The other day my girlfriend saw My Little Pony: A Maretime Bay Adventure up for sale and told me to buy it to check it out for a good laugh. I figured it was a generic children’s platformer, and it is, but it’s also something altogether new to me. You see, My Little Pony: A Maretime Bay Adventure isn’t based on the MLP series that bronies took over and ruined for small children, but it’s based on the all-new series on Netflix.
This new series does not seem to have captured the world like its predecessor and I’m actually pretty happy about it. It’s a cute show, with a cute movie, and now a cute game that isn’t bogged down by creepy men in their early thirties with severe cases of “I’ll shower tomorrow” syndrome. My Little Pony: A Maretime Bay Adventure is a children’s property with a children focused video games that is inoffensive, really simple to understand and play, and looks cute enough to match the series. Sure, it’s not pushing the visuals in any way, but the ponies look screen accurate and like an episode of the show.
Gameplay consists of running around an area as Sunny and doing tasks for other ponies. Think of it like babies first MMO in that the entire game is based on fetch quest after fetch quest. One pony will need something in order for you to progress. You then find the pony that has what they need and that pony will then give you their own task before handing over the quest item. The entire game is structured this way without any variation. The only things that break up the adventure are really simple minigames.
You have to remember that this is a game designed for small children and it gets some breaks because of this. This isn’t an excuse for a game to cut corners or treat children like little idiots, but it does get a bit of leeway. Thankfully, My Little Pony: A Maretime Bay Adventure works without issue and is designed pretty solidly. Everything works, the world is cute, there’s a lot to see and do, and the collectibles will keep older players (probably parents) playing in order to dress up their pony.
Controls are incredibly basic and simple. You run around the world with the left joystick and use two buttons to interreact with everything else. One button will allow you to jump, something used to access higher areas of an area, and an action button to talk with and interact with the world. It’s about as simple as it gets and works well. You don’t want to confuse kids and My Little Pony: A Maretime Bay Adventure does a good job keeping things simple and clean. There’s also a button to put on some roller blades to get around the world quicker for those wanting to speedrun the game.
Other than that there isn’t a lot to talk about. The story is revolves around doing tasks for other ponies and solving the mystery of who is pitting the various pony factions against each other. The game feels like it was written by the team behind the show and there were some pretty funny lines and visuals gags throughout. My girlfriend and I swapped turns playing the game and found ourselves getting a few good laughs from the writing alone. That’s not something that can be said of most any other video games based on a television show or toy-line.
My Little Pony: A Maretime Bay Adventure has it’s heart in the right place and the team behind it clearly cared about quality, but the game is really held back by its length. It’ll only take even the most entry level players a few hours to complete, and anyone with experience can speedrun the game in around an hour. I don’t mind short games but I do mind when those games cost you $40 on Steam for a digital copy. That’s a big ask as I can list off dozens of games with a lot more content for the price, even a number of ones aimed at children. Hell, there are physical releases of kids games going for less on all consoles.
Sure, the team created a really basic game and done in such a way that it never becomes boring or tedious because of its length, but I just really wished the studio had a little more time to create something a little longer and more fleshed out. It would have been better to take a few episodes of the show and build the game around them, or even allow them to flesh out those stories a bit more. Maybe base a new mechanic around and hour or so of gameplay and with a couple of episodes you’d have a solid experience for the price. As it stands though, My Little Pony: A Maretime Bay Adventure is far too short to recommend at the current price.
It’s a shame that Melbot Studios put together such a nice little children’s game that the publisher was forced to overcharge for in order to make up for the license. It’s almost always the same problem with these types of games, because if this game came in at around $10 to $15 dollars it would be perfect for a young child to enjoy and a parent to play with as well. If you love the new My Little Pony series and want to pick up My Little Pony: A Maretime Bay Adventure you’ll have a good time but I really suggest you wait for a sale down the line.
All that said, if you beat the game in under two hours, something that is quite possible, you can always request a Steam refund. Sure, it’s a little shady but you’d think a publisher would know to create a game that can’t be beat in under two hours to avoid the Steam refund loophole. But I really do hope this titles does well as I’d love to see the team take another go with the idea and build something with a bit more meat on the pony bone.
Pros:
+ Looks Like The show
+ Voice Acting Is Solid
+ Some Genuinely Funny Bits
Cons:
– Really Short
– Overpriced
– Mouth Animations Don’t Line Up To Dialogue
My Little Pony: A Maretime Bay Adventure is a cute and fun kids game that is held back by its short length and far too high price point.
Final Score:
About Author
