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Practically all of my earliest gaming memories revolve around Christmas. I distinctly remember my older brother excitedly unwrapping his original PlayStation on Christmas morning. By the time we’d finished dinner, the toddler-aged me had already fallen well and truly in love with Crash Bandicoot after my brother had made the mistake of passing the controller over.
Flash forward a year or two, and I recall us both each unwrapping a Game Boy Advance. My brother was avidly fixated with Pokémon Ruby, whilst I fell head over heels for Bratz Rock Angelz. The following year, we upgraded to Game Boy Advance SPs, with other Christmases featuring the Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, and an Xbox 360.
Take a look at The Grinch: Christmas Adventures in action below.
For me now, the vast majority of my time spent gaming is either done so alone or playing online with friends but as a child, it was a much more communal activity. We’d pass the PlayStation controller around - or me and my brother would team up on our DS’ on The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass’ multiplayer. Gaming was family time and typing this now brings back so many fond memories.
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Why am I in such a reminiscent mood, I hear you ponder? Well, The Grinch: Christmas Adventures is exactly the kind of game I know I would’ve adored growing up. Developed by Casual Brothers Limited and published by Outright Games, The Grinch: Christmas Adventures is a family-friendly platformer, retelling the classic Dr. Seuss story of How The Grinch Stole Christmas.
You’ll begin in The Grinch’s lair, making your way through its various caverns, into the countryside, and all the way to Who-ville, as you steal presents in your attempts to ruin and destroy Christmas. All the basic platforming elements are there: you’ll jump, swing, slide, and jetpack your way through the game’s levels, with several enemy types to overcome that you can either jump on or avoid completely.
By the time you finish each level, you’ll earn a percentage showing you how many of that level’s presents you collected, but that’s not the only item type you’ll need to keep an eye out for. Each level is also hiding various puzzle pieces. Gather enough puzzle pieces and you can solve a quick jigsaw puzzle, granting you a new platforming technique or a cosmetic for The Grinch. These aren’t simply aesthetic cosmetics though. The more you resemble Santa, the less Who-ville’s residents will recognise you.
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That’s important because while The Grinch: Christmas Adventures is primarily a platformer, it does - believe it or not - feature a few stealth-based sections. You’ll need to creep through the homes of Who-ville’s residents, sneakily stealing their presents. If they spot you, they’ll try and give you a hug, to warm The Grinch’s heart - and you don’t want to let that happen. If you’ve got a Who in pursuit, you’ll need to hide or outrun them.
Between levels, a narrator will tell you the story of The Grinch. Seeing as I am a twenty-something adult, it’s been a while since I’ve had someone read me a story but the whole thing just felt entirely heartwarming and festive - which yes, is what you’d expect from a Christmas themed game - but the tone deserves my praise nonetheless.
Maybe The Grinch: Christmas Adventures made me feel so nostalgic because I grew up playing platformers. While I don’t think this game is going to stand the test of time quite like Crash Bandicoot (which offers a far greater level of challenge), I can easily see it delighting many young players this coming Christmas. This is most certainly a release that’s an entry way into gaming. You’re going to get the most joy out of it if you’re watching little ones delight in what might be their first gaming experience. As there’s two-player co-op, you can even offer a younger player your guidance.
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If it wasn’t for my childhood love of platformers, I probably wouldn’t be doing this as a job today. It’s lovely to think that somewhere out there this Christmas, someone might find themselves with a copy of The Grinch: Christmas Adventures in their stocking and perhaps, it might impact them the same way that platformers have impacted me.
It’s a relatively short release, clocking in at around three to four hours (for an adult player anyway) if you want to unlock all abilities alongside completing all levels. That being said, I can easily see The Grinch: Christmas Adventures drawing families in as they settle around the TV for a few hours of fun that’ll one day be looked upon as a cherished memory - and isn’t that what Christmas is all about?
The Grinch: Christmas Adventures is out now on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 (version played), Steam, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. A code was provided by the publisher, Outright Games.
Topics: PlayStation, Xbox, PC, Nintendo