Developer: 3DClouds
Publisher: Outright Games Ltd, Bandai Namco Entertainment
Platform: PC, Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Tested on: PS5
PAW Patrol: Grand Prix – Review
Outright Games publishes a lot of child-friendly content for younger gamers and their parents to enjoy. They don’t always provide an extremely polished experience, but in most cases, you’ll be presented with a reasonably fun experience for children. Last year we took a closer look at Blaze and The Monster Machines: Axle City Racers, which had a solid foundation but little content to support it, as well as an extremely high price tag. Now, we have another kart racing game for very young gamers, namely PAW Patrol: Grand Prix, which was actually quite entertaining.
Story
Even though many games such as this don’t have a dedicated story mode, PAW Patrol Grand Prix actually has a small story that unfolds as you play through the different tracks. You’ll still be able to pick the character of your choice, while you play through the game. The story mode is all about mayor Goodway organizing a race in her town. While this alone is a reason for celebration, mayor Humdinger of Foggy Bottom wants to sabotage the event, hoping next year he can organize the race. The plot is extremely basic, but it certainly suffices to entertain young children.
Graphics
Graphically, PAW Patrol: Grand Prix is not an ugly-looking game. The title does have nice character designs and kart models, and even the tracks look okay. Of course, the designs here are not as intricate as they are in Mario Kart 8, but everything still looks cute. We would have perhaps loved a bit more variety when it came to the starting sequence, as this is always just the same clip (albeit with different lighting) that is being played over and over.
Sound
The soundtrack isn’t too bad, but it’s also not too memorable either. The sound effects get the job done, but once again, they are nothing special. The only really grating thing about the sound design is the voice acting. We understand that this is a game for kids and that the dialogues will be prone to a lot of overacting, but the one-liners and ‘shouts’ during the actual races get repeated to the point you’ll want to mute the game. We understand making the game fun for kids, but there are limits.
Gameplay
PAW Patrol: Grand Prix is a very run-of-the-mill Mario Kart clone for kids. The game will have you pick your favorite character to either do some free races or play the game’s story mode. No matter which mode you end up picking, you’ll have a fairly standard experience after that. During races, you’ll be able to pick up power-ups that will give you offensive or defensive boosts. Each character will also have a unique ability, which is pretty much the same thing as an additional power-up. The game also includes some more advanced mechanics, such as drifting for power boosts, but it also has options to make the game even more accessible for kids. For example, you can turn on the assist, which will automatically speed up your kart, and you can even allow the game to steer for you as well. Of course, this last option is solely for very inexperienced young gamers but this does allow everyone to have a go at racing with their favorite PAW Patrol character.
The game does have a fairly solid foundation, but you’re still paying quite a lot of money for a game that doesn’t have that much content. Nonetheless, there is some unlockable content in the game that will add some replay value to the mix, especially if your kids want to unlock all characters and customization options for their vehicles. The options here are somewhat limited to cosmetic items, but it’s still nice to have something to work towards.
Conclusion
PAW Patrol: Grand Prix will not win any awards any time soon, but the title is certainly enjoyable for younger gamers. Even though the voice lines will drive any parent crazy, the racing mechanics are solid, and the characters do feel different from one another. We still find that the title is very overpriced for the content you’re getting, so waiting for a sale might be a great idea. Nonetheless, as far as Mario Kart clones go, you could do far worse than this one for your kids.
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[…] some expert-level mechanics. While these two racing games had a lot of charm, we also tried out PAW Patrol: Grand Prix for the very young gamers in your household. Even though the game was a bit light on content, the […]