Adventure Time: Finn & Jake Investigations Review

"Getting the Band Back Together"

Campaign

I'll be honest when I say that I've never watched Adventure Time or have really looked into any of the lore in the past before heading into the game. This made the first bit of the story to seem rather strange since the characters are so bizarre. This of course lead me into reading up on things and I can say that the game seems to handle these characters properly in regards to the TV series along with capturing them well without being too specific. I find that this was a great balance to please fans of the series while also providing a bit of an opening for gamers to get into without knowing much of the show. The game split into a number of investigations which are a basic quest of which the team will need to complete. This in itself seemed to be split into three different areas each and eventually built into an ending. Each investigation also had a theme which was built over the entirety of the game and all the stories directly build on one another in accordance of what was happening in the game. It wasn't terribly hard to follow and by the end I definitely had a good idea about each of the characters presented within the game. At the core this is a point and click title with simplistic themes in order to appeal to all audiences with odd bits of combat thrown into the mix. I really didn't have any issues playing through the game so I doubt anyone will have problems, especially when it comes to the younger ones though adults may at times find it too simplistic. I also applaud the amount of game time provided within the story across the acts and that I didn't really get bored despite not having a full grasp of the universe like I traditionally do when playing games.

Gameplay

This is apparently the first 3D showing for Adventure Time and it definitely did have its own cartoonish charm to it. The gameplay is focused around playing as Finn and being followed by Jake which can oddly stretch in weird ways. There are many items everywhere to collect which will help you solve problems in the world around you. Some solutions are easier than others, though none were hard to complete. There was also a neat combo section to combine some of the items which was required to make something in order to push along forward. The story and the gameplay worked out fine, though at times too simply. A combat system was also present in the game which created these odd jump to combat sequences. Some of the later fights where there was a purpose in them were neat though most of the combat sequences were boring and awful to play. It was quite generic battles where you would build a buddy system with Jake where he abilities or just use your swords magical ability. These were always a drag and weird break in the game's story, and the reward was treasure that you don't really see. I didn't care whether or not they go more beat up since a direct reward system wasn't in place. I would have also maybe liked some more movement to the characters as when you chatted with people or interacted their characters were quite static. It seemed like the vampire lady could only yell at me and when people did something it just made audio sounds until completion.

The Conclusion

While it definitely appears to stick within the grounds of the universe and touches on points the game itself really doesn't pack too much of a punch to it. It's an alright game with some boring elements and just awful combat situations. I'm more than sure that fans will like this extra bit of content to the Adventure Time story which is really the most important element in making games like this. There seems to be a lot of love added to the game and some references which I didn't get that fans will love I'm sure. The story itself was also great in length and varied across environments which kept it mostly fresh. I will once again warn that the gameplay was mostly simple when solving things and it appears to be geared towards a younger demographic, though it does do the characters justice and creates a nice side story to the series.

Adventure Time: Finn & Jake Investigations Review on Xbox One
Review Code Provided by Clever Communications

Rating Overall: 7.3