If you have a child who is around the age of five or so then it’s fairly impossible that you haven’t heard of PAW Patrol. Nickelodeons hit series first debuted back in 2013 and quickly became a tremendous hit with youngsters. With over 100 episodes to date and a massive amount of merchandise to go right along with it, PAW Patrol is one of those animated success stories that proves that you don’t always need the Disney name attached to gain a loyal audience. Surprisingly it has taken five years for PAW Patrol to finally become a video games, something that certainly most fans of the show have desperately wanted.
PAW Patrol: On a Roll puts your child in the driver’s seat and allows them to take control of all of the puppies featured in the series. Staying true to the overall approach of PAW Patrol, players will be faced with a series of missions, each with a different animal in peril, and the PAW Patrol will need to spring into action in order to assist them. Ryder will outline what players will be facing, who is on the mission, and what type of support team they have in place to assist them along the way. Then it’s off to adventure to help the PAW Patrol save the day.
This is a game that is aimed at younger gamers and I would argue that perhaps in such a way that it is designed more for those who may just be getting into video games in general. The missions are essentially straight forward and simply has players going from point A to B with only a few major obstacles to impede their progress but even these essentially have things spelled out when you run into them. PAW Patrol is a platform game but without any of the usual tropes such as enemies. Players can collect pup treats throughout the stage as well as golden paw emblems which will be totaled at the end of each stage and then an award will be given based on how many they collected. There are 200 pup treats and five paw icons in each stage which will result in obtaining a platinum award.
Although you do get to play as the different puppies from the series, they are predetermined in each stage. Players aren’t allowed to select which of them they believe might be best suited for the mission. As mentioned, there are points when players will be faced with a simple matter of selecting one of three different options to work their way past an obstacle. They can use one of two different powers that the pups have at their disposal or they can call for additional assistance from another pup. Skye for example can use a jetpack to hover past taller portions in the game or she can fly however it’s not a choice of which would you rather use but instead it’s yet another predetermined aspect of the game. If players select the wrong option, the game doesn’t punish them but instead allows them to select again. About midway through each stage you will change to another of the pups to finish the level.
The more simplistic approach of PAW Patrol: On a Roll is what gears it towards beginning gamers. My six-year-old daughter has recently been getting into playing games so I believed that this would be perfect for her. As an adult I have many games that for her simply aren’t appropriate to be playing or have complicated control schemes. However, she’s also the type of young gamer that has already gravitated to the Skylanders and LEGO titles, she plays Minecraft quite a bit and will at least pick up a controller and try something like Wipeout or any other game she has watched me play that she thinks she can play herself. She was excited for PAW Patrol but after breezing through the first level she tossed the controller aside and hasn’t touched it since.
The game does look very similar to the animated series which is always a huge plus. There’s nothing worse than playing a game which is allegedly based on an existing property only to quickly realize how far off the development was at capturing its true essence. PAW Patrol however odes manage to bring the look of the animated series to the PlayStation 4 in such a way that most young gamers will be incredibly pleased. It will give them the impression that they are a part of the series in a much different way than simply watching it. However, while it may look like the series, I felt that often the overall level design was far too generic and didn’t really offer much in the way of being unique.
PAW Patrol: On a Roll is the type of game that is certain to satisfy youngsters particularly those under the age of five or so but those who haven’t yet outgrown the series may find that the game is by far too easy for them. While there are a number of missions to play through the reality is that they tend to be more or less the same thing over and over again without too much deviation. Even the effort to throw in some minor flying segments and puzzles doesn’t really do much to liven the game up, at least not in such a way that it become enjoyable. Then again, it could be that I’m far past the target demographic on this one.
Mike is the resident reviewer for Couponing to Disney and his own site Underland Online. He has a toddler daughter and is obsessed with Haunted Mansion and all things Disney. You can read Mike’s complete bio here.