There’s no denying that when I got a chance to review it Bluey’s Quest for the Golden Penmy knee jerk reaction was impostor syndrome. Full disclosure, I’m not a gamer, and I was even encouraged to write about aspects of the game as it progressed against the game itself, as I was a huge gamer. Bluey a fan long before I had my spirit child.
When the game was announced, I thought it would be something my daughter could play with her dad, who owns every game system he’s ever wanted since the Nintendo NES was released. My upbringing was different. My family couldn’t afford video game systems when they came out. For most of my childhood, if I could play on someone else’s Nintendo, it was on some guy on the neighborhood show or on my older cousin’s TV after the relatives said, “Let him try it!” and they roll their eyes in turn.
So video games weren’t meant for me in the sense that when I played, I was entering a space like that Super Mario Bros. and soon fall and lose. Then I have to hand the controller back to the guy who owns the game. This first kind of gatekeeping really informed my relationship with games, and because I had nothing to do alone for a long time, I lost interest. It was theirs. It was theirs a gold pen.
Those experiences came quickly while I was still playing Bluey’s Quest for the Golden Pen. It begins with the Heeler family huddled around a table one day because it’s raining, and Bluey and Bingo are sketching, doing adventures in the style of the show’s sketchy worlds. And messing with his children, Bandit, their father, robs them of a gold pen jokingly because his a gold pen.
I quickly realized, “Oh, maybe this game is meant for me.” So I sat, and watched the scene. Mother Tshili intervenes and reminds her daughters that she will help them draw the world, where she will be able to take out a gold pen because she should also draw with it. And with that, Bluey creator Joe Brumm begins to convey the bulk of the story that touches you. I don’t think I’ve cried that much since “Bedtime” and Bella, Coco’s mom, telling Chili, “You’re doing great.” When I thought I’d try to explain the game’s story, I was surprised that mine would be irrevocably tied to it. That’s right BlueyBest episode yet.
Really, I thought I’d stop playing the game after exploring some of the areas and capturing some cool bits and funny references to point out. The teams of Ludo and Halfbrick bring many easter eggs of fantasy and sci-fi to the gaming world. I laughed when Bingoose (Bingo’s sidekick persona) placed an egg that cracked to reveal an insect that was eaten by a frog to open the next stage of the game. Cronenberg baby power. There are also fun hair metal-inspired baddies, led by the Bandit’s antagonistic alter ego, King Goldy Horns. They represent continuous obstacles for Bluey and Bingo as you play.
I was more worried when the game started because I used to be like, “I’m going to fall for something, and I’m going to die” (note: Bluey and Bingoose don’t really die), “I’m going to be respawning over and over again,” and “What will happen if I don’t pass much of the story?”
So I’m sitting there with my kid, watching me play it on my cell phone, and I click, it makes the sounds of their favorite characters so I can see them smile and laugh. Hey, I feel like we did well since her third name for “Mama” and “Dada” is “Bwooey.” And with that comfort, I found myself realizing that this game is ours, too. It’s not like, “Okay, I failed this quest; it’s time to give control to dad.” It was like, “I’m going to keep showing him that if I can, he can”—at 16 years old.
Halfbrick’s setup is gentle and fun. I understood that it was okay to fall off the stage, that a little foam would help me float without falling into the ocean and back to the game board. The game is pure Bluey magic, a combination of Brumm’s heartfelt storytelling and Halfbrick’s clever minigames and inspiring soundtrack. There is none mario-style “dead” sound effect.
Halfbrick and Ludo have managed to put this collaboration together in a way that emphasizes that this is a story that anyone can participate in. And in context, it says the silent part out loud: that those who think they hold the golden pen don’t have to withhold it from others. So as I played, I found myself thinking a lot about the little girl who used to feel right about my chance at the controller; the boys would give me their game, and I would always watch them play because they could go further than me.
I didn’t realize they had the facilities, so they were able to practice. I would also have been better off if they had decided to share rather than just give me a chance. Those turns were often set up for me to fall off the stage or run to hit a level they set “hard” without me knowing—so that they would let me have a chance but be able to get back in control of the game.
Instead, Bluey’s Quest for the Golden Pen it is the only joy. It allows you to freely explore the world that Bluey’s mother draws. The best part of it is finding ways to enjoy something that I once felt was out of my reach. And sure, it’s a simple first game, but it’s not without its challenges and creative solutions. He is armed with a new staff, similar to the pen staff seen in Bluey show, but instead of making everything more difficult, it actually helps you move things that are impossibly difficult.
The game is such a love letter to children who have grown up Blueymaybe you’re at a time when they’re starting to play more advanced games, and it’s pointing the way to some of the same old ones The Legend of Zelda. I may have felt isolated going into sports, but to be able to have this to share with my child as a way to say, “Oh, you like this style of play? Let’s check it out? Zelda together” is something I am looking forward to now.
Bluey’s Quest for the Golden Pen it is such a joy and a healing experience for the inner child. I’m really excited to keep playing, especially since it gives us a new, focused version of Joe Brumm that covers more than that. BlueyShort cartoon episodes do. Halfbrick’s visual and audio design makes it more appealing to jump back into, with more accessible ways to play.
I’m not going to lie, I haven’t played a Halfbrick song yet Fruit Ninja in a very long time, however I remember that I played it for a while because it was so fun that I don’t feel like I can’t stop playing it. It feels good to feel like I can keep going and see how far I can go. And likewise here with Bluey’s Quest for the Golden PenI thought to myself, “Man, I’m going to fall on these flashing platforms,” but I didn’t want to let Bluey and Bingo down.
Honestly, I felt like Bluey was my inner child, and I was Chili at the time, and I didn’t want to let them down.
I think if you are a gamer and are excited to bring a new generation of gamers into the world and into the fold, this is the game to start with. It tells such a story but also provides a way to find out that other games will encourage you to keep trying, even if you fail. That seems rare these days; There are many games now that I have discussed with my nieces and nephews about where they actually play, they just open gifts and collect points that I don’t understand well.
Especially since it has Bandit posing as a villain, Bluey’s Quest for the Golden Pen it really sounds like a lesson to young children about those pesky gatekeepers. It’s a fact, they’ll keep coming to you in this open world, right? But with family—like Bluey’s family—we will always have a way to go, to push back the limitations of entertainment that may have affected a little girl at that time. Someone like me, who always felt he had to hand over the reins, the golden pen, as it were. Here is the breakthrough: it belongs to all of us.
This interactive installment of Bluey’s story has really inspired me to realize that this is something in my daughter’s life that I will be able to be a part of. I thought, “Okay, one day, my husband is going to play video games with my daughter, and that’s going to be their thing” And I’m amazed and blown away by the creativity of Ludo Studio and Halfbrick, and I’m like, “No, we’re going to do things differently now.
Goldy Horns and their stooges can keep their old pens and toys if they don’t grow up and share; the ink runs out anyway, and we can create new worlds and the next generation for real life. And I can say that Bluey’s Quest for Gold Pen, Bluey fans can enjoy the next level of their performance.
Bluey’s Quest for the Golden Pen is available on the Apple App Store with a free trial version and a one-time purchase option for all levels. Its release through the Google Play store has been postponed to January 10, 2026. The game is expected to be expanded to major systems, including PC, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S, later in 2026.
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