PJ Masks: Heroes of the Night is a 3D action sidescroller developed by Petoon Studios and published by Outright Games. The game released on October 29, 2021 on PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch and Steam. Aimed at children aged between 3-7 years old, this is the first console game where we are able to play as Amaya, Connor and Greg from the PJ Masks TV series.
Living ordinary school lives during the day, at night the children become superheroes Catboy, Owlette, and Gekko as they look to clean up and protect eight familiar locations such as PJ Masks HQ, the City Streets and Rooftops, and even on the moon. With the help of PJ Robot, they will fight crime and save the world from Romeo, Luna Girl, Night Ninja and more villains.
Each level has a vehicle sequence, a platforming section where you play as all three characters, and then a quick-time boss fight. The vehicle sequences feature one of the character vehicles and both acceleration and turning corners is done automatically. Players can change lanes to avoid obstacles and collect gems. This sequence plays similar to the vehicle segments of the recent Paw Patrol games, however some of these sections can be difficult when vertical placement of the gems changes height.
Even I found it difficult to place the vehicle to collect the gems, and if you miss some you have to repeat the entire level to be able to go back and collect them. My 4-year old daughter really struggled on these sections and often handed the controller back to me, losing interest in the game. I found if I did the driving sections for her, she could then enjoy the platforming sections which were suitable for her skills with the controller.
The side scrolling platforming sections form the majority of each level where you sequentially play as all three characters. They will face obstacles that require use of their special abilities like Catboy’s speed and double jump, Owlette’s super flying moves over longer distances, and mighty Gekko’s muscles and ability to climb up and down walls.
Scattered within each level are coloured PJ Masks icons to collect too. Finally, the boss fights involved pressing particular buttons when prompted. If players can collect all of the gems and PJ Masks icons in a level, they will unlock a trophy that represents that level. These trophies can be browsed in the PJ Masks HQ before choosing the next mission. Mums and Dads may need to/want to get in and help to 100% each level to collect all golden statues.
Overall, PJ Masks: Heroes of the Night is a great video game adaptation of the TV show allowing you play out some new adventures as these characters. The levels are short but are appropriate for children aged 3-7 who have an interest in the show.
This review utilised an Xbox key provided by SwipeRight PR. PJ Masks: Heroes of the Night is available now on PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch and Steam.
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Written by: @ChrisJInglis
