PLATFORM: PC, PS4, XBOX ONE/SERIES (REVIEWED) | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
Based on Brian Jacques’ Redwall books, The Scout Anthology brings together three parts of a story that was originally released between 2018-21 and marks the first official entry in the series since 2011. Taking place in Mossflower wood during the events of the first few books, The Scout focuses its story on Liam and Sophia, two young mice who are training to join the Lilygrove Scout Corps in order to protect their home from invaders. Of course, the inevitable happens and the pesky searats turn up to run riot across the village, so it’s up to you – playing as either Liam or Sophia – to run them out of town and save Redwall Abbey.
The Scout is squarely aimed at younger players with its simple puzzles and child-friendly game mechanics. You’ll push boxes around to access higher areas, shuffle across ledges, hunt for hidden jars of jam, and use a fairly unique “scent system” to find key items and help sneak past enemies without them catching your scent. Sneaking is very much the order of the day, as The Scout has no combat at all (unless you count throwing items to distract enemies), but the game seems to be rather inconsistent in terms of enemy lines of sight – some won’t be able to see you when you’re right in front of their nose, while others will catch you when you’re a fair distance away, hidden behind an object, which might lead to some frustration for youngsters. Similarly, some might find it difficult to deal with the slightly unruly camera, which has a habit of swinging up to an overhead view seemingly at random and often appears to point you in the wrong direction.
The Anthology version includes lighting enhancements and general visual upgrades, making it the best-looking version of the game, although it’s unlikely to win awards for its technical prowess. The static cutscenes are nicely drawn and fit well with the source material, but the in-game environments are more reminiscent of titles from a couple of hardware generations ago. Having said that, The Scout‘s target audience is likely to be less concerned with visual fidelity and more intrigued by the narrative, which certainly caters for those whose age is yet to reach double figures. It might be on the unremarkable side in the grand scheme of things, but if you need a lightweight, innocent tale to keep some little people entertained for a couple of hours, you could certainly do much worse than this.
