s fun, simple and charming, introducing basic ideas and genre elements into a light tale of good guys and bad guys that avoids any overly sinister tones or themes that may alienate young players.

+ Simple gameplay

+ Elements of multiple genres

+ Faithful presentation to the source material

+ Short stage structure

– Collecting gems in driving/flying sequences may challenge young players

– Music cuts out during cinematics often

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