Monster High: 13 Wishes The Official Game

To name your game Monster High 13 - Wishes The Official Game, it's a bold title. The media stems from a movie, clearly from a prominent franchise. But why the 'official'? Are there developers trying to knock off a franchise that I've never even heard of? I want to raise many questions before I press the first button to play this game.

The franchise likely has eluded me because it's a doll franchise aimed at young children, with a springy range of merchandise, movies, and video games. Our faith in franchised games is always minimal, leading us to believe that Monster High 13 - Wishes The Official game will hardly break boundaries. But we must satisfy curiosities about what the kids are playing these days.

13 Wishes of Success

Let's set the franchise's premise for those like myself, unaware of where this title came from. The series follows a bunch of teenage monsters attending a high school, where these creatures do all those things that tweens do, argue, socialize, and go on weird and wacky adventures. That sounds right for a Saturday morning cartoon, but how does this concept translate into a video game?

Not well, it would appear. And that's being generous. In fact, from the first few minutes of playing, Monster High 13 - Wishes The Official Game is a downright disaster. Furthermore, there's a point where the game feels like it's taking the mick. The title barely has any functional gameplay and lacks any distinguishable narrative.

Alright, let's just come out and say it. Monster High 13 - Wishes The Official Game is awful. The visuals are stone age, combat is about as exciting as hitting a tin can, and there's nothing immersive about the game environment. How a publisher could even sign off on this game's release to the public is an insult to any gamers, including children.

Perhaps they like to look at their favorite characters but think even young minds would enjoy this game; it's highlighting a thought pattern entirely out of touch. Money may be the driving factor for its release. Still, there's a point where even producing the lowest of franchise garbage will prevent people from purchasing. You start to feel sorry for the series fans seeing their beloved characters in such a state.

Monster Lows

Monster High 13 - Wishes The Official Game is purely upsetting. Someone took a tech demo, threw it onto a disc, and said that was that with development. There have been some lousy TV/film games, but this title takes the biscuit. Even the steaming rubbish that was Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 has more redeeming qualities than whatever this thing is.

Round-Up - Pros & Cons

Pros:

• This a testament to how not to make a game

Cons:

• Lousy gameplay with stiff mechanics
• Visuals look as if they were for consoles past
• Clunky controls and hardly any game interaction

Monster High 13 - Wishes The Official Game is a 3D action-platformer based on the animated series, where you control a beautiful doll and prevent the villain Wisp from becoming the principal of Afterlife School.

Gameplay

Jump around the ruins of ancient buildings and collect all sorts of stuff:

• Gold coins
• Shards from mirrors, an artifact you need
• Hearts to save you

Live a strange experience: escape from the dangerous slime, ride the carpet plane and climb the handwritten temple. You will even manage to climb a thin rope - dangerous for life!