Carmen Sandiego Review: Is It Worth It for Fans and Newcomers?
A fun mix of nostalgia, puzzles, and learning. Carmen Sandiego returns with a simple, enjoyable detective adventure.
Revisiting a game series you loved as a kid feels like exploring the old basement of your childhood home. Memories come rushing back, and that’s exactly what happened when I played the new Carmen Sandiego game. The moment Carmen appeared in her classic red trench coat and fedora, I felt like I was eight years old again — sitting in front of a computer, solving puzzles using math, geography, and history. Even after 40 years, the thrill of chasing clues and solving mysteries is still there, though some of the new features don’t hit the mark.
As someone who learned geography while hunting down criminals around the world in those old games, I was excited to jump back into the Carmen Sandiego universe. The new adventure, developed by Gameloft, pulls some ideas from the Netflix series that ended in 2021 and uses a similar cartoon art style. Luckily, you don’t need to know Carmen’s backstory or her connection to the group VILE to enjoy the game. What’s interesting is that, for the first time, players get to play as Carmen herself — wearing her signature hat — but it doesn’t really change how the game feels.
The original Carmen Sandiego games were educational, focusing on learning while solving cases. The new version mixes things up — it adds puzzle-solving, quick-time events, some top-down exploration, and even trivia questions. These updates make the game world feel bigger and more fun compared to the old DOS versions. There’s more to do now than just clicking on locations and answering school-style questions. Still, some new parts like hang-gliding and swinging across rooftops feel unnecessary — the game would be just as fun without them.
New Features Make Carmen Sandiego Game World Feel Bigger and More Fun
As you chase VILE thieves from one country to another, you’ll gather two types of clues: one to figure out your next destination and another to narrow down suspects in ACME’s database. In the old ’80s and ’90s games, players used real almanacs to answer trivia and solve clues. But now, all that info is stored within the game itself.
During your mission, you’ll collect facts like airport codes, exports, languages, and more. This in-game almanac helps you decide your next move. You’ll often have a few clues — flag colors, language, or which side of the road people drive on — to pick the correct city from three choices.
You’ll also gather details to identify the criminal behind each case. The updated ACME Database makes this easy — you can filter suspects by hair color, hobbies, favorite foods, and even fears. It feels great to narrow down the list until only one villain is left. But be careful — if you guess wrong, it’s game over for Carmen, and you’ll have to try again.
Narrowing Down Suspects Feels Rewarding
You’ll travel to exciting places like New Orleans, Barcelona, Singapore, and Brisbane to hunt for clues. Just like the classic Carmen Sandiego games, you explore key locations, talk to witnesses, and collect useful facts. This time, there’s more room to move around and make choices, even though the activities in each city are set.
Each case has several chapters, all connected by a main villain. Crimes range from stealing a bullet train in Japan to replacing free city Wi-Fi with paid “Vi-Fi.” In every city, you visit three spots to collect clues and get closer to solving the mystery.
When you explore places like Singapore’s Merlion or a Viking museum in Reykjavik, you’ll complete specific tasks — sometimes talking to people or solving fun puzzles like hacking safes or boosting wireless signals. These brain-teaser moments are fun and satisfying.
However, some action parts like using Carmen’s grappling hook or hang-glider feel less exciting. For example, the grappling hook mini-game can be too easy or weirdly hard because the icons move oddly. The hang-gliding part is just okay but doesn’t add much.
Personally, I enjoyed the puzzles way more than the forced action scenes. Fewer, well-designed brain games would’ve been better than the extra action tasks that feel like filler.
I would have enjoyed it more with extra brain-teasers
Carmen Sandiego isn’t as hard as the original 1985 game, but yes — you can still fail cases. Each case is timed, usually giving you five to seven days to solve it. Traveling, searching for clues, and solving puzzles all take time. If you fly to the wrong city, you waste hours. Run out of time, and the thief escapes — you’ll need to start over. Luckily, I didn’t feel rushed in the main story and often finished with time left.
However, messing up a task could cost you important clues. For example, if you fail at pickpocketing or miss a button prompt, you lose evidence. One or two mistakes are fine, but too many, and you won’t have enough info to catch the criminal. I could usually tell when I’d made a mistake — either I was too slow or missed something important.
That said, the campaign wasn’t super challenging. But since the series was always made for kids to learn while playing, that makes sense. I can easily imagine parents playing with their kids, solving puzzles, and learning fun facts about geography together. It’s simple, but it never feels too easy or boring.
For those wanting a challenge, the ACME Files mode is perfect. These are tougher cases styled like the old games, complete with pixel art. You get tricky trivia questions like “What’s the biggest island in the Caribbean?” or “What’s 4x13x80?” — stuff that really makes you think. I ran out of time on one ACME File case and felt determined to try again. These retro missions were a great addition and brought back a lot of childhood memories.
The historical cases visit the same cities as the main story, which makes the locations feel a bit repetitive. I do wish they added more places to explore. Still, you often find new facts when revisiting cities, so it’s worth looking around again.
In the end, nostalgia definitely helped me enjoy the game more. Every chapter is well-paced and keeps you thinking. I love games that challenge my brain — and Carmen Sandiego does that.
The only downside? The main story ends too suddenly. A free DLC is coming later this year, but finishing the story and seeing “Coming Soon” in the menu felt weird. Still, between the main campaign and the ACME Files, there’s around 15 hours of content, plus more if you tackle all the old cold cases.
Until the DLC drops, I’ll keep exploring and chasing down thieves — just like the good old days.
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Pros and Cons
| ✅ Pros | ❌ Cons |
|---|---|
| 🧠 Brings back childhood memories | 😕 Some action parts feel boring |
| 🎯 Fun mix of learning and puzzles | 🔁 Same cities get repeated |
| 👨👩👧 Great for kids and adults | ⏱️ Main story ends too quickly |
| 🕵️ You get to play as Carmen | 🎮 Some mini-games are too easy or too hard |
| 🔍 Easy-to-use ACME database to find suspects | 🧩 Needs more puzzles, less action |
| 🌎 Explore places like New Orleans & Singapore | 💤 Not very challenging for adults |
| 🧩 Brain puzzles are enjoyable | 🗝️ Failing tasks can make you lose important clues |
| 🎮 ACME Files mode adds tough, retro challenges | ⏳ Time limits can feel stressful |
| 📈 Good story flow and steady progress | 📺 Netflix-style features don’t change much |
| 📚 Learn new facts with the in-game almanac | 🌍 Could have added more countries to explore |
| 🕒 Around 15+ hours of gameplay | 🚧 Must wait for DLC to finish the story |
Conclusion
Carmen Sandiego’s new adventure feels like a fun mix of old and new. Some activities are more enjoyable than others, but overall, it’s a simple and fun detective game that tests your knowledge and makes you think. For kids, it’s a great way to learn while playing. For adults, it’s a light, nostalgic journey that’s worth taking as you travel the world once again.
