Hotel Transylvania 3: Monsters Overboard

Hotel Transylvania 3: Monsters Overboard

Release: January 1, 1970
Publisher: Outright Games
Developer: Torus Games
Genre: Action, Adventure, Family, Role-playing, XBox One Reviews
PEGI: E10+
Comments:

 

Comment

When you hear about video games based on movies, it’s not uncommon to instantly assume what you are about to play will be complete trash. And if I’m being honest, the only reason why I requested this game in the first place was for my kids to have an opportunity to play it, while I did my review. This review request was driven by my kids, but I’m thankful they pushed me towards it because Hotel Transylvania 3: Monsters Overboard is a fantastic experience on the system.

This review was carried out using a code provided to us by the developer, on an Xbox One X provided to us by Xbox Canada.

One thing to get out of the way: this is not a game that adults are going to find a ton of enjoyment out of. Is it a solid experience, definitely, but not one a solitary adult is likely to enjoy for more than a few minutes. And that was very much my overall impression as well. I played through the first few hours, and generally enjoyed myself while doing it, but I wasn’t about to complete the whole game, especially with better adult games easily available to me. But it was the draw it had on my kids that intrigued me, and they played it through from start to finish.

For those who have played any of the Pikmin titles, this will feel very familiar. The game utilizes a Pikmin style approach to the way the game plays out. Players will choose either Mavis or Drac, and will explore three different islands attempting to rescue some of Dracs best friends. Players will find fairly like creatures who will help with exploration, including building bridges, digging away obstacles, taking down enemies, and even weighing down switches.

As you save more members of the Drac Pack, you will unlocked new creatures with new abilities. At first, you can only have 10 in your party at one time, but once you find a few treasures and return them to the ships you’ll have the opportunity to use more, on top of a host of other improvements.

And these improvements are vital to completing the game. Since Mavis and Drac are vampires, they cannot be out during the day. Therefore, each ‘day’ is broken up in 10 minutes segments. Once your ten minutes are up, you will be transported back to the ship, and will have to pick up where you left off from the previous day, beginning at one of the islands many portals.

The game isn’t overly complicated, which is why it works so well. Early reports from fans are indicating it takes roughly 8 hours to complete the game and earn all the achievements or all the trophies. For a younger audience, however, things will take a bit longer. My kids are not completely finished with the game – although they are clos to having completed everything – and they are well on their way to a 15 or 16 hour long play session.

And ultimately, it’s the kids the developers had in mind when putting this game together. The surprising thing here is how well it holds up for an adult audience. Even through my 5 or 6 hours with the game – the rest of this review is based of a few minutes helping my kids here and there, but mostly just watching them interact with the game – I really enjoyed what the developers did. It’s a Pikmin clone, sure, but it’s a pretty good one!