by Alex QuevedoHellauuuur! I’m on the verge of being a first-time dad, so what’s the best way to get me prepped for that new stage of life? Bluey! In a video game! Surely, nothing else will be needed, as I’m sure it will be easy. Bluey’s Quest for The Gold Pen will prepare me as much as possible.
Bluey’s Quest acts as another episode of Bluey, telling its own story. Around the table, Bluey and her sister Bingo are coloring and drawing, but their dad Bandit has swiped their gold pen. To get their pen back from their dad, they jump into the worlds of their drawings from his King Goldie Horns alter ego. Their mother, Chilli, acting as the Creator of Worlds, helps balance the scales as the girls move along nearly a dozen different worlds to bring gold back into their drawings.
It’s a port of a mobile game released back in December 2025 (iOS) and January 2026 (Android), but if you were none the wiser, you couldn’t tell. The game feels so natural on console, with expansive worlds that offer up solid challenges. It’s a cozy and fun game that doesn’t sacrifice the adventurous elements of Bluey and Bingo’s journey. The animation is delivered crisply and vibrantly in 2.5D fashion. It has noticeable depth, especially as the maps grow larger later in the game.
The mechanics are generally smooth, if a little stodgy and wild at moments. To move through each map, Bluey and Bingo will be tasked with gathering a given resource to provide the “enemy” blocking the portal to the next world. Each world will give Bluey specific skills to accomplish that, ranging from jumping to flying. You’ll use those skills, along with some vehicles, to navigate platform challenges and secure a minimum number of resources. Bingo, as Bingoose, will turn those resources into food for the portal bosses to eat. She’ll also help you identify fast travel points—necessary for large maps. You’ll also interact with gnomes and bullies to give you different challenges to earn the map’s given resource, a nice alternative to the platform elements if there are any struggles (and some are quite tricky).
Things slow down in other gameplay areas. Bluey only moves so fast, with no running option, so navigation of the map can take some time. Dialogue trees can be the stodgy element, with plenty of interactions with Chilli not progressing without multiple confirmations to move along. Not that you necessarily need to speed run through the game, but a little more of a push could definitely help. The positive element of the speed, though, is for kids. Each level has more and more to do, giving them plenty of time to chill in a delightful environment.
However, I ran into a major blocker on PS5: a late-game bug that reset progress to an earlier part of the game. I made it through level five one night and started the sixth, assuming it would save progress after gaining some resources (there is no obvious auto-save or manual save option). The next night, it reset me to the beginning of level five, which was weird, but I replayed and got to level seven. To avoid potential saving issues with turning the console off, I put it in rest mode without closing the game. The next night, the game crashed when I turned on the PS5, then sent me back to level 5. I replayed everything and got to level 9. However, when I encountered a bug, the game crashed again and took me back to level 5, which is where I gave up. One of our other staffers also had a similar experience on PS5. (Yeah, two of us played Bluey). However, we’ve heard that Switch owners may not have this experience. We can’t confirm Xbox.
So with that in mind, it’s a tough spot on how much to recommend Bluey’s Quest for The Gold Pen. It’s a genuinely fun game with a lot to do. I found the platforming genuinely engaging and, at times, challenging. I’d imagine this is also a solid one to put kids in front of so they can meander around. However, the game should be a consistent, playable experience across all platforms. If you have the means to play on Switch, I’d recommend it. But if you don’t have that option and are limited to PlayStation, I’d recommend waiting for a confirmed patch before giving it a shot.
Bluey's Quest For The Gold Pen
