Developer: Massive Miniteam
Publisher: HandyGames, THQ Nordic
Platform: PC, Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Tested on: Switch
Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader? – Review
Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader? is one of those shows that is known all over the world. With over 50 different versions of the show worldwide, it was bound to get a new game version after its prior successful game releases. Nonetheless, with games such as these, one always has to wonder what a new release can bring to the table, and if you’re not better off playing the old version instead. We put the newly released Switch version to the test, and we were quite disappointed with the overall package.
Story
If you’re looking for a deep narrative experience, we suggest you best move on to other titles. Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader? is based on a TV show where contestants have to prove they are in fact ‘smarter’ than a fifth grader. The game has a TV show setup, and it does let the children share facts about themselves. Other than that, there is absolutely no story value to be found when playing through the game.
Graphics
Graphically the game truly looks like a children’s game. Compared to the Xbox 360 version that came out in 2009, this new iteration actually feels like a massive downgrade. The game sports very cartoonish graphics, and it actually negates the realistic TV show vibe that the old game had. While these visuals will certainly entice a younger audience, we feel this release should have opted for more realistic visuals as well. That being said, the colorful backdrops look decent, and it’s fun to customize the player’s school desk. The latter can be done for every player when playing the multiplayer mode.
Sound
The sound design is not too bad. The backdrop is suitably handled, and even the voice acting is of decent quality. Sadly, the game starts losing its appeal after a few sessions because of the constant filler dialogues and the overall slow gameplay. Not even good voice acting can save the annoying dialogues that will be present throughout the entire experience.
Gameplay
Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader? is a fairly simplistic quiz game, which you can play on your own, or locally with friends and family. The game will put you through six rounds of questions, where each round revolves around questions that supposedly come from a first to sixth-grade education. When playing in single-player mode, the game ends when you answer one question incorrectly, while in multiplayer mode, the game simply goes through all the questions and the player with the highest score will be dubbed the winner. The game is pretty straightforward, you have to try and answer questions correctly by selecting the correct answer from a list of three options, or you can also opt to cheat with the help of one of the grade-schoolers. The latter almost always results in a correct answer. Keep in mind that you can only do this three times per game.
While we enjoyed the questions on offer, and we also appreciated the option to turn off US-specific questions, the ridiculous amount of banter from the host and school children made the game almost unbearable to play for longer periods of time. We would have loved the option to play through a mode that would eventually just present you with the questions, and not the random rubbish in-between. Of course, this would then make it painstakingly clear that each full round would only take a few minutes to beat.
Playing the multiplayer mode proved to be the most entertaining, as you can complain with friends and family about the endless filler dialogues, while also vying to come out on top. Not only is the multiplayer mode the most fun but it is also the most rewarding. At the end of each game, you’ll be awarded points, and these points will unlock funny skins and outfits for the school kids, as well as new desk decorations for the player(s). When playing a game with multiple people, you’ll rake in the rewards easily, but if you play on your own, you’ll barely make any progress at all.
Conclusion
Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader? is a game that could have been so much more entertaining. We feel like this iteration is a downgrade of the realistic looking 2009 version of the game, and we also feel that the game is not optimized for multiplayer play. We would have understood it if the single-player mode would put the player through the entire quiz show experience, but when playing with friends and family locally, it just slows down the fun to be had and it eventually turns the game into a drag. With toned-down graphics, too many filler dialogues, and barely any reason to keep playing, we would suggest looking into other party games first.
No Comments