I’m sure most people who clicked to read this review are familiar with the popular game show Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader but it has been quite some time since we’ve seen a video game based on it. Publisher HandyGames and developer Massive Miniteam have taken it upon themselves to bring a new entry to all the modern video game platforms and here is what I thought of the PlayStation 5 version.
The latest video game entry of this game show allows you to play solo or with up to eight players locally although sadly there is no online support. The game features a couple different modes and over 6,800 questions broken up into 24 different subjects such as math, vocabulary, animal science, and more. The presentation in the game is very colorful which is probably intended since this will no doubt be targeted at younger players. There are two different hosts for the shows and while they are voiced and animated well, they also break up the pace too much and cause sessions to drag. Thankfully you can skip some parts but it still feels like they waste too much of your time.
I played a lot of this game for review in the solo mode and honestly it isn’t the way I would recommend playing this. The show works by having you play through several rounds with questions starting off at the 1st grade level and moving up from there. If at any point you get an answer wrong while playing solo then it’s game over and you’ll have to start again. If you find yourself unsure of the answer to a question you can help yourself with three lifelines or whatever you want to call them. These allow you to either swap your current question out for another one, ask a child for their answer, or ask the class. Certain kids are better in certain subjects though so you need to be mindful of that if you choose to ask one of them for the answer.
Racking up correct answers also rewards you with points which in turn allow you to unlock stuff in the game. These things range from new outfits for the students, cosmetic items for your desk, new students to help assist you, and new question subjects. These things help to give you something to work towards and keep you wanting to play more rounds although I feel like all of the question subjects should’ve been open from the start. The game is no doubt more enjoyable when playing with friends locally but there are some weird decisions that were made here such as some questions where the answer input can easily be seen and copied by anyone else. I guess you can ask the other players to look away but maybe they should’ve come up with another solution instead of requiring us to do this. It really is a missed opportunity that there is no online play here as so many other trivia games on the market have it.
Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader? has a charm to it and can be fun with friends locally but is a bit of slog at times too. The game’s presentation factor gets in the way too often which can cause these shows to go on longer than they should. Playing solo is an option but will likely get repetitive pretty fast for those who choose to do so. If you have some local friends and family to play with then there is a good amount of questions on hand to provide some trivia fun but there are also better alternatives you can choose from should you want.
*Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader? is available now on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC. PlayStation 5 version reviewed. Review copy provided by the publisher for this review.
Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?
$29.99
Pros
- Colorful and charming presentation
- Lots of questions and subjects
- Has a lot of things to unlock
Cons
- Bad show pacing
- Playing solo gets old pretty fast
- No online support
