Created by the legendary Charles M. Schulz, the Peanuts franchise began in 1950 as a four-panel newspaper comic strip, then expanded into comic books and later into a cartoon series and movies. The heart and soul of Peanuts has always been Snoopy, the beloved pet dog of Charlie Brown and one of the most recognised characters in pop culture for the past 75 years.

Snoopy and the Peanuts gang have also appeared in a handful of video games since 1982. They are now ready to solve cases in Snoopy And The Great Mystery Club, published by GameMill Entertainment and Cradle Games, now searching for clues on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

Join Snoopy and the gang in an all-new mystery adventure packed with charm, clever puzzles, and heartwarming friendships! Step into Snoopy’s paws and detective hat as you explore the town, solve challenging cases, and uncover hidden secrets with help from the lovable Peanuts gang. Whether you’re investigating strange happenings at the school, chasing clues through the forest, each case is filled with brain-teasing challenges and surprises. Build your own team of four from familiar friends such as Peppermint Patty, Lucy, Marcie, Schroeder, Franklin and more, each bringing their own special skills to the case.

Snoopy And The Great Mystery Club is a game aimed at children, so the game mechanics are as simple as they get. Players take control of Snoopy, who takes it upon himself to solve various cases around town. Players will meet various Peanuts characters throughout who will help Snoopy with his case. Snoopy wears many hats in this game —literally —each with different abilities, such as searching for clues and tracks, digging, metal detecting, and more to be acquired.

The main theme of the game is to find things that have gone missing, and a lot of things just happen to go missing. Players will be wandering around town in an open-world-like setting to find the missing items and return them to their owners. Snoopy and the squad will talk to various characters who will either provide clues or have items that need to be found.

Aside from searching for missing items, players will also participate in various side activities relating to sports and minigames, first as part of a case. Then they can be played again whenever you feel up to it. The overall game is simple and easy to pick up and play, but it will also test the problem-solving skills of younger gamers, encouraging them to think and rewarding their hard work. The game can take 4 to 6 hours to complete, which is plenty of time for children to get the most out of it and will likely want to play it again.

The open-world setting is fairly large for what it offers, with various familiar locations, including the Kite-Eating Tree. Peanuts will see and explore the characters’ homes, school, sports fields, parks, and more. To get around town faster, bus stops offer a fast travel option.

The town might seem a little lifeless, with no random people to see and no cars driving around, but the Peanuts comics and cartoons were like that too and primarily focused on the main cast. The bright, colourful art style gives the town plenty of charm and personality, and it’s filled with Easter eggs that fans will appreciate. Players can also find and collect old comic strips from actual Peanuts comics, a great way to honour its legacy.

Players will have a map to guide them around town, and maps are also available when inside buildings, which is especially handy for navigating through large facilities. It can get confusing when entering certain rooms, and the camera is positioned at an angle that doesn’t match how you see it on the map.

The camera is set at a fixed angle, so you can’t move it around at all. This also makes it difficult when you have to make your way towards the bottom end of the town, and you have to keep checking the map to make sure you don’t run past the next destination. Being able to move the camera would improve the game, but thankfully, it’s only a minor inconvenience and doesn’t ruin the overall experience.

Peanuts is known for its simple, bright, and colourful art style, which is reflected in the game’s graphics. Even in 3D form, all the characters retain their distinctive features and personalities and look similar to 2015’s The Peanuts Movie. Snoopy himself may not speak beyond some grunts,

and his dialogue is all in text form, but all the human characters are fully voiced by a cast of child actors, just like in the cartoons and movies, bringing them all to life. A lot of games based on children’s properties tend to have limited voice lines or none at all, so it’s great to see the game take full advantage of the voice cast. The music throughout the game features happy, upbeat tunes, perfectly fitting for a game featuring the Peanuts cast.

Snoopy’s latest gaming venture is a fantastic game for children to test their problem-solving skills and make them feel rewarded. The game features the entire main cast of Peanuts, who are all fully voiced, bringing them to life. Fans new and old will find plenty to enjoy, too, from seeing their favourite characters, familiar locations, and actual comic strips to honour the legacy of Peanuts and its creator, Charles M. Schulz. When the detective hat is on, you can bet Snoopy is on the case in Snoopy And The Great Mystery Club.

Written by: Sammy Hanson