Ice Age: Scrat's Nutty Adventure

Ice Age: Scrat's Nutty Adventure is a 2019 action-adventure game developed by Just Add Water and published by Outright Games. It originally released for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Windows, with a Google Stadia port in 2021. It is based on the Ice Age franchise by 20th Century Fox and Blue Sky Studios, and was the first video game in the series to be released following Disney's 2019 acquisition of 21st Century Fox. The game focuses on Scrat, who has to complete obstacles, puzzles and beating some old foes in an attempt to retrieve The Acorn.

Story
The game follows Scrat continuing to chase the same goal as in the films, to get The Acorn. While pursuing The Acorn, he falls into a Scratazon Temple, where the Acorn is entombed in an offering spot. To get The Acorn, Scrat must seek four legendary Crystal Nuts from across the world of Ice Age.

Gameplay
The game takes on the form of a 3D platformer. The player controls Scrat, with the gameplay being compared to that of 2006's Ice Age 2: The Meltdown, which allows you to jump, roll around, throw objects, and attack enemies. As the player defeats regional bosses, thus gathering the Crystal Nuts, Scrat gains new abilities such as a double jump, thus allowing the player more access over more areas of the levels. The game consists of 12 levels, split across 5 different areas (Ice Cliffs, the Ice Fields, the Ice Caves, and the Hidden World).

Development
Ice Age: Scrat's Nutty Adventure was developed by Just Add Water and published by Outright Games. Just Add Water CEO Stewart Gilray stated the inclusion of humour was one of the most important factors in the game's development. The game's score was composed by Allister Brimble.

Reception
The Nintendo Switch version received "generally unfavorable reviews" and the PlayStation 4 version "mixed or average reviews" according to review aggregator Metacritic. In a review for Screen Rant Robin Burks called the game "a poor imitation of Crash Bandicoot that was phoned in by the movie studio" and said that the game was "almost too simple, and provides minimal challenge, regardless of the age group." Ollie Reynolds of Nintendo Life was categorical when he simply stated "this isn't a good game", adding it was an "incredibly mundane platformer that's completely devoid of any originality or challenge." James Birks of The Xbox Hub however was more complementary, calling levels "well-designed in regards the layouts, feature collectibles to search out" and thought that they "generally [didn't] outstay their welcome length-wise."