Published by GameMill Entertainment and developed by Magic Pockets, Miraculous: Rise of the Sphinx is the latest video game adaptation based on the popular French animated children’s show, Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir. The show debuted in 2015 and has been going strong ever since, with more than 100 episodes and season 5 still currently ongoing today. Ladybug and Cat Noir have become pop culture icons, but it wasn’t until 2019 they had their first game on mobile devices and later were featured in Roblox in 2021. Miraculous: Rise of the Sphinx is actually their first proper game on home consoles and is now available on PlayStation 4|5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

Paris is once again under threat as it faces a new menace. The most threatening Sentimonster ever created is about to take over. It is up to Ladybug and Cat Noir to save the city and unveil the diabolical plan devised by the villainous Hawk Moth and bring him to justice. Players will take control of the two heroes in either single-player or with 2 player couch co-op action.

Beginning this beat’em up style adventure game, players will be put in the shoes of both Ladybug and Cat Noir, and you can switch between the two at any time during gameplay. Their first mission is to take down Mister Pidgeon and this acts as a tutorial for players to learn the game mechanics by navigating their way up the buildings and rooftops, all while fighting off henchmen along the way. The controls are very simple and easy to learn, but unfortunately, aren’t all that exciting. Battling enemies and bosses quickly gets repetitive and the hits feel like they lack any real impact, and the generic sound effects don’t help either.

The underwhelming feel at the beginning gives an early indication of what the rest of the game will feel like, and even having the ability to upgrade both characters by adding new moves to their repertoire doesn’t really add much more excitement to the overall experience. The 2 player couch co-op mode does make the game a bit more fun, especially since the title characters are a famous duo and always look better together on screen, but sadly, there is no online multiplayer.

In between missions, players take control of Ladybug and Cat Noir’s alter-egos, Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Adrien Agreste respectively, and you can explore parts of Paris and interact with many familiar faces from the TV series. The game has an RPG element with the character interactions, and players can build up a friendship meter, but even that just feels like it was just for aesthetic purposes, making no real difference in the long run other than seeing different bits of dialogue. The exploration segments seem like they were meant to give an open-world game feel, but even these are very linear, feeling a little lifeless just wandering around mostly empty locations with not much to find.

Both the French and English voice cast from the show reprise their iconic roles in the game, meaning fans can choose to listen to their favourite characters in either language, and everyone sounds just like they do in the show. A lot of work was clearly put into the dialogue during the cutscenes and character conversations, and every character stays true to how they are in the show. Unfortunately, this only applied to the cutscenes, and any conversations during the game are text-based, leaving this feeling like a missed opportunity.

The soundtrack has something for each location throughout the game, with the start and main menu screens having very upbeat tracks that set the tone for what’s ahead. The exploration segments have a more relaxed feel with a classic French touch added, and the action side has a more upbeat feel that intensifies when players reach the next boss. It’s a wonder why the default setting has the music volume set a bit too low, and players would have to manually raise the volume themselves to appreciate the music. Unfortunately, the main theme song from the show is nowhere to be found.

The graphics and overall presentation of the character models and environments also stay true to the cartoon counterpart. The cinematic cutscenes almost look like they’re taken straight from the show, with smooth animations, detailed facial expressions, and character mannerisms. The same can’t be said about the animation quality during gameplay, as it comes across as very stiff, unpolished, and unfinished, and I feel like this could be improved with better sound effects to make it less noticeable. The moves of both heroes, however, do have a variety of animations, even if players are just pressing the one attack button repeatedly.

Overall it feels like a game from the early 2000’s era – the kind that could be found in the discount section. In saying that, and despite its quality, Miraculous: Rise of the Sphinx is actually a full-priced game. The whole game can also be finished in about 4 hours, making it really hard to justify the price. Miraculous: Rise of the Sphinx is a good-looking game for the most part, but rough around the edges when it really counts, and it lacks any real substance. Ladybug and Cat Noir’s first real venture in video game form is off to a bit of a rough start, but it has plenty of fan servicing that will please dedicated fans.

Written by: Sammy Hanson