The new family-friendly puzzle game Nick Jr. Party Adventure features characters from several iconic children’s franchises, including Dora the Explorer, Blue’s Clues, Paw Patrol, and more. ComingSoon spoke to Outright Games producer Guillermo Abajo to learn more about the game, which is out today on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC.
“Join fan-favorite Nick Jr. characters Dora, Blue, Molly, Blaze, and Santiago on an epic quest to gather party supplies and prepare for the ultimate bash of the year: the Friendship Fiesta! With dazzling customization options, players can deck out their characters in fabulous outfits and accessories as they journey through vibrant and exciting worlds, such as Dora’s Rainforest, the Monster Dome, and Isla Encanto, to solve puzzles and unlock collectibles along the way, including Boot’s iconic red boots, Santiago’s swashbuckling pirate hat, an adorable paw print necklace, and many more themed accessories. With solo mode or up to two-player local co-op, friends and families can prepare for the festive party together,” says the official description.
Tyler Treese: Nick Jr. Party Adventure features a really great lineup of characters. How was it incorporating different aspects of these Nick Jr. shows into the gameplay?
Guillermo Abajo: Challenging, but also very fun! All of the characters are part of different themed worlds, and the levels based on each series have different structures, so making a cohesive experience between all the brands definitively required some work. Ultimately we found a good balance for all players to explore each universe and play along with their favourite characters.
This is aimed at young children, so how was it finding that balance of making the puzzles fulfilling without being too difficult?
The biggest challenge was taking into account the motor skills of young kids so they could move the elements around in their favor and getting all collectibles. Nevertheless, understanding puzzles won’t be a problem since we chose to put a lot of emphasis on making sure players wouldn’t get stuck at any point, providing tips and reminders as needed.
In addition to single player, there’s two-player co-op play. Can you speak to how kids and adults can play together?
The game is designed so kids can play with friends or family in a cooperative way, moving objects around to guide characters to the end – however they will need to make sure they are synced! Otherwise, the characters might take an unexpected path through the puzzle, which adds to the fun of the game. We wanted to encourage communication between players, making it an enjoyable experience for younger fans of the series and their family.
You can create a character and unlock clothes and accessories. Will some of these be themed based on the Nick Jr. shows?
Absolutely! We have provided lots of customizable items that are both simple and recognisable as well as related to each of the brands. For example, you can wear Dora’s costume once you unlock it or Chase’s hat, along with lots of other vibrant items that let players personalize their characters!
A lot of these shows are so popular they’ve had their own games, so how was it deciding who to bring over for Nick Jr. Party Adventure?
It definitely required a lot of discussion and planning to decide which shows should be present in this title. We decided to have a good mix of Nick Jr’s popular shows that everyone loves, which all have a lot of potential and offers some amazing worlds to explore. It was important to us that they allf would work great together!
Gaming, especially puzzle-solving, is great for getting kids to be creative. Can you speak to the educational aspect of the game?
This game offers a difficulty curve so kids can adapt to the difficulty with ease, starting with simple puzzles that are pretty straightforward and ending with more challenging ones that might require more thought or skills they’ll develop through playing. We even included optional levels that, while not required to complete the game, are a bit more complicated and will offer more gameplay and rewards to the player for completing them.
At the end of the game, we are confident kids will have improved their motor skills and decision-making, all while also playing in a friendly environment with their favorite characters!