Developer: Drakhar Studios
Publisher: Outright Games Ltd., Bandai Namco
Platform: PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Tested on: PS5
Hotel Transylvania: Scary-Tale Adventures – Review
In the past, it was very common for nearly every cartoon to get its own video game. Most of the time these games weren’t the best out there, but many grown-ups will have fond memories of some of these experiences. We reckon a lot of adults still have slight PTSD symptoms when it comes to playing through The Lion King several decades ago. Now, kids’ games are often just released for a certain publisher to keep the publishing rights. We believe this has happened in the case of Hotel Transylvania: Scary-Tale Adventures, as it’s a boring, empty and pointless experience.
Story
None other than Dracula himself is reading fairytales to his grandson, Dennis, and the young werewolf girl Winnie. These stories are loosely based on existing fairytales, but Dracula loves putting himself, or his daughter Mavis, in the lead of these fantastical tales. Other than this, there is almost no narrative value to explore in the game. Each level has a short introduction with a few lines of voiced dialogue, to then have a few more lines throughout and at the end of that level. The simple execution works to a certain extent, but the stories themselves feel a bit boring.
Graphics
Graphically Hotel Transylvania: Scary-Tale Adventures is nothing to write home about. The game looks as if it’s a generic Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 port that has received no polish at all. While some of the main characters are designed quite neatly, the empty environments and the limited number of enemies you’ll encounter will turn this game into a very bland experience. We would have loved a bit more clutter in the levels to make them feel more alive. As for now, we were treated to the mere basics that will not even look appealing to children.
Sound
The sound design is fairly okayish. The game does its best to present you with some voiced dialogues, albeit not by the movie’s original cast. The latter is quite disappointing, but when looking at the other components of the game, we are not surprised the developers skimped on costs wherever they could. The music often feels suitable as a backdrop, but it tends to loop quickly, and after a while, you just turn the volume down. The sound effects are functional and thus don’t really stand out.
Gameplay
Hotel Transylvania: Scary-Tale Adventures is a very basic action-adventure platformer that lets you play through short stages in different themed stories. Even though the backdrop may differ, you’ll always be doing the same thing. You’ll be collecting coins, punching bad guys, solving simple puzzles, and platforming your way to the next zone. The offset is simple, and that is perfectly fine for a children’s game. Sadly, we did find that this game does not have an actual goal you’re working towards and the level design is extremely bland and boring. For example, the third stage of the game forced us to play through a big part of the first stage again, which was just downright disappointing.
The currency you collect in the game only serves to buy collectible cards. You can find upgrades for Drac and Mavis when you explore the different levels, but even then, most collectibles will just be in plain sight. We even noticed that you don’t even have to actually solve certain puzzles, as we sometimes just jumped over obstacles, making it to the next zone without finishing the puzzle of the previous zone. At other times, we found ourselves stuck behind invisible walls or battling the awkward camera controls. As a whole, it feels as if the developers actually never played a good 3D action platformer themselves.
In the game, there is also a bit of basic combat present, but this feels so unsatisfying and clunky, just like the rest of the controls. Again, even though a few new powers get unlocked, there are no real satisfying upgrades for you to see an actual evolution in the characters. It feels as if the game just presents you with the foundation of something that is still being developed. We would have loved to perhaps see a proper increase in attack power, some new moves, or just some options to buy actual upgrades with the coins we collected throughout the levels.
Conclusion
Hotel Transylvania: Scary-Tale Adventures was absolutely no fun to play through, and the different stories you play through all boil down to doing the same thing over and over again in a poorly designed game. This title is in dire need of a price drop, some extra polish, better content, and an actual goal to work towards. As it stands now, there are better and far more memorable experiences out there for your kids.
Hotel Transylvania: Scary-Tale Adventures - Review,
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