[SDCC 2015] “Snoopy’s Grand Adventure” Hands-On

The Peanuts had a pretty prominent presence at Comic-Con this year, highlighted by both its booth at the San Diego Convention Center’s exhibit hall, as well as outside the convention center in a giant balloon shaped like Snoopy’s doghouse.  To…

The Peanuts had a pretty prominent presence at Comic-Con this year, highlighted by both its booth at the San Diego Convention Center’s exhibit hall, as well as outside the convention center in a giant balloon shaped like Snoopy’s doghouse.  To the average attendee’s surprise, a video game was playable in the form of Snoopy’s Grand Adventure, coming to almost every platform soon.

The game stars Charlie Brown’s titular beagle Snoopy.  Those familiar with the Peanuts gang know that while the dog doesn’t speak, Snoopy is definitely one of the funniest and adventurous characters in the comic book and animated series, imagining himself in zany situations.  Whether it’s dancing on top of Schroeder’s piano, pretending his doghouse is a 1942 war plane, or simply sleeping on the top of the roof of his house, the “stupid beagle” as (Lucy Van Pelt likes to put it) is downright crazy.

Snoopy’s Grand Adventure is a sidescrolling game that follows Snoopy as he tries to find his owner in a game of hide and seek.  Each world is about as imaginative as Snoopy’s fans would hope, as they’re all gorgeously painted in the same visual style as the upcoming animated film.  The playable level we tried out seemed to have taken place inside a temple very similar to the one featured in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, as there was even a section in the level where we had to run away from a giant basketball painted to resemble the giant boulder from The Temple of Doom.

It played the way you expect a platformer to play as the controls were extremely responsive.  Since Indiana Jones seemed to be the theme, Snoopy also had the role of archaeologist with his brown hat.  Activating your outfit’s feature with the press of a button, the archaeologist role pretty much allowed Snoopy to check out areas otherwise unaccessible hiding a bunch of jelly beans, which are essentially the Sonic rings or Mario coins in those respective franchises.

As fun and colorful as it is, however, the game does have its blemishes, particularly in its cooperative mode.  A second player can take control of Woodstock, the little yellow bird Snoopy likes to hang out with.  His purpose is as a support character very similar to Luma in Super Mario Galaxy or Tales in the sidescrolling Sonic games.  Snoopy can help clear enemies and help you get to hard-to-reach areas, but if you’re too quick for Woodstock to follow, he’ll just die or completely disappear from the screen entirely.

Snoopy’s Grand Adventure will be coming out on November 3 to coincide with the release of the upcoming Peanuts film.  We’ll be sure to have a review upon release.