The Care Bears have been around for ages. Back in the late 80s and early 90s they were the king of family friendly kids content and have evolved a number of times over the years. While I’m all grown up by this point in my life and evolved my toy choices, my girlfriend is still a big fan and is constantly checking the toy aisle for the latest plushie release.
But one thing those delightful bears haven’t really adopted all that much is the video game space. Care Bears: To The Rescue looks to remedy this and provide some wholesome family fun for fans and newcomers alike. But does it succeed in not only being a good kids game, but one that’s fun and can be enjoyed by the whole family?
Care Bears: To The Rescue makes a lot of good choices, especially for the adults in the family. These types of video games for children tend to be the same sort of thing. They ape a popular style and crunch out something that is nothing more than a cheap copy of another game. Care Bears: To The Rescue does this, but not with anything modern. The game is a classic action-platformer that pulls a lot from arcade classics of days gone by and helps play of nostalgia for the adults in the family.
The game is laid out a lot like Final Fight, Sunset Riders, or the classic arcade TMNT games of the early 90’s. Up to four players can take part and select from a number of Care Bears (7 in total) to take into 2D side-scrolling battle. Each bear is unique thanks to having their own special ability that gives the player a perk during play. They all play the same, but these extras give each a unique feel. Someone like Grumpy Bear has the ability to sense sticker locations making him a great choice for those completion hounds out there as the game offers stickers to collect in each stage.
Combat is incredibly light, as one might expect for a kids property based on bears that care about everyone and everything. Each player can run, jump and use their Belly Badge to defeat enemies by hitting them with your power until they are free of those pesky bad feelings that the boss has infected them with. Your Belly Badge has an energy pool that drains and along each stage you can collect energy to defeat baddies, bosses, and to open up secret areas hidden and activating levers.
You’ll do this across five areas, each with a number of sub-stages that you’ll tackle alone or as a family. To help keep things fresh, Care Bears: To The Rescue also incorporates a number of flying stages alongside some mini-games to help test players with the skills they learn along the way. It’s a great way to break up play and help keep the short game feeling fresh. Care Bears: To The Rescue also looks pretty nice with its 2.5D platforming and the colors of the world and cartoon it’s based on really coming through.
Care Bears: To The Rescue is a wholesome family-friendly video game that is sure to delight fans of the series and newcomers alike. It’s great to see a family game come out that allows everyone to have a good time with a simple yet rewarding gameplay loop. Developer Polygoat should be praised for putting out a family-friendly game that is actually worthwhile to play and not just some cheap shovelware for a studio that needs quick cash for another project.
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