If you had told me, back in the beginning of 2024, that one of the biggest surprises of the year would have been a freaking Care Bears game, I would have considered you a psychopath. I don’t have anything against the franchise (I was a baby in the 90s so you bet I had Care Bears-themed stuff when I was an infant), but turning it into a videogame, a non-educational one at that? After seeing attempts to gamefy everything from Peppa Pig to Baby Shark, I just wasn’t expecting for a Care Bears game, exclusive to Switch and PC, to end up being better than expected. But such is the world we live in. I’m not saying that Care Bears: To The Rescue is amazing, far from it, but I never expected for it to be this, uh, competent.

As mentioned, Care Bears: To The Rescue is actually a 2D platformer, aiming for a wider, but still very specific niche: it wants to be your little child’s first foray into the genre. It’s a very easygoing, trouble-free take on the genre, but it’s not exactly condescending to its audience. It’s just very simple in what it wants to be, and to be fair, considering its restrained ambitions, it’s not terrible. It’s also made with the Switch in mind, so it actually runs surprisingly well on the system, at a locked 60 frames a second, with fast loading times and even some in-engine cutscenes.

The game is actually based on a newer reboot of the Care Bears franchise (goes to show how much I know about it), and, as a result, its characters follow the same modern trend seen in most cartoons, with simplistic, highly saturated, colorful designs. If the titular bears, or the villains, look simplistic and cheap in-game, that’s not because the developers did a bad job – it’s just that the brand new cartoon looks minimalistic. I can’t say I was impressed by the looks of the characters, but that’s just because the source of inspiration is somewhat lame. Furthermore, lighting effects are actually half-decent. The music, on the other hand, is beyond unmemorable.

As for the platforming itself… yeah, I can’t complain that much. Care Bears: To The Rescue is super simple in what it offers, and its level design, whilst super easy, isn’t terrible. As a game meant for kids, there are clear obstacles, light puzzles, optional collectibles which require you to go out of your way in order to find them, and even an incentive to replay a level an additional time if you haven’t found them. It actually features combat, which revolves around shooting beams of positive energy from your belly onto creatures possessed by what I can only assume is malice.

Finally, there are some levels which ditch platforming altogether in favor of side-scrolling shoot ’em up sections. Yep, a Care Bears-themed shm’up, at least for a few minutes. Once again, not exciting, but also not terrible! Those are mainly boss battles against bigger creatures also possessed by the bad seeds scattered by the main baddies at the beginning of the game. They are just a tad bit more challenging than your average platforming level, but nothing a kid can’t do after one or two attempts, or with the help of a parent.

This is not at all a mindblowing platformer, but this is clearly meant for a younger and more casual audience. Considering that specific factor, I can’t call Care Bears: To The Rescue a bad game. A shocking example on how to make a platformer/shooter hybrid for small children, it’s not a very memorable game for anyone above the recommended demographic’s age range, but it’s also cute and competent. I gets the job done without any major issues.

Graphics: 7.0 This is based on a newer reboot of the Care Bears franchise, with simpler (and less fluffy) character designs. The game does feature models that resemble them quite closely. The level environments aren’t very exciting, but are colorful enough. Lighting effects are half decent. The framerate is great.	Gameplay: 8.5 Well, the framerate is actually pretty solid, the platforming is decent, and the controls are responsive and easy to learn. Considering the target audience, yep, the gameplay is actually quite good.
Sound: 5.0 If the rest of the game is actually above average, that cannot be said about the unmemorable soundtrack and sound effects.	Fun Factor: 6.0 This is not at all a mindblowing platformer, but this is clearly meant for a younger and more casual audience. Considering that specific factor, I can’t call Care Bears: To The Rescue a bad game. It’s unmemorable, but it’s also cute and competent.
Final Verdict: 7.0

Care Bears: To The Rescue is available now on PC and Switch.

Reviewed on Switch.

A copy of Care Bears: To The Rescue was provided by the publisher.