The new Carmen Sandiego game will be a worthy addition to the franchise

When it comes to educational video games, the Carmen Sandiego series sets the standard. The original computer game, Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?released in 1985, has spawned dozens of sequels and spin-offs since. Set in 2025, the first new franchise installment in a decade, simply titled Carmen Sandiegowill be on store shelves (or, perhaps more accurately, on public library shelves). Polygon’s few hours of early access to the game revealed that it’s not just a game for fans of the series, but also deeply educational, which is refreshing in an era of overstimulation and hastily created content for kids. Carmen Sandiego Also looks like an excellent, kid-friendly crash course on how to play video games.

In this new puzzle adventure game, Carmen Sandiego is a spy who takes on a case-by-case basis for a vicious theft organization called VILE (as she does in the Netflix TV show adaptation That way). Players will play Carmen and travel around the world to find clues about suspects, hunt down VILE agents, and ultimately issue an arrest warrant to arrest the culprit.

Educational elements are built into the game mechanics, so you can’t help but learn facts about the countries you’re visiting. For example, a witness who saw a thief might give you some information, such as the thief talking about studying Mayan ruins and that they had red hair. You can use the first information to choose your next destination – in this case, Mexico City. At the same time, you can use what you know about the thief himself to narrow down your suspect database, such as marking “red hair” as “yes.”

Learning doesn’t just come in the form of static facts; Carmen Sandiego It’s designed in a way that encourages players to focus and absorb the big picture. There will always be kids (and gamers in general) who want to skip all the dialogue and text and just focus on the interactive game mechanics. But in this case, if you don’t read these, your mission will quickly fail, so the motivation to accept the facts and make an informed decision is high, and the fun gameplay mechanics are still present throughout. so, Carmen Sandiego It also successfully teaches players how to play different types of video games; you’ll control Carmen in first-person in one minigame, then solve a tangled wire puzzle in the next. If you were on another 10-hour flight around the world, you’d find yourself jotting down some math problems to determine how much time you have left to solve the case. You’ll sit in front of your computer for a while, deciding whether to hunt down suspected thieves or simply pickpocket them.

The game isn’t too easy and doesn’t have voice reading, so it may only be suitable for children who are strong readers or who are playing the game with adults who can read. There are a few quirks that make me think it would be perfect for a classroom, where teachers could help students hunt for clues online (e.g. Which country is Nara Park in?) and define difficult words (such as “southpaw” for left-handers). But according to this preview, Carmen Sandiego It looks like this will be a near-perfect addition to the series, and more importantly, a near-perfect game for kids who love to learn.
The game isn’t sanitized, nor is it a watered-down version of the original – simply put, it doesn’t try too hard to appeal to the youngest players, although I think they’ll enjoy it. It’s a Carmen Sandiego game through and through, which means it’s really fun and Cleverly educational. I, a childless adult, might spend a few extra hours just for fun – but if I did If I had kids, I’m sure this would be their first killer RPG/puzzle game.

Carmen Sandiego It will be released on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X and Nintendo Switch in the first quarter of 2025. This preview is played on PC using a pre-release download code provided by Gameloft and HarperCollins Productions. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, although Vox Media may earn commissions on products purchased through affiliate links. you can find For more information about Polygon’s ethics policy click here.