It’s always a bit odd to encounter games that are really made for a different market, bumping into popular characters and franchises that you aren’t aware of. Of course, with games you’d ideally have no issues, since the fundamentals of play would simply draw you in, whether the trappings were familiar or not. Where it can then get a bit awkward is when you get a bit of a double whammy where you don’t have any investment in the characters you’re playing with, and the gameplay is sorely lacking. Unfortunately, that’s where I’ve landed with Upin & Ipin Universe.

Based on a children’s animated series from Malaysia, you’ll be playing as the brothers Upin and Ipin as they move through their world in Kampung Durian Runtuh. In general, the game has a very open-ended nature, with you being left to explore, talk to people and try to help them out, possibly get into some trouble, and simply go wherever your curiosity takes you. The experience is really built around discovery and the surprises you’ll find, whether in the form of a variety of different mini games, or encounters with your friends and a number of different townsfolk.

The problem is that, aside from a lack of guidance that could help you feel like there would be an ultimate point to any of this, none of it is particularly compelling. Yes, it’s interesting to put yourself into a more child-like mindset, just meandering around and amusing yourself, but so much of what there is to do is unrewarding or poorly implemented. Aside from mini games being intuitive and naturally fun, in order for them to leave a great impression the controls really can’t afford to get in the way, but here they sometimes do. Between that and your objectives not always being very clear, too often the experience doesn’t really come together, making the fun in it tougher to find.

While I have no doubt that perhaps people familiar with these characters may be more inclined to give this game a look, on a general level it feels like one of those well-known cases where a licensed game fails to meet the expectations for the market. Throw in a price that feels misguided before even getting into the issues with quality, and this feels like a pretty big misstep.