Synopsis:
Miraculous: Rise of the Sphinx is an action-adventure based on the hit TV series Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir. Explore Paris as Marinette and Adrien, balancing everyday school life with superhero duties as Ladybug and Cat Noir to stop familiar villains and save the day.
Publisher: GameMill Entertainment
Reviewed on: PlayStation 4
Also available for: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC
Developer: Magic Pockets
CEO & Gameplay Programmer: Eric Zmiro
Artistic & Creative Director: Sabrina Tobal
Production Directors: Celia Vesco, Florian Dhesse
As a parent who has logged many hours of Miraculous Ladybug, I was curious how the show would translate for its young audience. My almost-five-year-old couldn’t wait to play a game based on one of his favourites.
Paris serves as a hub, where you roam as Marinette or Adrien to chat with friends and pick up tasks that unlock levels. The city looks the part and a floating yellow arrow keeps you moving in the right direction, while a map fast-travels to key spots. However, the lack of voice acting and reliance on lengthy text boxes dulls the momentum between missions, and invisible barriers make the “open world” feel constrained.
The story is original but peppered with familiar allies and villains. Levels culminate in boss encounters where Ladybug “De-Evilizes” foes using lucky charms, which fans will appreciate. Collectibles—shiny orbs and macarons—can be spent on new skills or health/resistance upgrades; my kid cared more about grabbing everything than min-maxing, which tracks.
Combat opens with simple, clear tutorials: a light/fight attack, dash and defend form the basics, and combining them gets you through most encounters and boss patterns. It’s accessible—my son picked it up quickly—but also repetitive, and occasional input lag doesn’t help the feel. Platforming fares worse: camera spacing and jump readability can be unclear, and later levels introduce glitches (getting stuck in geometry, odd moving-platform behaviour). He found those bugs hilarious; I found them frustrating.
Despite the rough edges, my son had fun. The colourful presentation, recognizable characters and straightforward levels fit younger players; the long loads, heavy text and muted in-between segments make it harder to recommend for older kids (or parents hoping to enjoy the ride). If you’re not already into the show, you’ll likely bounce off the pacing and thin connective tissue. But asked for his rating, my co-tester declared it “super super super super duper great!”—and while I don’t share that enthusiasm, I did enjoy watching him enjoy it.
(Miraculous: Rise of the Sphinx code provided for review)
