DreamWorks Dragons: Legends of The Nine Realms
This game's existence and why I'm covering it is a perfect example of the monkey paw curling, but in reverse, because I didn't wish for "family-friendly games." No, it just so happened that I had a thought. See, the last game I covered from good ole Outright Games was Race With Ryan, a review that was obviously an "April Fools Joke."
Since then, especially with the holiday season knocking on our door, I said to myself "Gee it's been a while since I covered a 'family friend game' specifically from Outright Games." A week later, I get sent this. DreamWorks Dragons Legends of The Nine Realms. We are officially back in the biz for what I'm sure will be many 'family-friendly games to come this season.
Legends of The Nine Realms is based on the TV series, DreamWorks Dragons: The Nine Realms, which is based on the overarching series, How To Train Your Dragon. I've only had experience in watching the original movie when it was released in 2010, probably when I was babysitting a neighbor's kid or something I don't remember. What I am surprised by is how long the series has been going on, as well as how many subseries is based on the original movie. The movie was okay, it had its funny moments geared towards kids and adults alike. I cannot say the same for Legends of The Nine Realms, however.
This is due to the developers, AHEARTFULOFGAMES, who I have previously criticized for their previous collaboration with Outright Games that I've covered a year ago. It's the same developers who created the abysmal DreamWorks Spirit: Lucky's Big Adventure. My main gripe was how the game was too ambitious for its own good. An open world family-friendly title where you had to micromanage the condition of your horse among other things on the Nintendo Switch seemed too much for the developers to handle. You'd think that by them taking a step back and focusing on a basic action platformer it'd be alright, right?
Surprisingly, yes and no. I will defend the Nintendo Switch as hardware and continue to say that it depends on the developer's skill to handle a less powerful machine like it. Less powerful doesn't mean "less capable," but with the constant lagging framerates and loading screens for everything, including going through menus, it seems we're back where we started. The game is playable in its basic form, but that's all the praise I'm giving it.
I know this is shorter than most of my first impressions but what more can I say? It's an expensive below-average title that does nothing to move the needle. Even if you were the biggest Dragons fan alive, I cannot recommend spending $50 to purchase DreamWorks Dragons Legends of The Nine Realms as a fan or as a gift to a younger fan. This is the type of game that can be beaten in a handful of hours and for a $50 price tag, there are MANY games on the Switch I will infinitely recommend over this. If you want an action platformer for around the same price with four times the content, please give your child the gift of Klonoa.
DreamWorks Dragons Legends of The Nine Realms is available on Google Stadia (lol), PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and PC