Bluey: The Videogame Review: Is It Worth Playing?

What is Bluey: The Videogame?

Bluey: The Videogame is a family-friendly adventure game based on the Australian animated television series. Developed by Artax Games and published by Outright Games, it aims to translate the show's charm and imaginative play into an interactive format.

The premise is simple and faithful to the source material. Players control the Heeler family — Bluey, Bingo, Bandit, and Chilli — across four distinct episodes. Each episode is based on a classic game of pretend from the series, such as 'Keepy Uppy' and 'Magic Xylophone'.

The game's structure is episodic, offering a gentle, narrative-driven experience. The objective is less about challenge and more about exploration, light puzzle-solving, and enjoying the authentic Bluey universe.

Gameplay

Gameplay is the most defining — and most limiting — characteristic of Bluey: The Videogame. The core loop involves exploring small, self-contained environments like the Heeler house, the creek, or the playground. Players complete simple fetch-quests and mini-games to progress the story.

Mechanics are exceptionally basic: move characters, jump, interact with highlighted objects, and occasionally use a special item like the magic wand from 'Fairies'. The mini-games, such as the balloon-batting 'Keepy Uppy', are charming in concept but shallow and repetitive. They lack the dynamic challenge or variation that might sustain interest beyond a few minutes.

Depth and Difficulty

The learning curve is virtually non-existent, which is clearly by design for its target audience of very young children. For an adult or older child familiar with more structured games, the experience feels underwhelming. There is no fail state, no time pressure, and very little puzzle complexity.

The game supports local co-operative play for up to four players. This is a welcome feature for family playtime, but it does little to augment the fundamental lack of depth. The play is slow, deliberate, and focused on the joy of recognition — finding a character's favourite toy or seeing a location from the show — rather than on engaging gameplay systems.

Bottom line: Bluey: The Videogame functions more as a gentle, interactive toy box than a compelling video game.

Who is Bluey: The Videogame for?

This game has an exceptionally narrow target demographic. It is unequivocally for young fans of the Bluey television series, ideally aged between three and six, who wish to step into the show's world.

It is a casual experience in the purest sense, designed for short, supervised play sessions. For the youngest players, a parent will likely handle the controller. The local multiplayer is its strongest social feature, allowing a family to play together easily.

Comparisons to Similar Games

It sits firmly within the 'licensed kids adventure' genre populated by many Outright Games titles, such as those based on Paw Patrol or PJ Masks. It bears a superficial resemblance to early Lego games in its structure of small hubs and collect-a-thons, but it entirely lacks their mechanical depth, hidden secrets, or rewarding progression.

• Not for solo players seeking any form of challenge or sustained engagement.
• Not for hardcore gamers, teenagers, or adults without a very young child to share the experience with.
• Its purpose is facilitation, not immersion.

Graphics and performance

Visually, the game makes a commendable effort to replicate the distinctive art style of the television show. The character models are instantly recognisable and animate with a pleasing simplicity that echoes the 2D source material. Environments are colourful, bright, and faithful to locations like the Heeler house.

However, the technical execution is lacking. On all platforms, including PC, the game is plagued by a noticeable lack of detail in textures, very simple lighting, and environments that feel static and empty.

The performance is functional but unremarkable. It runs at a stable frame rate, which is crucial for its audience, but occasional camera quirks and a general lack of polish in object interaction were observed. It achieves its primary goal of looking like Bluey, but it does so with the bare minimum of technical ambition, reflecting its budget-tier development.

Value for money

This is the category where Bluey: The Videogame faces its sternest criticism. Overwhelmingly negative user reviews on platforms like Steam largely stem from here.

Length and Replayability

The game is notably short. A competent adult player can complete all four episodes and find the majority of collectibles in under two hours. Even with a young child taking their time, the total playtime is unlikely to exceed three or four hours. There is almost no replay incentive beyond completing a sticker album.

At its full launch price — often around £30–£35 — this represents exceptionally poor value. The content is simply too slight and the mechanics too insubstantial to justify such a cost.

Verdict on price: It feels like a premium-priced product built to a tight budget, capitalising on brand affection rather than offering a substantial interactive experience.

It may be worth a purchase on a deep discount for a devoted young fan, but at full price, it is difficult to recommend from a pure value perspective.

Verdict

Bluey: The Videogame is a difficult title to review as a conventional video game because it so deliberately sidesteps conventional game design. As a piece of interactive Bluey content, it succeeds in its modest aims: it looks and sounds the part, and it provides a safe, pressure-free digital space for preschoolers to see their favourite characters.

However, as a video game sold at a premium price, it is a starkly limited and underwhelming product. We can only recommend it to one specific group: parents or guardians of very young, ardent Bluey fans who are looking for a simple, co-operative activity to share.

For them, the short playtime might even be a benefit, and the brand connection will outweigh the glaring lack of depth. For everyone else — including older children, solo players, or anyone seeking value, challenge, or engaging gameplay — this is an easy game to avoid.

Its low Metascore and poor user ratings are a harsh but accurate reflection of its severe limitations as a piece of entertainment software. It is less a game and more a very expensive, albeit charming, digital toy.