For many children, video games are a first introduction to interactive entertainment, and finding something that is both accessible and worthwhile can be a challenge for parents. Sesame Street: Friends & Fun, developed by Infinigon Games and published by Outright Games, approaches this with a familiar cast of characters, simple activities and a neighborhood built around helping others. Rather than trying to appeal to seasoned players with complex mechanics, it embraces the educational foundations of the long-running television series. The result is a cheerful adventure that understands its intended audience, even if its limited complexity means it has relatively little to offer once children grow accustomed to its activities.
Players begin by creating their own character and moving into Sesame Street, where Grover helps introduce them to their new surroundings. A larger celebration provides a loose objective that connects the various errands and activities, from assisting Bert and Ernie with finding missing rubber ducks to helping Cookie Monster prepare food and lending a hand with gardening. Elmo, Abby, Big Bird and other familiar faces make the world feel recognisable to fans of the series, while Tango, Elmo’s dog, provides additional companionship and guidance. This structure gives young players a reason to explore without imposing a complicated narrative on the experience. More importantly, the emphasis on helping neighbors and working together reinforces the show’s positive values. However, the story is primarily a framework for moving between activities rather than an especially engaging adventure in its own right.
Exploration is straightforward, with the neighborhood gradually opening up as players progress and complete tasks. The experience extends beyond the initial streets to include a park and a fairground, offering additional spaces to discover, objects to collect and activities to try. There is a pleasant sense of freedom in being able to wander off the main path, search for hidden items, clean up rubbish or take part in a quick game of football or basketball. Rewards can also be used to decorate the player’s home and personalise the surroundings, providing a modest incentive to keep exploring. The various errands give the adventure a welcome mixture of small objectives, and the familiar characters help make even mundane tasks feel inviting. Nevertheless, the underlying structure is repetitive: collect something, find a character, follow a few instructions and move on to the next job. Adults and older children are unlikely to find much depth in this loop, and the limited reasons to revisit completed activities become increasingly apparent over time.
The educational mini-games are where Friends & Fun makes its strongest case for a place in a family’s game collection. Instead of relying on traditional action or demanding platforming, the activities encourage players to recognise shapes, match objects, sort items by size, practise counting, arrange numbers and solve simple puzzles. Some tasks involve drawing shapes on screen or moving puzzle pieces into the correct positions, introducing a degree of coordination alongside the basic learning exercises. Grover’s optional challenges are particularly useful, as they give children additional goals to discover independently while reinforcing the skills introduced elsewhere. The individual activities are generally short enough to maintain a young player’s attention, and completing them can provide a satisfying sense of achievement without requiring prolonged sessions. This makes the game particularly suitable for preschoolers who are beginning to learn how video games work. However, the educational challenges are deliberately uncomplicated, so their appeal depends heavily on the player’s age and experience. Children who have already mastered these basic concepts may quickly find the activities too easy.
Accessibility is another considerable strength, especially on PlayStation 5, where the game provides a gentle introduction to using a controller. Movement is handled through the left stick, while interacting with characters and objects generally requires a single button press. The occasional dragging, tracing and puzzle-solving sequences introduce different inputs without overwhelming inexperienced players. Instructions are easy to follow, and the forgiving nature of the challenges means that mistakes rarely become a major obstacle. Younger children may still need help with certain tasks, particularly those involving more precise movements, but the overall design encourages them to experiment and gradually become more confident. Local cooperative play is also a welcome addition for families who want to participate together rather than leave a child to figure everything out alone. The experience is designed to keep the focus on shared discovery instead of demanding technical skill.
Visually, Sesame Street: Friends & Fun makes an immediate impression with its bright colors, friendly character designs and inviting environments. The presentation suits the franchise, making the different locations easy to distinguish and giving the neighborhood an appealing atmosphere. The familiar cast is a significant part of the experience, as seeing recognisable characters in an interactive setting provides an extra incentive for young fans to explore – though the game doesn’t account for local differences in the cast. The fully voiced dialogue also helps bring the world to life, making conversations feel more engaging than they would if children had to rely on text alone. The audio follows the same gentle approach, combining character dialogue, playful remarks and upbeat music to maintain a consistently welcoming mood. There is little dramatic tension, but that is hardly a problem for an adventure aimed at preschoolers. The technical presentation is less impressive when examined closely, however. Some textures lack polish, and certain mini-games feel dated in their execution. These limitations are noticeable, but the colorful art direction and familiar characters do much of the work in keeping the experience appealing to its intended audience.
There are also a few practical shortcomings that parents should consider. Most notably, the straightforward activities and relatively small number of meaningful progression systems limit the game’s longevity. After doing and collecting everything there is, you’re about six hours in, after which there is little incentive to return beyond revisiting the mini-games. This is not necessarily a deal-breaker for a game aimed at very young children, who may prefer short sessions and repeat their favourite activities, but it does mean that the initial variety should not be mistaken for substantial long-term depth. Technical hiccups are another concern.
Sesame Street: Friends & Fun ultimately succeeds because it knows what it wants to be. Infinigon Games has created an approachable introduction to gaming that combines familiar characters, gentle exploration and simple educational activities in a way that feels appropriate for preschoolers. Its colorful presentation, fully voiced cast and forgiving controls help make the first steps into interactive entertainment less intimidating, while the cooperative option gives families another reason to play together. At the same time, repetitive objectives, basic mini-games and modest replay value prevent it from becoming a particularly substantial adventure. Older children and experienced players will probably exhaust its appeal quickly, but that is not the audience the game is designed to serve. For parents looking for a first console game for a young Sesame Street fan, Friends & Fun is a worthwhile choice, provided expectations are set around short, uncomplicated play sessions rather than a lengthy adventure with lasting challenges.
Score: 7.1/10