Those of you that are keen movie buffs will know that Frozen is Disney's latest animated motion picture, and — judging from the enthusiastic critical and commercial reaction — it's fair to say that it has gone down a treat with adults and children alike. Full of lovable characters and boasting a good soundtrack (like all truly classic Disney movies), it's definitely one to watch. As with most big family film releases, there's bound to be a game tie-in somewhere, and in this case we have Frozen: Olaf's Quest — a puzzle-solving adventure featuring the (allegedly) humorous and carefree snowman himself.
With the player's help, Olaf must navigate his way through colourful levels while collecting treasure and avoiding hazards that may block his path. Each level is simplistic in design, making it easily accessible for gamers of all ages. Having saying that, there are trickier stages built for those who desire more of a challenge. The levels themselves can often feel quite short, but collecting the treasure will keep you busy if you want to boast a 3-star completion per stage and pick up all the accessories to customise the snowman protagonist. Thankfully, you're able to see how much loot is available in each stage in case you've missed something along the way and need to turn back and find it.
The controls are fairly straightforward, which will make the game perfect for younger, less experienced players. Movement is handled by the Circle Pad or D-Pad, while pressing A to will make Olaf jump; holding A will allow him to glide through the air. Press B and the snowman will chuck his head, providing a small giggle each time you need to collect the treasure from those hard-to-reach areas. The youngsters won't need to worry about a time limit, so they can take their time completing each level. It's also impossible to die, so there'll be no penalisation for not timing a jump properly and landing on some icy spikes.
As you progress, the environment changes and so do the collectibles. A glorious winter wonderland full of snowflakes greets you in the earlier stages, while a summer seasonal change further down the line. Like the film, Olaf's Quest has an appealing soundtrack which will have you tapping and whistling along your journey through the game.
There's not a lot going on in Frozen: Olaf's Quest in terms of a storyline. There's no dialogue and unfortunately no other notable characters from the movie, which might be a shame for fans who were hoping to perhaps catch a glimpse of leads Elsa or Anna. For a character with quite a lot of humour, it's a shame that none of Olaf's comedy is shown through encounters with other individuals or short comical video clips in between stages. Plot-wise, this is something of a missed opportunity, and there's precious little here which connects the game to the movie, besides Olaf himself.
Conclusion
It's obvious that Frozen: Olaf's Quest is aimed towards younger gamers, and it's a decent level entry into the world of platformers. For some it might feel quite short and limited, but collecting each and every treasure will take some time, therefore extending gameplay. Want to keep the kids happy for a while? Not concerned that it has very little connection with the hit movie? Then Frozen: Olaf's Quest isn't a bad option — but don't expect it to be demanding enough to keep adult players entertained.
Comments 35
Haha, calling the snowman 'allegedly humorous'. I haven't see the movie, but ever promotional thing I've seen of it that has this character in it, he just seems unfunny. Maybe one day we'll get past the need to put funny mascot/talking animal characters in every kids movie.
Its great for little kids... ages under 8.
The movie its awesome!!
Ugh. Sappy, generic cliched cartoon characters like these make me cringe every time they pop up.
@9th_Sage I really do hope so. They always ruin animated movies for me.
The movie is pretty good and it has a great soundtrack. I don't think I'll buy this game however I will buy the movie when it comes out in March. By the way Olaf is kind of funny in the movie.
The environments look charming, maybe I'll pick this up when the price drops.
Someday, Traveller's Tales will return to developing Disney tie-in games... someday.
Didn't expect it to be very good, considering. The movie is fantastic, though. One of the reasons is that the snowman doesn't appear until about half-way through and they reign him in when they need to.
Nah, can't stand Disney animations in general (cliché EVERYWHERE). So I'm not the least bit surprised that this is bad, either...
@9th_Sage Yeah when I saw the trailers, I initially thought I was going to hate Olaf. But in the movie he's actually pretty hilarious. Anybody who hasn't seen the movie really should. It's my favorite Disney movie of all time by far, and my 3rd favorite movie ever! And just so you know, the trailers are AWFUL when compared to the movie.
I wish that they would get the company that made the Sega Genesis versions of Aladdin/Lion KIng or Capcom (original Duck Tales) to do these Disney tie ins like they did those games. They could even get Wayforward to do what they did with the Ducktales Remake for an original game.
Ugh, Disney's "comic relief" characters... I hate them so much. Always ruining good movies with their unfunny dumb dumbness!
@triforcepower73 I also saw some clips too, and he seemed pretty unfunny there, haha. Maybe the rest of the movie is ok.
I saw Frozen and the movie is ok and yes comic relief chars can be very annoying but Olaf is ok he's no JarJar Binks or other hyper active monster that noises up the entire movie..
As for Disney movies being cliché, ofcourse they are they tell fairy tale type stories that need to appeal to a broad audience... it's like expecting MCdonalds to come up with something that's actually good food.
As for movie tie-in games... I miss the days of Lion King and Aladdin. (even Hercules and Tarzan where pretty good games.)
To people who haven't seen this movie: it's actually really great, feels more akin to Disney movies of yore, and Olaf isn't overdone, he's a nice little amusement who also adds to the plot without consuming it. Too bad that this game can't be like Disney games of yore like Aladdin and Goof Troop.
I got a code for a free download of the game through a contest. Quite obvious it was a kids game, but hey - free! I was actually pleasantly surprised - a lot of levels, and everything felt very polished. Environments were very vivid.
I do think this would have been better as a $1.99 app for a smartphone. It actually sort of feels like they copied it directly from a phone.
@Shane904 how did you get it for free?
@Tobias95 From a contest from a different review site. I'd post the name of it, but I'm not sure if NL allows that.
So is this a platformer or a puzzle? If it's a puzzle, then at least this game is trying something different than nearly EVERY single type of game that has been based off of a television series or movie. The only time that another genre occurs is when there is a spinoff videogame and platforming has already been done. For example, Ben 10 Galactic Racing, coming after about 5 platformers over the course of around seven years.
Then came two more platformers... If only they took the concept of Ben 10 and made it cooler like what they did with Batman... I really like the idea of an accessory that allows the user to change forms by scanning the species and turning to them during a level. That could end up very well. Make it an RPG or something. Gotta scan 'em all.
It's a platformer. The only unique thing really is that the snowman can throw his head at enemies to stun them or to collect things scattered through the level (which is something he did in the movie too).
Why do we need movie-based games anyways? These developers should know by now that movie-based games are almost never received well. They should've just put Olaf in Disney Infinity instead. People would've liked that more than a half-baked, uninspired platformer that only stands out because a character from a Disney movie is in it.
I think I'd rather have a blind date with Hans.
This game reminded me of this funny Frozen trailer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkixuYFQWaU
@triforcepower73 It's a great movie but it is probably my 2nd favorite Disney movie. Lion King is probably the top Disney movie for me. If you count the Pixar movies as Disney movies Frozen would be probably 5 since I really enjoy Pixar movies.
Nonetheless Frozen is still a great movie and I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it. It is just to bad the game didn't turn out that great.
By the way I would recommend seeing Frozen in 3D.
Huh, I expected this to be terrible for some reason. A lot of games seem to be surprisingly "meh" lately, in my opinion.
I'm seeing the movie on Wednesday, I'm neutral on Olaf. Kind of annoying from what I've seen so far, but I thought the same about Vanellope before seeing WIR, so yeah.
The graphics remind me of Donkey Kobg Country 3
Reviewing Games: Orla's Quest
They do a terrible job of making Olaf seem funny in the trailers, he turned out to be really funny though.
5/10
These are the kinds of crappy cash-grab movie tie-ins that devalue games.
I was hoping we'd moved beyond this.
@Ichiban Someday I'd like to play this alleged Donkey Kobg Country 3. And you must be blind.
So, is this a full retail game or an eshop game?
@9th_Sage I saw Frozen with my Gf when it came out, and I was not impressed. Coming from a heavy Disney Background, it was a sloppy mess to me.. and that snowman wasn't even in the movie hardly at all... It seemed like he was just tossed in. wreck it ralph was such a better movie.
I seen frozen, is soo cool and sad! 5 stars its k with me. But is Anna & Elsa coming on this video game because there are the best!
The fact that bad games such as those get quickly released, while other games such as Fantasy Life or SMTIV never get a chance is something that baffles me.
@Angered_Pegasus You're gonna have to eat your words, sonny
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