Review — Carmen Sandiego

We sit down and review Carmen Sandiego. The Crimson Criminal is back and teaching us all a bit more about the world. Here is our review of half of Carmen Sandiego

The Carmen Sandiego IP is certainly one that has been around for a while and holds a place in so many hearts out there for those who have been gaming since the 80s when the original title dropped out there. A solid way for kids to learn about the world and other bits of history from HarperCollins Productions and then spinning off into so many other titles and media as well. One might be hard-pressed in the modern age not to know about the IP or the titular character. That is why we were all happy to see and hear that Carmen Sandiego was getting another time to shine from Gameloft on the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch, and PC among a few other platforms too. That also means that we took some time to dig in and see if it hit the correct nostalgia beats and could bring the fun back to us all. Here is our review of the game and a few extra thoughts to take in before buying it yourself.

Story

It looks as if time has been good to Carmen Sandiego out there as we run into the thief just chilling and relaxing after decades of crime and never truly being caught. Sadly, it looks like that will be short-lived as V.I.L.E. is back at it and doing all of the crime that has been left on the table. There is a task force set up to handle this, but it looks like they need to call in one of the greats to help. Thus, turning Carmen Sandiego from just a common thief back into an informant and agent of sorts. All with the endgame of letting her go back to her peaceful life after saving the world and tracking down all of the stolen goods that V.I.L.E. is picking up. That is why she will need to jet set around and play coy with the authorities so they can all use those very specific set of skills that she has built up over the years.

Hated

I only partly knew what I was getting myself into with this Carmen Sandiego title from the start, so I will focus on things that were more off-putting than it being an edutainment title. Like the fact that the game is only partially voice-acted when it feels like it could have had the full thing voiced. That is, when the dialog comes up on the screen, whoever is talking will repeat the same set of phrases but still leave us all to read the text box that comes up. It’s almost as if the game could not figure out a lane it wanted to be in by just giving us the text to read or giving us the full voices. It is obvious that some things were recorded for the game, but it is jarring to only give things to indicate who is talking in the moment. As if the visuals of the game did not already do that. It is not anything that breaks Carmen Sandiego, but it is something that could have you playing the game on mute rather quickly, which I am sure is not something that Gameloft wants for us to do with everything else that has been added into it all.

Next, I will have to harp on the UI for Carmen Sandiego and how we need to navigate some of the clue and suspect windows. I played this all on the PS5, so I am aware that could have been a bit of an issue for a game that found its start on PCs. That said, it felt like there were too many screens to have to hop around and scroll through to find everything. This is even built into the core gameplay loop of finding suspects. A task that is done by figuring out clues as to who we are tracking down, and then marking them on a list so we can rule some out. The issue I had in a few instances was that some of these menus required scrolling to the left or right and there was no indication of that. I had to find that out on accident when I couldn’t find how to mark down that the suspect had Black Hair. With how much room there is on the screen for all of this, it feels like this could have been executed in a bit of a cleaner way in Carmen Sandiego. Also, not a game-breaking thing, but it is certainly a drawback that had me almost failing a mission right from the start of the game.

Last up, and this one may be controversial, is that in some instances, there just are not enough clues or great clues to follow in the game. Especially if Carmen Sandiego is supposed to be this amazing criminal and world traveler. By all of this, I am saying that we have to figure out things about certain places in the world so we know where to travel to next. A great thing for teaching geography and history and these lessons stay persistent during the full game. In some instances, though, I was only able to figure things out because of myself having a higher education than the game is geared towards. For instance, I was given a clue that I knew pointed Carmen Sandiego to need to go to Cuba but based on my real-world knowledge. In the game, though, there was nothing more given to help indicate that and the in-game database was not filled in until after making the flight. This game is designed more for children and I can see that being difficult from the start of the game. Almost to a point they might not want to continue. Sure, there is a trial and error option to go with, but that is not how that should all unfold from the start but maybe later on in the game.

Loved

While Carmen Sandiego is certainly made for a younger demographic out there, I do have to say that the inclusion of some of the extra minigames and action elements were a solid touch. At least in the main missions of the game. Things like hacking, pickpocketing, and safecracking, while not difficult, were an extra level of engagement in the game and placed me further into the shoes of Carmen Sandiego. Note, these are only in the main missions of the game and not in the ACME files, but they are still a solid inclusion and so well-placed too. For example, they were not always consistent enough to get bored and were sprinkled in to help break up the reading of text and learning about the world portions of the game. Even to the point that my adult brain forgot that it was an edutainment title more than anything and ignored the fact I was learning. In the state of the world now, this is something needed and needs to be pulled off perfectly. Carmen Sandiego did that insanely well and always had me trying to figure out what the next big task of the game was going to be.

Even though it was a bit above for this, I do have to give credit where it is due here. The persistent nature of the knowledge that Carmen Sandiego collected in the game was a solid extra bit to have and was enjoyable. Especially as it worked to phrase things or present them in a way that was more engaging than just dropping textbook text on the screen. That would have been the easier way for the team to deliver it all, but while the history and educational parts were there, it was rephrased in a way that made it stick and made me want to read. Not only that, but how it was always getting called back for so many parts of the game, I was certainly learning and remember it all more. Things like the types of government, the nation’s currency, their main exports, and even main languages all started to stick more than it did when I was in high school or even middle school Not something I ever thought I would experience again, let alone in a Carmen Sandiego video game after so many decades.

While all of the above is something that can be a good sell for players of all ages, I will have to dig into the ACME Files that are here for Carmen Sandiego for those older players out there. These are the missions in the game that we will need to keep coming back to so we can boost our notoriety in the game and have more missions to experience. I also mention these as they are all presented in a way that is more of a throwback to the classic versions of the IP from decades ago. While the core gameplay for them is about the same as the bigger missions of the game, these are mostly text-based and with more of the 8-bit or 16-bit feel to them. This is where more of the true nostalgia kicks in for the Carmen Sandiego IP. Mixed with all of the classic music from the past titles too. Even if it would have been truly mind-blowing to get the TV show theme song mixed in too, all of it will hit all of those amazing points of the brain to get the dopamine flowing. That will be what keeps the older generation playing while helping the younger ones learn along the way.

Overview

So, if you are a player of the Carmen Sandiego from back in the 80s and 90s, this is going to be a title that will hit a bit of the nostalgia feels for you, but ultimately leave you putting it down rather quickly. Given that most of the generation I mentioned most likely have young ones who might be looking to learn about the world, though, that is where the game will truly shine. It is an edutainment game with more of the entertainment than many other games like it. That will be where you will want to sit down and join your kids in the experience so they can learn and you can get the nostalgia fix in the mix of things too. Not to mention bonding more when the clues are a little obscure for those still in their early school years and need your help. So, for parents, Carmen Sandiego is a solid title to add to the mix. If you are a casual gamer over the age of 16, you might need to pass on it, as you will be able to burn through it quickly and end up being upset that you did.

I give Carmen Sandiego 38 Found Clues on the Found Clue scale.

Carmen Sandiego — Hades Plays The Game [PS5]

 

Carmen Sandiego was developed and published by Gameloft for the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch, and PC on March 3^rd, 2025. A PlayStation copy of the game was provided by the publisher for reviewing purposes.