Bluey’s Quest for the Gold Pen Review (PS5)

If your kids have worn out the previous Bluey titles, there’s good news on the horizon with the all‑new Bluey’s Quest for the Gold Pen, which arrives on PlayStation 5 as a substantial improvement over its predecessors. Written by series creator Joe Brumm, this cosy, heartwarming adventure captures the brilliant family dynamic and imaginative make‑believe play that made the show a global phenomenon. Despite beginning life as a mobile release spanning late 2025 and early 2026, it has been adapted for PC and consoles and, more importantly, feels completely at home on a console, offering an expansive sandbox that both kids and parents can enjoy together.

The game presents itself like a giant, interactive episode of Bluey, drawing clear inspiration from favourites such as Dragon and Escape. The story begins during family colouring time when Dad (Bandit) jokingly steals Bluey’s prized gold pen. Taking the make‑believe to theatrical extremes, Bandit casts himself as the villainous, motorcycle‑riding “King Goldie Horns”, while Mum (Chilli) steps in as the “Creator of Worlds”. To reclaim her pen from King Goldie Horns’ distant castle, Bluey teams up with her sister Bingo, who transforms into a flying, honk‑happy alter ego called “Bingoose”. Together, they travel through nine large, beautifully illustrated 2.5D levels that span snowy mountains, golden beaches and even the vast Australian Outback.

From its design, the game plays like a gentle and accessible introduction to action‑RPGs such as The Legend of Zelda, stripped of any stressful combat. The focus is entirely on exploration, light puzzle‑solving and playful obstacle courses. The gameplay stays fresh by shifting its core loop across each new world, with Bluey regularly gaining new traversal abilities that again take a note from the book of the Wind Waker.

Levels are filled with mischievous gnomes, neighbourhood bullies and quirky NPCs offering optional side challenges. The pacing remains extremely kid‑friendly, with wide‑open maps and a relaxed movement speed that gives younger players plenty of room to explore. Failure carries almost no penalty and if a child slips up during an obstacle course, the game simply resets them at the start of the challenge, keeping frustration low. Navigating the maps is easily thanks to Bingoose who actively helps players locate and activate fast‑travel signposts, making exploration painless.

While the game succeeds as a heartfelt love letter to the show, it’s held back by a few design missteps and pacing issues. The most baffling omission is the complete lack of local 2‑player or split‑screen co‑op. While marketing refers to sharing the experience as “family co-play,” in reality, you are just passing a single controller back and forth. Considering Bluey and Bingo travel together for the entire story, not being able to hand a second DualSense controller to a sibling or parent feels like a major missed opportunity.

Additionally, the mobile‑to‑console transition introduces some pacing problems, with repetition and text‑only dialogue trees that require repeated button presses to progress, slowing the story unnecessarily. My kids unfortunately skipped through most of these text‑heavy dialogue scenes and, sadly, the voice acting only appears at the start. The game also crashed a few times on the PS5 during our play-through, so hopefully there is a new patch now.

Graphics / Audio

Visually, the game is a delight as it beautifully renders Chilli’s “drawn” environments, complete with stick‑thin arms and colours that intentionally bleed outside the lines. On PS5, the 2.5D maps are crisp and target a smooth 60fps and, for the most part, the console holds this target well, making the game responsive for younger players still developing their motor coordination. Audio is fun and the voice acting is spot on, however as mentioned, there needs to be a lot more of it given the cohort this game is designed for.

Final Thoughts

Bluey’s Quest for the Gold Pen is ultimately a delightful sandbox that treats its license with genuine respect. It introduces younger gamers to classic adventure mechanics through a creative, heartfelt lens. While the lack of true couch co‑op is a real head‑scratcher and the pacing may feel slow for older players, its warm narrative and imaginative levels make it a standout family title for the school holidays, but be aware that it lacks substantial voice acting and, on PS5, we encountered several crashes.