When I was a kid, I loved reading newspaper comic strips.  And I still have a strong interest in them today!  Some of my favorites include Garfield, Calvin and Hobbes, Dilbert, and of course, Peanuts.  When I was little and a Peanuts TV special was on, you can bet I was planted in front of the set watching it!  That’s why I’m really glad I got to review Snoopy & the Great Mystery Club!  After Charlie Brown, Peppermint Patty, and Snoopy solve the mystery of his missing supper, they decide that it would be fun to form a detective club and solve mysteries around the neighborhood!  Help them and the rest of the gang do this by talking to friends and collecting evidence, and even switching Snoopy’s personas and costumes to bypass obstacles.  And you might even finally get to kick that football!  Snoopy & the Great Mystery Club is available on most current game consoles and PC, but reviewed on Switch here.

In the game, you control Snoopy while three other friends follow you around.  When you approach someone or something of interest, you can talk to them or inspect something.  Sometimes Snoopy must change outfits to bypass obstacles.  Do this by holding down the L shoulder button and switching to one of his other personas.  Detective Snoopy uses a magnifying glass to follow hidden footprints.  Pirate Snoopy can dig holes, Beagle Scout Snoopy can pass through certain bushes, etc.  There are even more costumes to discover as you play.  Other times you might have to play a mini-game to progress.  These include pitching a baseball, kicking a football, playing music with Schroder, or even chasing down the Red Baron!  You’ll also see familiar locations like the elementary school, baseball field, and the pumpkin patch.

Aside from collecting evidence, you can also find marbles all over the place and win lollipops in the mini-games.  You’ll use the lollipops if you miss too many times in the clue mini-game at the end of each case, although I never had to use one.  The marbles act as currency but I only remember having to spend 15 marbles and I got over 200.  You can also find hidden comic strips you can actually read, too!  Personally, I really liked this game although I can understand why someone wouldn’t.  You do a lot of walking around (thank goodness for the bus stop fast travel), and do a lot of fetch quests and hardly anything else.  So some may find that boring.  But like I said, I thought the game was cute and I think any big Peanuts fan would want to play this.

Kid Factor:

Nothing violent or objectionable here.  Even in the Red Baron mini-game, you’re not shooting him down, just chasing him through rings and avoiding smoke.  Even though the game has fully spoken voice to go along with the text, reading skill is still needed for the menus and when Snoopy ‘talks.’  Younger games MIGHT need help with some of the mini-games, but if they’re old enough to read the comics and watch the cartoons, they’ll be fine with this game.   I think this might be a fun game for parents who grew up with Peanuts to play with their kids.  Snoopy & the Great Mystery Club is rated E for Everyone.

Tags: Game Reviews, Movies with Children, Television