LifeisXbox’s The Addams Family: Mansion Mayhem review | Who hasn’t heard about The Addams Family at least once in their lives? Especially the name Morticia should ring a bell for most of us. Created by cartoonist Charles Addams in 1938, The Addams Family has a long history on television, books, and yes, also in video gaming. The last addition to video games based on The Addams Family is a title developed by PHL Collective and published by Outright Games. As some might know, Outright Games is known for publishing games aimed at kids. With titles such as DreamWorks Spirit Lucky’s Big Adventure, Paw Patrol, Ice Age, and Ben 10, it’s clear that we can expect The Addams Family: Mansion Mayhem to be a children-oriented game as well. Keep in mind that this is a low-budget release! Now, let’s dive in.
ℹ️ | Maui played The Addams Family: Mansion Mayhem for 8 hours on Xbox Series X. This game is also available on Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Steam, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 4/5, and Stadia.
What we liked!
- Easy gameplay | The Addams Family: Mansion Mayhem has four worlds to complete: the Dining Room World, the Graveyard World, the Music World, and the Laboratory World. Each world has a few levels and minigames in them which you need to complete in a linear way. You’ll be using the character’s unique abilities to get through the levels. For example, the first ability is Gomez’s Mazurka Saber, but you’ll quickly unlock Morticia’s Longlegs Launcher, which allows you to swing around using spider webs. There are four abilities in total, and the levels that combine these abilities are definitely the most fun. Don’t get confused though: you can only wield one ability at a time, but a large icon on the floor will indicate when you’re switching to another ability. The enemies and puzzles in The Addams Family: Mansion Mayhem are easy, not to say ridiciously simple. It’s here that it becomes especially clear that this game was designed for kids, but hey, it’s fine! Don’t we all enjoy a fun game that doesn’t have us dying ever few minutes every now and then? I know I do.
- Minigames | In between levels, you’ll also be competing in minigames. These are a nice change from the levels, especially since the levels are pretty long and the worlds get repetitive (as you’ll read further along this review). There are 11 minigames available throughout the game, but you can also access these in the menu if you just want to enjoy some competitive minigames with friends. Even though the goal of each game is the same (score the most points by collecting charms), it’s still fun to see the various layouts. While one minigame has moving platforms, the other looks like a pinball machine. Go ahead and check out the various minigames for yourself!
- Alone or together | What is a children’s game without the possibility to play it with the rest of the family?! Exactly, not as much fun. Luckily, The Addams Family: Mansion Mayhem can be perfectly enjoyed by multiple players or by yourself. I actually spent most my time playing as Morticia with no one else helping me finish levels. However, if you prefer playing with friends, or as a family, that’s definitely a possibility and all characters will be equal! You can make your way through the levels with up to four people. Whether you want to play as Wednesday, Pugsley, Gomez, and Morticia Addams, you’ll be in for some fun times.
- Family crests | Every level has three family crests to collect. While the third one is always about collecting a certain amount of Doubloons (coins), the first two are usually a little more challenging. There is a linear path in each level, but deviating from this path every now and then (when it’s possible, of course) will definitely pay off. The first two family crests are usually puzzles that can be found off the beaten track. Minigames also have a crests, but here you just need to gather a certain amount of points to get the crest. At first, I thought they were really easy, but I did miss a few during my first run! It’s definitely a welcome addition to the game, and a necessary one. In order to progress to some levels, you’ll need a certain amount of total crests collected, much like is the case in Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory, and many other games. Not to worry though, as you’ll most likely always have enough crests to be able to continue. It’s an extra challenge that is, again, at a kids’ level.
Somewhere between
- Bland story | Seeing as The Addams Family is such a familiar and well-known name, I was expecting the story to be intruiging. I was left a bit disappointed in this area, I’m afraid. The story resolves around the family and their house. Some weird man is set on buying the house and kicking the Addams’ family out of their beloved home. Of course, they won’t give in so easily, so the whole family sets out on an adventure to discover the secrets of their mansion, and to find something there that will prevent the man from taking their house. It’s a very simple story, and it honestly could’ve been any family. I was not invested in the story at all and I feel like you could just skip it altogether and just focus on the gameplay, and it wouldn’t even matter. The copywriting isn’t very engaging either, so go ahead and just focus on the gameplay maybe.
- Repetitive and long | As I mentioned briefly above, the levels can get repetitive. Usually, a level is just a tad too long, and because there are a few levels in each world, you’ll get bored of the look and feel of each world rather quickly, I’m afraid. In the Dining Room World, I got so very tired of seeing soup everywhere, and in the Music World everything got a little on my nerves after a while (which is a shame since I absolutely love music). On top of that, the worlds may look different, the gameplay always remains the same, the only difference are the abilities, really.
- The screen | The Addams Family: Mansion Mayhem uses a top-down approach when it comes to the gameplay. Most of the time, this worked fine, but there were times where your character wasn’t visible enough, which can sometimes lead to unfortunate deaths that aren’t even your fault. On top of that, you can barely make out the characters, in all honesty. They appear so small in the world, it was kind of a shame. It might have been any other family besides the Addams family, and it wouldn’t have made a single difference since you can basically only make out their shapes and not really any detailed features.
- Graphics and sound | PHL Collective got the basics covered with their graphics and sound design. The four worlds you’re travelling through do have a ‘The Addams Family’ kind of dark vibe, but it’s not like they’re mindblowing or anything. I like to be amazed by the art style of the game, and actually take a second to look at everything. I did not have the urge to stop for a second to enjoy the surroundings. The same pretty much goes for the soundtrack. It’s nice but it’s rather forgetable.
What we disliked
- Nothing that I truly disliked.
How long to beat the story | 6 to 7 hours
How long to achieve 1000G | 10+ hours
Similar with | Super Mario 3D World
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Head of PC team. PC, Switch, and Xbox game reviewer. Also a marketeer, concert and animal lover, and photographer in training 🙂
Steam: Mauitje
Xbox: Mauitjexo
