Ludography
66/100
Players11 ratings
60/100
Critics2 reviews

Where to get it

Bolt cover

2008 · Avalanche Software · Action-adventure · Adventure

Bolt

In Bolt, players take on the heroic personas of the TV star dog, Bolt, and his owner, Penny, from the high-action television series featured within the film.

Released
18 November 2008
Platforms
Nintendo DSPlayStation 2PlayStation 3WiiWindowsXbox 360macOS
Genres
Action-adventureAdventurePlatformer
Developers
Avalanche SoftwareAltron
Publishers
Disney Interactive Studios
Modes
Single-player
Perspective
Third person
Themes
Action
Engine
Unreal Engine 3
Country
JapanUnited States
Age ratings
ESRB E10+CLASS_IND 10
Languages
Czech, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Spanish (Spain)
Time to beat
6hwith extras

About

Bolt is a 2008 action game published by Disney Interactive Studios. It was developed by Avalanche Software for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, PlayStation 2, and Microsoft Windows, and Altron for Nintendo DS. It is based on the 2008 CGI-animated film of the same name. An original Xbox version, that was not released, was reviewed by the German rating system USK, which means it was playable from start to finish.

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Disney has released multiple versions for different game systems, including Nintendo Wii, PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 and 2. The main console versions play similarly to each other, where for the majority of the game the player will control Bolt, using various attacks and superpowers to beat up Calico's henchmen, while Penny solves simple puzzles and goes through levels with simplistic stealth gameplay. These versions also have hacking mini-games that are constant throughout the game, where the player shoots at various shapes in a twin-stick Shoot 'em up gameplay. The Nintendo DS version is separate, with reduced graphics quality and slightly different gameplay mechanics. Additionally, the DS version is not voiced, but instead uses captions on the screen to tell the user what the characters are saying.

A mobile game was also released. The game was developed by Enorbus and Disney Mobile. The mobile version is a 2D platformer, with 4 levels in three different locations, making for a total of 12 levels. , Bolivia, and Dr.

Story

In the game, the player follows and controls the super dog Bolt and Penny on various missions taking place in the fictional TV show universe from the movie. The levels are shared between Bolt and Penny. By using Bolt's superpowers, the player can fight hordes of enemies. New powers, such as Superbark and Laser Eyes, will be unlocked during the game.

While Bolt has superpowers, Penny has only her maneuverability by using her Wheelbar and is incentivized to take down enemies in a stealthy way. The game focuses on Bolt's fake TV life, not the actual movie storyline. Penny's father has been abducted by the evil Dr. Calico, and Penny and Bolt must travel through 5 countries to save him.

Reception

Bolt received "mixed" reviews on all platforms except the DS version, which received "generally unfavorable reviews", according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. Ryan Clements of IGN criticized the bland story of the console versions, which he described as "paper thin". He also criticized said versions' optimization, boring voice acting and repetitive music, as well as their short lasting appeal. In Japan, where the DS version was ported for release on August 13, 2009, Famitsu gave it a score of three sixes and one five for a total of 23 out of 40.

Releases by platformdates and regions as published

PlatformReleasedRegions
Windows18 November 2008Worldwide
Wii18 November 2008Worldwide
PlayStation 318 November 2008Worldwide
Xbox 36018 November 2008Worldwide
PlayStation 218 November 2008Worldwide

Editions and related releases

Based on
Bolt
Ported as
Bolt
Built on it
Bolt

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Description adapted from its source, CC BY-SA 4.0.