Since I reviewed Panic at the Mansion not long ago, which is actually a sequel to The Cranky Volcano, when I first went to play this game I had to make sure I hadn’t made some mistake in terms of order. For whatever reason, this was released after its successor on the Switch, and while it obviously has a lot in common with that title, you can see in spots where this has a little less ambition overall. Oddly though, in some ways I prefer this title over its sequel, though overall that has a better total package.

The Cranky Volcano gets rolling with something parents should be familiar with, and that’s someone having a bit of a temper tantrum. Triggered by something that shouldn’t have been such a big deal, your character Charlie goes stomping off into the attic and ends up being transported to the realm of Asfalia, which happens to be having its own current issue with a Volcano that’s teetering on the edge. His goal will be to help out the characters that he encounters, save the day, and then return home.

Played much more like a straight adventure than its sequel, with much less deviation from that path, this is a pretty straightforward affair. You’ll do a limited amount of exploring, chat up anyone or anything you run into, get to know what problems they’re having, and set about to get them resolved. For the most part this works well, with some help provided by the fact that the areas you’ll work in are quite small, so there are only so many variables to account for, making solving puzzles very manageable. Of course, for anyone who’s already familiar with these sorts of games that will also make it seem very basic.

Regardless, when it comes to the intended audience this should be a hit. It lacks some of the variety its sequel offers, but depending on the young gamer playing this, a more focused experience could also end up being a plus. This one is more inclined to lead you through everything on a very constrained path, but if these sorts of games are new to the player it likely won’t feel that way, and instead just be a good and wholesome time.