Exploring Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland – A First Look at the Demo

One of Nickelodeon’s iconic series (no, not SpongeBob) makes a gaming comeback with the release of a demo for Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland. The demo quickly immerses players in two levels where they control Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, and Lil as they explore Tommy’s house and, through their wild imaginations, a desert dune.

Character Dynamics and Abilities: How Rugrats Stand Out

When booting up Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland for the first time, I was pleasantly surprised to find that each baby character has unique abilities crucial for navigating and completing the second level efficiently. For instance, Phil can pick up and throw items faster than the others, Chuckie can jump higher, Lil can float, and Tommy offers a more balanced set of stats.

Players can switch between the babies at any point during gameplay. However, once a baby loses a life, they are no longer playable for the remainder of the levels. Switching characters is beneficial, especially when nearing death, as you can change into a full-health baby. Scattered throughout the levels, milk bottles add an extra health slot, and cookies restore health while granting an extra life.

Navigating Challenges: From Collectibles to Boss Fights

The demo features two-player support, allowing friends to collaborate through the levels. As a platformer, the experience is fairly straight forward as far as what you’d expect from this genre. The primary attack methods are a diaper ground pound and picking up and throwing stunned enemies. Enemies quickly respawn; sometimes, you must use them to access higher areas or retrieve items.

One downside is that the game doesn’t instruct players on the second attack method—throwing enemies. I hope the full game includes tutorials for such actions. While there is keyboard support, it favors using a controller, as indicated when starting a game.

The Nostalgic Appeal of Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland

The objective across these levels is to collect Reptar tokens and find Tommy’s screwdriver, which is necessary for Tommy’s advancement further. Players must confront a boss in the second level—the creepy baby from the infamous episode “Angelica’s Worst Nightmare.”

Having grown up playing Rugrats games on the PlayStation and Gameboy Color, I appreciated this nostalgic nod. Adventures in Gameland seeks to replicate the style of those earlier Gameboy Color games, like those based on the first movie and Time Travelers. Players can switch between a genuine Gameboy experience—complete with Gameboy graphics and audio and a lined filter—and a modern flash-style HD art style with enhanced audio.

It took me some time to figure out how to switch between these settings, but I preferred the retro style. While the newer flash art style has merits, it can make the characters look uncanny, particularly in the first level, where the babies appear almost microscopic compared to some adults. The retro style invokes nostalgia and gives each of the four babies a unique design based on their signature color: Tommy in blue, Chuckie in orange, Phil in green, and Lil in pink.

What to Expect Next: Upcoming Features in Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland

Although the HD graphics are nice, I ended up sticking with the nostalgic presentation of Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland for the remainder of the demo. This trip down memory lane evoked a nice sense of nostalgia for me. Further, I particularly enjoyed the musical remix of the Rugrats theme and look forward to hearing more tracks from the remaining level.

Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland is coming to PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam on August 16, 2024.