Disneyland Adventures Review

Previously an Xbox 360 title that worked exclusively with the Kinect, Disneyland Adventures has been updated for the Xbox One X and PC. The title is absolutely bursting with material and diehard Disney fans will almost certainly find plenty to enjoy. Whether this will work for anybody else will likely depend on the age of the player.

Disneyland Adventures is exactly what the title implies, an adventure through the massive Southern California theme park that has been visited by countless people since it opened in 1955. The park is lovingly recreated and while not everything is identical to the real thing, no updates have been made to the park since the game's original 2011 release, and rides like Star Tours and Indiana Jones Adventure are not there since the game was in development pre-Lucasfilm purchase, in every other way the park has really come to life. If you're familiar with the layout of Disneyland you'll know exactly where to go to find your favorite attraction. If you've never been to Disneyland before, spend a little time with Disneyland Adventures and you'll know the place like the back of your hand when you get there.

There are countless things to do in the park itself, visit with characters, get pictures and autographs, and ride attractions, several, like Dumbo's Flying Elephants and King Arthur's Carousel are available exactly as they are in the park, making one wish this game had been updated for VR as well as 4K resolution. In addition, several attractions are multi-stage minigames. These take the form of either rhythm games, hitting the right button at the right time, or an endless runner type of game, where you run down a set track and attempt to collect as many coins as possible. None of these games can be outright failed, but you are ranked on your ability so it is always possible to improve, and better scores earn pins, a must for any Disney fan.

First and foremost it needs to be pointed out that the game is designed for small children to play. There's no great challenge here for even the most casual gamer, at the same time, the challenge isn't the point. The point is to experience Disneyland and the worlds that the park is designed to immerse you in. Each level perfectly resembles the animated film which inspired it and that will be enough for many fans.

https://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/disneyland-adventuresHaving said that, it would be nice if the game didn't lead you by the hand every step of the way. Missions handed out by characters in the park have you running around and collecting items but the game leads you directly to where each one is located. It's good to have that feature for younger players, but it would have been nice if it could be turned off, encouraging park exploration for others.

While the update to add controller support on Xbox (or keyboard support on PC) is a welcome addition, it would have been nice if some other updates had been included in this new version. Taking photos is a big part of the content, as it is at Disneyland of course, but taking these photos doesn't automatically save screenshots and there's no way to pull up a full-screen image of the photo for sharing online.

Disneyland Adventures is, without question, a must for the serious Disney, and especially Disneyland, fan, or anybody with small children who don't play most other titles. It's unlikely anybody else will find much to keep them interested, however.

This game was reviewed on the Xbox One with a copy of the game provided by the pub;lisher.