Since then, Pixar has gone on to release 25 feature films, the vast majority of which have earned a spot not only in the animation halls of fame, but also in countless people’s hearts. Many might think that Pixar’s defining blend of family-friendly fun and emotive storytelling wouldn’t translate well to a video game experience, and they’d generally be right. However, despite not quite carrying the same level of unique Pixar charm, quite a few of the company’s video game tie-ins still offer a good few hours of simple fun.
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A-Tier
Toy Story 2: Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue (1999): Widely considered to be one of the best 3D platformers on the original PlayStation, Toy Story 2: Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue is still remembered very fondly today by many. Putting the player in Buzz’s Space Ranger boots, Toy Story 2 tasks them with action-platforming around a handful of charmingly oversized environments, ranging from Andy’s room, to Al’s toy barn. The ability to unlock new abilities and explore these graphically-impressive environments freely made Toy Story 2 a must-have for younger fans of the movie, and still makes it worthy of a revisit today. The Incredibles (2004): Despite some pretty frustrating Violet levels, The Incredibles is one of Pixar’s best video game outings. With each of the superhero family members getting their own set of stages, the gameplay in The Incredibles is constantly switched up, keeping the six-hour experience varied and exciting. Some great visuals and audio make The Incredibles’ set pieces pop, and keeps the game looking surprisingly good almost two decades later. The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer (2005): Though it lacks the same level of polish as the first Incredibles title, Rise of the Underminer provides a solid two-player co-op experience that’s pretty fun for both kids and adults. Taking on the role of either Mr. Incredible or Frozone, players battle through a series of underground caves and robot facilities, smashing and freezing hordes of enemies along the way. Environments tend to blend into one, with a dull color pallette, and the combat can get repetitive, but the novelty of playing alongside another makes Rise of the Underminer stand out. Cars (2006): Boasting a fairly empty but well-presented open-world, the first Cars tie-in game is much more ambitious than it needs to be. With some surprisingly decent driving mechanics, 10 playable characters to choose from, and a variety of side missions and races, Cars holds up from a gameplay perspective. Toy Story 3: The Video Game (2010): While the main story mode of Toy Story 3 is an absolutely fine third-person action-platformer, it’s the game’s Toy Box mode that makes it a real stand out. In this mode, players can customize their own Wild West-inspired town, filling it with iconic Toy Story characters and items, and participate in a variety of charming missions, both in single player and co-op. Cars 2 (2011): Though Cars 2 ditches the free roam of its predecessor, it more than makes up for it with some drastically improved racing mechanics, and split-screen multiplayer. Cars 2 is also a graphically superior game to its predecessor, with tracks that explore a breadth of vibrant locations. Cars 3: Driven to Win (2017): Essentially just a continuation of its predecessor, Cars 2, Cars 3: Driven to Win refines some racing mechanics and adds a few more game modes to make it a pretty great cart racing experience. A slew of unlockable characters and tracks also give it quite a bit of replayability. LEGO The Incredibles (2018): It certainly isn’t one of the best LEGO games, but it may scrape in as one of the better Pixar-based titles. LEGO Incredibles has a fairly short campaign, consisting of just the two Incredibles movies, but its open-world is filled with some enjoyable side missions and classic LEGO collectable fun. There’s also a wealth of unlockable characters that come from other Pixar properties, making the game feel like a celebration of the animation studio’s history.
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B-Tier
Toy Story Racer (2001): It wasn’t the best racer released for the original PlayStation, but Toy Story Racer surprised many with its detailed and varied track layouts, its vast roster of playable characters, and its plethora of different game modes. The game’s simplistic controls made it a good cart racer for younger gamers. Monsters, Inc. Scream Team (2001): Another Pixar title for the original PlayStation that didn’t quite live up to the platform’s competition, Monsters, Inc. Scream Team is a decent, but unrefined 3D platformer. But again, simplified controls make it a great starter platformer for younger audiences. Ratatouille (2007): The first of many generic movie tie-in platformers on this tier list, Ratatouille is an absolutely fine game, but it also doesn’t do much to separate itself from other platformers of the time. Some decent graphics help to capture the visual style of its movie counterpart, and some simple platforming make it easily accessible to all ages. Cars Mater-National Championship (2007): Acting as a sequel to the first Cars tie-in game, Cars Mater-National Championship features a handful of free-roam hub worlds, but its mediocre driving mechanics and repetitive racing gameplay does set it behind its precursor. WALL-E (2008): Another mid-level platformer tie-in, WALL-E, much like Ratatouille, captures the essence of its source material quite well with its visual and audio design, but its repetitive platforming gameplay wears thin after just an hour or two. Kinect Rush: A Disney-Pixar Adventure (2012): Featuring eight beautifully-rendered worlds based on different Pixar movies, Kinect Rush: A Disney-Pixar Adventure is a fun romp through the studio’s catalog of superb properties. However, some awkward Kinect controls can make it a frustrating experience. A remastered version for the Xbox One removed these motion controls, but this did expose how generic the gameplay actually felt. Brave (2012): A slight step above the other direct Pixar movie tie-ins of this era, Brave offers some fairly challenging puzzle sections, and some pretty satisfying combat encounters. A surprisingly complex skill tree also makes an appearance in this game.
C-Tier
Toy Story (1995): The first Pixar game ever made, Toy Story is a pretty barebones side-scrolling platformer. Though its pixelated textures look a little rough today, for its time, Toy Story actually had outstanding graphics, and some good audio design. Buzz Lightyear of Star Command (2000): Coming out a year after the excellent Toy Story 2, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command is a rushed 3D action-platformer that takes elements from a variety of different genres, but fails to make them work together. Finding Nemo (2003): Despite having some solid graphics, Finding Nemo is a simple, repetitive adventure game that doesn’t really evolve over its surprisingly lengthy 18-hour runtime. Up (2009): Up is yet another late 2000s Pixar action-platformer with non-engaging gameplay, but as opposed to those in the B-Tier section, Up’s same-y environments do little to bolster the experience. Cars Race-O-Rama (2009): While Cars Race-O-Rama features even more open-world hubs as its predecessors, it also features the worst gameplay of the bunch, with some unsatisfying driving controls and little to incentivize exploration.
D-Tier
A Bug’s Life (1998): The first Pixar 3D platformer, A Bug’s Life was fairly ambitious, but unfortunately stumbles at every hurdle. With some pretty awful framerate issues, and subpar graphics, even for the time, A Bug’s Life has gone down in history as one of Pixar’s worst video game offerings. Monsters, Inc. (2001): Monsters, Inc. for the PlayStation 2 is the most barebones of all Pixar’s platformer tie-ins. Featuring rudimentary gameplay that never evolves past stage one, and some poor graphics that pale in comparison to its competition, Monsters, Inc. is best forgotten. Monsters, Inc. Scream Arena (2002): Though its dialogue comes close to imitating the charm of its source material, Monsters, Inc. Scream Arena is an extremely flawed dodgeball game that has no mechanical depth at all. Ratatouille: Food Frenzy (2007): A game that essentially just compiled the mini-games from the DS version of the movie tie-in, Ratatouille: Food Frenzy is the very definition of a cash grab, offering practically no new or worthwhile content for the price tag.
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