Game intel
Snoopy & The Great Mystery Club
Join Snoopy and the gang in an all-new mystery adventure packed with charm, clever puzzles, and heartwarming friendships! Step into Snoopy’s paws and detective…
I didn’t expect to be intrigued by a Peanuts game in 2025, but Snoopy & The Great Mystery Club has a couple of wildcards. It’s published by GameMill – a name that usually sets off alarms thanks to some infamously rough licensed releases – but it’s developed by Cradle Games, the team behind Hellpoint, a legit Soulslike with smart level design (and a Switch port that needed love at launch, to be fair). That mix of “licensed tie-in” and “studio that’s tackled complex systems” makes this family-friendly mystery-adventure worth a closer look.
On paper, this is a lighthearted action-puzzle adventure where you lead cases like missing kites and rumors of a Lake Ness Monster. You explore familiar Peanuts haunts – Charlie Brown’s house, the baseball field, the school, even the Kite-Eating Tree — while swapping Snoopy personas to solve environmental puzzles. Think: using a leaf blower to clear paths, a magnifying glass to highlight clues, or a metal detector to unearth hidden bits that gate progression or secrets.
The Peanuts crew — Charlie Brown, Lucy, Peppermint Patty, Marcie, Schroeder, Franklin, and more — each bring unique skills, which suggests team-based puzzle chains. That system can shine if it’s designed like Lego-style co-op: simple inputs with satisfying outcomes, easy character swapping, and playful cause-and-effect. The pitch includes a buffet of mini-games (baseball, football, memory tests, object hunts, piano playing, soapbox racing, and Red Baron dogfighting), which sounds great for variety — as long as they’re not just padding between fetch quests.
Let’s be blunt: GameMill’s licensed output is hit-or-miss. For every kid-friendly time-waster that lands okay, there’s a reminder of how low the bar can go for tie-ins. That’s why Cradle Games’ involvement matters. Hellpoint wasn’t perfect, but it showed a studio capable of systemic design — reading the room, this could translate into puzzle layouts that feel more like “ah-ha” moments than button prompts for toddlers.
Price-wise, £34.99/€39.99 for a mid-tier family game is reasonable if the campaign isn’t paper-thin. The Deluxe markup is modest, but the split is eyebrow-raising: two Red Baron mini-games, two soapbox tracks, a Joe Cool cosmetic, and 75 in-game comics. That’s a lot of brand love siphoned into a pricier package. At least the add-on is available separately as the Joe Cool Fun Pack for £11.99/€14.99, so you aren’t locked into a full re-buy. Still, it’s classic licensed game calculus: is the extra stuff real game content or fan service you’ll glance at once?
The press materials talk up “building a team of four,” but stop short of spelling out co-op specifics. That’s a big deal. Does the game support couch co-op for two to four players? Is there online? Drop-in/out for kids who bounce in and out of sessions? Or are you swapping between AI buddies solo? The difference between a fun weekend family pick and a one-and-done curiosity often comes down to those practical details.
If the team mechanics lean into approachable puzzles — e.g., Lucy holds a switch while Peppermint Patty runs the base paths, Snoopy’s Detective persona reveals a hidden trail, then Schroeder’s rhythm mini-game unlocks a door — this could scratch that cozy, shared-brain itch that Lego games perfected. If it’s mostly minigame compilation with thin connective tissue, parents will feel it fast.
Here’s the breakdown: Standard at £34.99/€39.99; Deluxe digital at £39.99/€49.99 with Joe Cool outfit, the extra Red Baron and soapbox racing mini-games, and a library of 75 Peanuts comics viewable in-game. There’s also a physical Deluxe exclusive to Nintendo Switch at Target in the U.S., which is a weird retail carve-out, but typical for licensed releases courting collectors. If you only want the add-ons later, the “Joe Cool Fun Pack” is £11.99/€14.99. That pricing nudges you to just buy Deluxe upfront if you’re all-in, but it’s worth asking: are those extra mini-games substantial tracks/missions or one-off diversions?
Nothing kills a family game night faster than a chuggy camera or tiny text. We don’t have hard numbers yet, but I’d keep an eye on Switch performance and load times, given GameMill’s track record and the fact that Cradle’s prior Switch work needed post-launch patches. Ideally, look for a steady 30fps, generous font sizes, colorblind-friendly clues, robust hint toggles, and simple remappable controls. If those boxes are checked, this becomes an easy recommendation for parents and younger siblings; if not, wait for impressions.
This caught my attention because it aims to combine Peanuts charm with team-based puzzling — a combo that, if executed, is perfect comfort food. The unknowns (co-op specifics, performance consistency, and whether mini-games are meaningful or filler) keep me in cautious territory. If you’re a Peanuts fan or hunting for a new couch co-op option, the Standard Edition price is fair. Just do the usual licensed-game due diligence: confirm co-op modes, check Switch performance, and decide if the Deluxe extras are worth it for your crew.
Snoopy & The Great Mystery Club looks like a cozy, puzzle-forward family adventure with smart persona swapping and plenty of charm. If co-op is solid and performance holds, it could be a low-stress hit. If not, it’s another licensed maybe — wait for reviews and pick the edition that actually adds value for you.
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