Jumanji: The Video Game review

#GIFTED 

Welcome to the jungle with 

Jumanji: The Video Game!

Much to our delight we have been immersed in the jungle in an exciting adventure game that combines our love of gaming with the wildly successful film franchise Jumanji. 

Jumanji: The Video Game is a new 3D action adventure game that allows gamers to step into the shoes of Jumanji’s greatest heroes as they team up with friends to go on a perilous journey through the wild jungle to find the precious Jewels of Jumanji.

As fans of the Jumanji films the boys love playing this adventure game on their Nintendo Switch. They have declared it their new favourite game and love the fast paced action which is lots of fun!

The game sees players follow the wise words of intrepid guide Nigel (voice talents of Jumanji film star Rhys Darby reprising his role as Nigel) as they take on the role of Jumanji heroes.

Reinforcing the connection to the latest films, the game allows players to play as the film’s heroes. There’s renowned archaeologist and explorer Dr. Smolder Bravestone, martial arts and expert and dance fighter Ruby Roundhouse, Zoology expert and weapons valet Franklin “Mouse” Finbar and cryptographer, cartographer and curvy genius Professor Shelly Oberon. 

The boys have choosing a hero to play as and using their unique abilities and weapons to survive the unpredictable, deadly and fantastical world of Jumanji as they strive to save the day. They’ve enjoyed trying out the different characters and unlocking new outfits, weapon styles and abilities. 

They enjoy playing as all of the characters thanks to the different weapons and special abilities. My youngest thinks Dr. Bravestone’s special ability of doing a ground pound is awesome and my eldest loves the fact that Mouse can summon a monkey to attack the enemies.  They both think Professor Shelly’s weapon the catapult blaster is cool and find Ruby Roundhouse’s ability to make enemies dance very funny. The fact that Professor Shelly slaps enemies evokes lots of giggles. They also love the style of the weapons and character outfits plus how the enemies look.

The kids love the Jumanji environment that the adventure is set in. The world of Jumanji in the game is a great mix of beautiful but deadly jungle, magnificients mountains, underground catacombs and an ancient city environment. The kids love the dangerous locations which provides fun challenges thanks to obstacles such as fire, saws, traps, lethal swinging axes and spikes on the floor. They also love the style of the magnificent monuments and Jumanji environments.

As players strive to save the day by finding the precious Jewels of Jumanji and hunting for Jumanji board pieces in the jungles they have to battle deadly enemies. Providing lots of excitement and adventure players have to tackle an army of evil marauders. The boys loved the faced paced action that has seen waves of enemies attacking them which has led to lots of gun battles and fist fights. 

Along with enemies the game also features dangerous and exotic creatures. The boys find it great fun that animals try to attack you. Like in the film my youngest had a run in with a hippo and when my eldest was playing as Mouse he was chased by a bear.

The controls are simple to master and the game is easy to navigate. So that gamers of all abilities can play gamers can play on easy, medium or hard mode. It has lots of fun levels to challenge players and the fact that you can play as different characters and deadly environments means that no two games will be the same. 

With a little help from AI companions gamers can go it alone to save Jumanji or they can team-up with friends for collaborative fun as up to four players can play in split-screen mode.  When playing with friends the game showcases the idea of never leave a man behind as players can support their teammates by sharing lives with a teammade if they run out of lives.

Whilst the graphics may not be mind blowingly crisp and realistic, the characters epitomise how the heroes look in the films and the environment is jungletastic. The game has a Fortnite-esque style and ideal of younger gamers.

The game is perfect for children and tweens who enjoy the Jumanji films or those who want to be immersed in a game filled with action, adventure and lots of laughter. The game evokes the essence of the Jumanji films and lets gamers enter the jungle for iconic Jumanji adventures. We love the game and would recommend it.

Developed and published by renowned global video games publisher BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Europe, worldwide family entertainment publisher Outright Games, and UK based development studio Funsolve, in collaboration with Sony Pictures, Jumanji: The Video Game is now available on Playstation® 4, Nintendo Switch™, Xbox One and PC Digital for £34.99.

* We were gifted a code for this game for free in return for this review *