Ice Age: Scrat’s Nutt Adventure will release next month and wants to be so much more than your typical movie-based game. I already got my hands on the game during a Gamescom 2019 presentation, and I must say, I was rather impressed by the quality of this wacky platformer.
Based on the Ice Age universe
First things first, this game isn’t your typical movie tie-in, it’s a game created from the ground up to serve something new to the Ice Age fans. Instead of replaying the events of the movies, you’ll follow Scrat in a new adventure. Of course, we all know and love the acorn-obsessed saber-toothed squirrel, so having him as a playable character is very enjoyable, to say the least. Scrat isn’t your typical platform hero so it’s good to see that the team went for a fresh approach. That being said, everything about the game still breaths Ice Age. From the giant open fields to the icy mountains, this is the world we saw come to life in theaters years ago. What I like most during my hands-on session was the attention to detail in the world. If you took your time to stand still and wander around, you’ll easily notice some typical Ice Age environments, including some of the iconic characters. It’s never obligated to look around but the team made sure it’s worth your time if you decide to do so.
A fun platformer
This brings us to the actual gameplay of Ice Age: Scrat’s Nutty Adventure, which was rather enjoyable too. At its core, this is a classic 3D platformer/collectathon where you jump from platform to platform, solve puzzles, and collect everything there is to collect. Of course, since it’s an Ice Age game and the game is clearly marketed towards a younger audience, it’s also a very forgiving game. You can’t die and the checkpoints are everywhere, meaning you’ll rarely have to retrace a lot of your steps if you fall from a certain platform. I think it’s a great idea to implement this since it makes it impossible to become frustrated. If you fail, you just try again without losing that much of your progress or time. I’m sure the kids will love this and as a more experienced gamer, you can always search for all hidden objects to give yourself an extra challenge. Although my hands-on time wasn’t that lengthy I already saw a glimpse of the scale. You won’t finish the game in just a couple of hours and there’s a lot of variation in environments and bonuses to keep you going. Besides the more guided levels, you’ll also have access to a more open central HUB where you can search for new unlockable stuff with powers you just mastered in the main levels. If you ask me, the game has everything to become a very enjoyable platformer.
Still a bit rough around the edges
It’s clear that the game got its visuals and gameplay down but it’s still a bit rough around the edges. While playing I noticed that Scrat didn’t always respond the way I intended to, leading to missing my jumps or landings. On top of that comes the fact that the game suffered from some strange glitches while jumping and falling, but I’m pretty convinced these issues will be fixed next month. What I played wasn’t the retail version so I’m sure the team is hard at work to deliver a fluent and smooth experience in the end.
Early conclusion:
Ice Age: Scrat’s Nutty Adventure has the potential to become a very fun platformer thanks to its great puzzles and a crazy amount of collectible objects. It’s still a bit rough around the edges but I’m pretty sure the developers will solve these issues before the game launches next month. It’s one to look out for!
