Review: “Bluey's Happy Snaps” Feels a Lot Like Toem for Toddlers, Who's Interested to Play?
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ASTON OTONITY – Toem and its sequel are photography games featuring characters who go on road trips while taking photos of important things, often bringing joy to people along the way. These games are favorite indie titles and quite charming.
Bluey, at its core, is also a pretty charming show, and the new Happy Snaps game features two Australian Cattle Dog puppies who get their own camera and take photos of the world around them to bring joy.
Although the game *Something We Made* is certainly more complex and mechanically more engaging than this Gameloft title, it feels like this latest *Bluey* adventure takes a similar approach to entertaining children while familiarizing them with basic game mechanics.
*Bluey’s Happy Snaps* begins with Bluey and Bingo pulling a camera out of a storage box before heading to the park for a walk with their friends, Bandit and Chili.
This caught their father’s attention, and he spent the ferry ride fixing it. By the time the family arrived, the camera was fixed, and the three siblings set off on a new adventure. Fill the photo album with the things they see.
Although Bluey’s Happy Snaps has its own storyline—in which Bluey and Bingo discover and use the camera Bandit set up for them—the game also constantly references the plots of previous episodes.
For example, the first garden area references several short episodes from the first season, such as “Shadowlands” and “Spy Game.” This is an effective tool because it helps provide a framework for younger players—who may be playing their first game—to understand what they need to do by replicating events from the series.
Additionally, it serves as a fun treat for those familiar with the series who have been paying close attention.
As I mentioned earlier, Bluey’s Happy Snaps feels like a take on Toem-style adventures where players can search for specific photo subjects to take pictures and earn rewards, and must collect a certain number of photos before they can unlock and proceed to the next area.
While Toem 1 and 2 are much more focused on narrative—with actual investigations, light platforming, and even some investigative tasks assigned by quest-giving NPCs to earn stamps needed to proceed to the next location—Bluey’s Happy Snaps is much more laid-back. Upon reaching an area, you’ll be given hints about all the photo opportunities nearby. These hints are small and gray. You’ll need to take a minimum number of photos to continue.
Each photo gives you a sticker you can use, as well as occasional customization elements or coloring pages. Although there will be a few small “event” scenarios—marked by a star above characters from the series in some places—this is a short journey rather than a truly challenging quest.
This is a lighter game designed to familiarize young children with the quest-based structure found in more challenging games.
