In 2018, an adorable little puppy named Bluey and her family graced our TV screens with their loveable personalities, spreading positivity and just having fun. While other kids’ shows feature educational elements, Bluey focuses more on fun family activities while also offering life lessons and even tackling some heavy topics. The Australian-made kids’ show became a huge success not only in its home country, but also across the world, currently showing in more than 60 countries.

Bluey is now a pop culture icon, has a huge following among both kids and adults, has won numerous awards, has had big celebrity guest appearances, and has had a few video game titles. Her latest game, Bluey’s Quest For The Gold Pen, published and developed by Halfbrick Studios, was originally released for Apple devices in late 2025, a month later on Android devices and is now available on PlayStation 4|5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2 and PC.

On a rainy afternoon, Bluey and Bingo are at the dining table working on a drawing together. Bluey is telling a story about a little girl living in a run-down cottage who needs money to fix her roof. She plans for Bingo to transform into a magical goose, Bingoose, that will lay a golden egg and solve their money problems. Suddenly, their dad, Bandit, snatches the crucial Gold Pen to prevent them from finishing.

The gold ink goes to his head, and he transforms into the antagonist, King Goldie Horns. Because they need the pen to finish their drawing, Bluey, Bingo, and their mother, Chilli, are pulled directly into a fantasy realm where they must travel across nine doodle-style worlds ranging from golden beaches and forests to snowy peaks and the vast Australian Outback, to retrieve the Gold Pen from King Goldie Horns.

The latest game starring everyone’s favourite blue heeler is an adventure game similar to the classic Legend of Zelda games, but focuses on exploration with plenty of puzzles and problem-solving. The gameplay is kept simple and most importantly, fun, perfect for children of all ages and even adults too, as they become increasingly challenging as the game progresses. The UI is the same as the mobile version, but with buttons displayed next to the actions you can perform.

Players take control of Bluey and even Bingo in a few levels. Bluey carries a wand that can break or move certain objects, and depending on the stage, can also glide, use a jetpack and jump high, while Bingo, or Bingoose in this story, can dash and glide. Players will need to find enough lollies to unlock the next stage, but can still find more lollies and other collectibles in each stage if they wish.

The first stage is simple and straightforward, but the second stage provides an early indication of the challenges ahead, encouraging players to think and solve problems. There is a fair share of simple platforming segments of various types, each with a reward for players who successfully complete them. These might feel a bit daunting at first, but the challenge is part of the fun.

They don’t feel unfair or frustrating, and they all give you that good feeling when you figure them out. The story can take around 2 to 4 hours to complete, but the collectibles to find can keep players, especially kids, busy for longer.

The game did have quite a few glitches, such as Bluey clipping through the stage and words displayed behind the environment, making them hard to read, but after a recent patch update, it appears they have all been fixed. The main art style is a kids’ style drawing of the characters as 2D sprites on cell-shaded 3D stage designs. It looks a little different from the cartoon, but this art style represents Bluey’s drawings in the story and adds a lot to the game’s charm.

The familiar art style from the cartoon is also featured in the cutscenes between stages, which look exactly like the show. The show’s opening theme song can also be enjoyed when starting the game, and upbeat fantasy-style folk music fitting for the game’s theme can be heard throughout the game, too.

The story of the game is written by the show’s creator, Joe Brumm, and is presented like an episode of the show. The original voice actors reprise their roles, with Melanie Zanetti and David McCormack as Chilli and Bandit, respectively, as well as the voices of Bluey and Bingo, whose identities remain private.

A few other familiar faces also appear in the game, with their voice actors reprising their roles. When the game was first released on console, it was surprisingly missing the voice-overs during the in-game dialogue from its mobile counterpart, but thankfully, they have all been added in a recent patch update.

Bluey’s last episode was in 2024, so it’s always good to see new Bluey stories being made in any form of media. It’s been said that new episodes will be made at some point down the line, and a feature film is in the works, set for a 2027 release.

The only major issue with the game is the price. It’s currently priced at $39.99 AUD to $54.95 AUD digitally and a whopping $79.95 AUD to $89.95 AUD for a physical copy. The mobile version is only $17.99 AUD for the full game, which plays exactly the same as the console ports. This makes it hard for parents to justify buying the game on console when there is a cheaper alternative available on mobile and tablet devices, which are also more accessible to kids, since most of them have one of these devices these days.

I hate to say it, but for a port that’s more than double, triple, or even quadruple the price of a mobile game, this does feel like a cash grab, knowing that kids will be begging their parents for it. If price isn’t an issue for parents, however, it’ll be the perfect game to keep their kids busy and entertained on any compatible device.

From its humble beginnings at Ludo Studio in Brisbane, Australia, from the creative mind of Joe Brumm, Bluey has become one of Australia’s biggest pop culture icons, who also has various books, clothing lines, toys, video games, plus a stage show that’s also gone internationally and even a feature film currently in the works.

Her latest gaming adventure is fun, simple, and, above all, an enjoyable game that encourages exploration, with puzzle and problem-solving segments that will challenge young minds while giving that good, rewarding feeling. Even if parents are screaming “Oh, biscuits!” internally at the game’s price, no one can deny that Bluey’s Quest For The Gold Pen is a must-buy for any kids’ collection.

Written by: Sammy Hanson