Publisher: SCEA
Developer: Virtual Toys
Medium: Digital
Players: 1
Online: No
ESRB: E10+
I can imagine why you might be skeptical about the quality of Phineas and Ferb: Day of Doofenshmirtz. After all, itโs not just a game targeting a younger demographic, itโs a licensed game: the combination of those two things may understandably fill you with dread. Itโs important to remember, however, that there are plenty of examples of licensed kids games that didnโt suck โ including the last Phineas and Ferb game to grace PlayStation consoles, Phineas and Ferb Across the Second Dimension โ which is why you shouldnโt go in expecting it to be terrible.
Of course, if you reach that conclusion after actually playing the game, I wouldnโt blame you. Thatโs certainly how Iโm feeling about it now, after having spent several hours with it.
Okay, perhaps calling it โterribleโ may be a bit harsh. I know Iโve played worse 3D platformers, even if none are jumping to mind right at this very second. But if youโre looking for reasons to dislike the game, they abound.
First and foremost, thereโs the profoundly mediocre gameplay. While Phineas and Ferb: Day of Doofenshmirtz doesnโt do anything really badly, it doesnโt do anything particularly well, either. Every aspect of movement โ running, jumping, shooting โ feels stiff and unresponsive, and things arenโt helped by the artificial barriers the game throws in your way. You donโt get to double-jump until well into the gameโs second chapter; you have to feel your way along invisible, arbitrary walls blocking you from exploring the rigid path the game has set before you; you canโt fire your weapon if youโre standing too close to anything: in all of these ways and more, youโre constantly reminded of the gameโs limits. Iโm not saying I want a giant, open Tri-State Area to explore, but I donโt think itโs ridiculous to be annoyed by little things like being able to walk on one side of the street but not the other.
(And donโt even get me started on the way the game arbitrarily stops you from reaching certain areas that clearly have goodies. I understand wanting to pad out the length a little by making players go back and replay levels, but that doesnโt make it any less stupid that you can jump on top of a box, but you canโt jump over a fence while standing on top of a park bench simply because there are more coins to collect on the other side of the fence. And the way Day of Doofenschmirtz allows you to sparingly use a jetpackโฆI feel like just shaking my head in frustration is the only reasonable response.)
This mediocrity extends to every other aspect of the game, too. Itโs nothing special to look at, with graphics that could be described as bland if they didnโt include so many headache-inducing colours. (I get that the cartoon looks equally odd, but the way itโs rendered here has all of the ugliness and none of the charm.) The music? Highly repetitive, but not in any way that youโll remember within a few seconds of turning off the game. And itโs entirely possible the story makes some sense if youโre an avid watcher of the TV show, but if youโre not a fan, I donโt think this forgettable nonsense is going to turn you into one.
Even if you are a fan, though, itโs hard to imagine that youโre going to want to sink all that much time into this. Phineas and Ferb: Day of Doofenshmirtz is obviously not designed to be some money-grabbing cash-in (if it is, Disney picked the wrong platform for its exclusivity) but you still have to wonder why on Earth it exists. Itโs just kind of there, and it should be abundantly clear to anyone playing it that thatโs not nearly enough.