As someone who spends absolutely no time with children, Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster is a must-buy for anyone with children, so start impregnating everyone you see if you're in dire need of an excuse to play this adorable game. Is the game really a must-buy for parents? I actually can't answer that for two reasons: one, as stated earlier, I have no child or spend time with children in general; and two, I only played a snippet and cannot comment on the game as a whole. That said, Once Upon a Monster has all the charm of Sesame Street and was a solid experience I can only assume a child, and parents alike, would love long time.
In my little time with the uncharacteristically friendly monsters, I was immediately impressed with the amount of color and vibrancy. The game is by no means a visual powerhouse technically, but the style and Sesame Street vibe is in full effect. In addition to the psychedelic, but drug-free, visuals, the audio is all top-notch, with characters voiced by their actual voice actors. Every crevice feels right and the Kinect controls all seem to work rather well, but nothing I played required precise controls—such as dancing, sneaking, and creeping around—so that may be part of the reason.
Does all of this make for a game adults want to play by themselves? No, not exactly. It's not to say the game is bad or any of that jazz, but it is clearly directed towards families and children, which left me with a feeling of pedophilia as I played—the best kind of pedophilia; still, not a great feeling. And if you don't want to look like an utter idiot while playing, stay far, far away. Not looking like an idiot is an impossibility, but I've been told looking like an idiot is part of parenthood, so good luck with that. I had plenty of nostalgic moments of my youth while playing, but I just can't see myself (or anyone) playing it as a childless man (or woman). But please, don't trust the opinion of a childless man, check out the game for yourself right now by downloading the demo here.