Scribblenauts Mega Pack

Genre: Compilation / Action-RPG

Players: 1-2 Co-Op (Local)

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Review:

Scribblenauts Mega Pack, released on multiple platforms in 2018 including Nintendo Switch, is a Compilation package containing the Action-RPGs Scribblenauts Unlimited, originally released on 3DS, Wii U, and PC in 2012, and Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure, originally released on those same platforms in 2013. Both of these family-friendly games put players in the role of Maxwell, a young kid with a magic notebook that allows him to create anything he writes in it, including objects, people, and even adjectives to modify those things. With these abilities, players must solve various puzzles, generally by jotting down words to create items needed to solve those puzzles.

As has been the case throughout the Scribblenauts series, the presentation here is decent but nothing special – characters are depicted as simple cartoony 2D figures who animate in a “paper doll” style, with a distinct look that’s been a part of the series since its inception. In Scribblenauts Unlimited this is paired with a lighthearted soundtrack, with Unmasked being generally more serious in tone (even at his cartooniest, Batman’s still gotta’ brood, after all).

As for the gameplay, so here’s the thing… if you’ve played a Scribblenauts game since the series started on Nintendo DS in 2009, you probably have a good idea what to expect here, and you probably also know its biggest flaws and aren’t as impressed anymore by its greatest strength. For the uninitiated, Scribblenauts has an absolutely massive dictionary of words players can draw from to create their solutions to puzzles, and these words all create pretty good representations of what they’re supposed to be, and those representations act as one would expect. Create a beaver near a tree, and he’ll chew on the tree until it topples. A hungry man begging for food will be happy with an apple, a banana, a sandwich, a panini… you get the idea.

However, that brings things to the downside here – a lot of objects are functionally indistinguishable. Someone needs medical help, do you create a doctor or a medic? Who cares, they’re both the same as far as the game is concerned. There’s some credit to be given to the game for allowing such a wide range of possibilities, but sometimes the game just seems like it’s slotting words into categories and not doing much more with them.

At other times, you’ll try to reach for a word, only to find it’s not in the game’s dictionary, or it is there but it inexplicably doesn’t work. Early on I found I could give a criminal an adjective “sleeping” or “comatose”, but not “imprisoned”? The rules for what does and doesn’t count seem arbitrary, and because there’s such a wide variety of those words, often finding solutions is a matter of trial and error more than cleverness.

Scribblenauts Unmasked did at least try to tackle one of the flaws of the series by deducting reputation points from your score for the use of overpowered or repeated words, making players get clever about thinking of the fifteenth way to empower Maxwell to fly in a level. It also adds some much-needed compelling story content through the involvement of the DC licensed characters, which Unmasked makes full use of throughout the game. However, while it’s clearly working to improve on the series, it still suffers the same flaws as the earlier games.

There is one other thing to note before finishing here – these games do support optional touchscreen controls in handheld mode, but they must be enabled in the game’s menus. And while the gamepad controls work just fine, I’d argue the touchscreen is the preferable way to play the game.

Look, I know like all of this seems like a pretty negative review for what is ultimately a Compilation of two solid Action-RPGs. If you’ve never played Scribblenauts before, I envy you the fun you’ll have playing around with this game’s massive dictionary of words to enable all sorts of crazy fun. However, over a decade after the first game in the series and multiple iterations in the franchise later, I just don’t have the same boundless joy for this franchise I once did, especially not with a price tag of $40 for two half decade-old games that were long in the tooth even when they were brand new.

Tell ya’ what, do this – if you’ve never played Scribblenauts before, add a full letter grade to the score. It’ll be new and refreshing enough to you to be a joyous experience. But for everyone else, well, you know what you’re in for here. And yeah, it’s still good, but at this point it’s just not anything you’re likely to get excited about.

tl;dr – Scribblenauts Mega Pack is a Compilation of Scribblenauts Unlimited and Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure, two family-friendly Action-RPGs that have players jotting down words to create solutions to puzzles. These games are still as good as they ever were, but the novelty wore off a long time ago, and now I think the only ones likely to be impressed by these games are those who haven’t played this series before. If that’s you, definitely give these games a try. Otherwise, well, you know the drill.

Grade: C+

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