Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

The first stretch has an easy-to-understand pull. You are a rookie agent who has stumbled into a real Carmen Sandiego case, and the immediate goal is always tangible: get through the current area, uncover what you can, and keep following Carmen’s trail. The game spreads that chase across nine international locales, each divided into smaller areas, so progress comes in steady, manageable chunks rather than one enormous map.

Cole has a healthier movement kit than the premise initially suggests. He can double jump, roll from a crouch, hug walls, tightrope walk, hang from ledges and pipes, ride ziplines, and use his staff to pole vault. That range gives the platforming some welcome variety. His dart gun also has a practical use beyond fighting, letting you trigger distant switches when a route is blocked.

Combat and stealth are functional parts of the route forward rather than the main attraction. Cole bops enemies with his staff, and foes carry key codes needed to open forcefields. You can creep past security measures and gain an advantage on unaware enemies, which fits the junior-agent role nicely, but the core loop keeps returning to searching areas, collecting compasses, and opening the next barrier. That can become routine if you are not already enjoying the act of combing through a level.

The compass hunt has a clear purpose: it helps locate Carmen’s next destination. Puzzle pieces are a more optional-feeling reward, unlocking a jigsaw puzzle for Cole to complete. Maps, GPS details, transport back to previously explored areas in the current location, and messages from fellow operatives make it easier to stay oriented. It is a sensible set of tools, though you should go in ready for a game driven more by navigation and cleanup than by difficult detective reasoning.

Graphics

The game moves Cole through recognizable stops from New York to Thailand, with enemy-filled areas, forcefields, switches, ledges, pipes, and ziplines furnishing the action-platforming spaces. Its world-travel premise gives the journey a change of scenery, even when the practical business of collecting items and finding routes remains the same.

Story

Cole is not a seasoned super-detective; he is still in ACME training, and that makes his determination to catch Carmen a useful starting point. Finding GPS coordinates on the agency server leads him to a New York museum and a case involving stolen tribal drums. Carmen’s plan to reassemble them and unleash an unspeakable power gives the story a more overtly adventure-game threat than a simple theft investigation.

Jules and Shadow are away working in Siberia, so Cole receives their help through email rather than sharing the field with them. That setup keeps the focus squarely on his solo pursuit while still giving ACME a presence. Their messages serve as a reminder that he is part of a larger operation, even if he is the one doing the legwork.

The strongest story ingredient is the globe-trotting pursuit itself. Carmen remains the elusive target, and each new location feeds the feeling that Cole is piecing together her route. Still, the narrative is mainly there to propel the next search. If you want constant character drama or elaborate case-solving, the stolen-drums plot is a straightforward excuse to travel, platform, and collect clues.

Overall Experience

This is a decent, slightly awkward action-platformer wearing a Carmen Sandiego coat. Its best moments come when Cole’s acrobatics, dart-gun switch puzzles, and stealthy approach give an area several things to think about at once. The game has enough moving parts to avoid feeling like a pure brawler or a pure collectible hunt.

Frustration is most likely to set in when the search for compasses and key codes starts to feel like busywork. Because forcefields govern access to later paths, you are regularly working through the same basic chain of explore, confront enemies, obtain access, and move on. The atlas facts and detective-agency framing add flavor, but they do not turn every obstacle into a mystery to solve.

At a 6.3, this lands in the range of a game with real charm and limited staying power. Give it a chance if you enjoy older platform adventures, do not mind collecting your way through each destination, and want a lighter Carmen Sandiego spin on that formula. Skip it if the name makes you hope for a clue-heavy detective game first and an action-platformer second.

Retro Replay Score

6.3/10