Bluey: The Videogame is an idea that makes perfect sense while making no sense at all.
As one of the world’s most beloved television shows, and a property enjoyed by kids and parents alike, it seemed inevitable that someone would try to make a video game based around the daily adventures of Bluey, her little sister Bingo, dad Bandit, and mum Chili. Given the show’s lack of action, or perils, or almost any of the factors you’d typically build off of when designing a video game, figuring out how to turn those adventures into an interactive experience was a daunting challenge, but one that publisher Outright Games and developer Artax Games felt excited to take on.
“We wanted the game to feel like players were actually playing within an episode of the show, while also providing the freedom to create their own fun scenarios and scenes using the instantly recognizable locations, objects, and games seen in the series,” explained production director Vincent Grogan.
To help accomplish that goal, Bluey: The Videogame plays out across “episodes,” with the first serving as a place to teach the game’s controls and basic mechanics to the player in a natural way without locking them into a tutorial. That first episode also kicks off a completely original story crafted specifically for the game as a joint project between Outright Games, Artax Games, BBC Studios, and the show’s producers at Ludo Studio.
“The brand-new story [takes] place over four episodes and five locations, delivered using fully animated cutscenes, all voiced with the official English-speaking voice cast,” Grogan told us. “The game is centered around Bluey and Bingo creating a sticker book to record all the ‘fun stuff’ they want to do on their school holidays.”
That sticker book will show players all of the locations, items, and stickers waiting throughout the game. According to Grogan, after completing the first episode, players can “choose to explore the Heeler House and find the items and stickers listed in the sticker book, or continue the adventure to unlock more locations and games creating memories.”
From its mixture of original moments and events that refer back to fan-favorite episodes, to its distinct visual style that attempts to mimic the look of the animated series, Bluey: The Videogame has the potential to be Outright Games’ biggest and most distinctive release yet—and that’s an opportunity the team seems to not have taken for granted.
“Like so many families around the world, everyone at Outright Games are massive fans of Bluey,” said Grogan. “While this could have been stressful, we saw it instead as an amazing opportunity to work with a property that brings so much joy to families and provides such great life lessons.”
