If you grew up in the 90s and watched cartoons then Rugrats was most likely one you either watched or were well aware of. The iconic toddlers were everywhere at that time whether it was Tommy, Angela, or one of the many others. There were numerous video games released based on the property back then and thanks to Limited Run Games, modern audiences can now access and play them with their latest retro re-release, the Rugrats: Retro Rewind Collection. Brought back with the Carbon Engine, just how well do these Rugrat games hold up in 2026?
As soon as you boot the game up you are presented with a menu to select which game you want to dive into first. This collection has Rugrats Time Travellers, The Rugrats Movie, Rugrats Castle Capers, Rugrats in Paris The Movie, Rugrats in Paris The Movie Portable, Rugrats Studio Tour, and Rugrats Search for Reptar. Outside of the games the menu also has a Museum and a Music Player that you can mess around with. There are a lot of songs from the various games to listen to and the Museum is pretty neat in that it lets you view the front and back of each box art and read the manuals from each game. But what of the games themselves? Well they’re a pretty mixed bag overall.
All of the games in this collection were released either on the PS1 or on the Game Boy systems and all of them are exactly as they were back in the late 90s. The only improvements made is the ability to save at any point, use a rewind function, and add some screen filters. Make no mistake though with how some of these games have aged I was very happy to be able to rewind to get out of mistakes. The PlayStation releases in this collection are mostly 3D adventures while the Game Boy games are more platformers. Out of the two the platformers feel like they’ve aged less as the 3D games like Search for Reptar can be a bit frustrating when it comes to camera control and moving around. On the flip side, because the Game Boy games were originally meant to be played a small screen they don’t look so great playing on my big OLED TV. Still, despite my issues with how they may look or the camera I did enjoy revisiting these games and each one can easily provide you with a couple hours of enjoyment if you can deal with the outdated parts of them.
Rugrats: Retro Rewind Collection is one that is going to mostly appeal to prior fans of these games as anyone new will likely find their outdated design to be too unappealing. If you’re a huge Rugrats fan maybe the wonky camera, controls, and pretty meh visuals won’t bother you too much as you head down this nostalgia trip. It’s a collection I’m glad exists because older games should be preserved but anyone considering it should probably buy it on sale.
*Rugrats: Retro Rewind Collection is available now on PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and PC. PlayStation 5 version reviewed. Review copy provided by the publisher for this review.
Rugrats: Retro Rewind Collection
$19.99
Pros
- Save states and rewind function help make these games less frustrating
- The Museum content that is here is pretty cool
- The 2D platformers play pretty well
Cons
- 3D Games Controls and Camera are Rough
- Portable Games Don't Look Great on a TV
- Not a lot of extra content
