Care Bears: Unlock The Magic Nintendo Switch Review 4.5/10 (also available on PS4/5) "lacking charm and magic" 🐻🐻‍❄️🐼 @MaximumEntmt

As a man in my forties, The Care Bears were very much a part of my childhood, and I watched show a lot as a kid, I was convinced that there was a Care Bears game on the C64, but in researching this article, I have very much been proven wrong, as the first released Care Bears title was in 2004! (WTF!!! - ed)

Regardless of my foggy memories, Care Bears: Unlock The Magic is unfortunately a charmless dud that feels like a half-finished game that had the Care Bears licensing slapped on during development, and really doesn’t feel that it’s taking full advantage of the rich, generation-spanning Care Bears heritage.

Effectively a single-player collection of mini-games, with an included digital art book, Care Bears: Unlock The Magic has an adventure mode that has you dancing along a 3D board in a 3D take on Snake, driving the Care Bear bus to pick up hearts in a simple vehicular section, pogoing across rivers, popping coloured bubbles a la Puzzle Bobble, and several more derivative mini-games that combine to allow you to make your way across the overworld game board, of which certain section are blocked by thunderstorms that require a certain amount of points to pass. The music is gentle and lilting, the frame rate 60fps, and the mini-games do ramp up in difficulty – so this isn’t a mindless trudge - but they always felt arbitrary, and there was no sense of charm or a love for the licence at hand.

SUMMARY

At it’s current price, Care Bears: Unlock The Magic is a tough game to recommend as it just feels like a compilation of forgettable – yet competent – mini-games that feel more at home on a mobile device. It was far too slight to engage me as an adult, and my four year old had no interest in the game, so unless you have a youngster that really has a connection with the franchise, this is a game that makes me dress up in my Grumpy Bear costume and sulkily fold my arms.

4.5/10

💧MELTED💧

🔗Care Bears: Unlock The Magic | Nintendo Switch games | Games | Nintendo UK