A mystery game where the stakes stay reassuringly small

Mystery stories usually thrive on tension. A crime to solve, a suspect to uncover, a twist waiting around the corner. Snoopy & The Great Mystery Club deliberately avoids most of that. Its investigations revolve around the kind of everyday mishaps that would feel right at home in a Peanuts comic strip: misplaced items, neighbourhood misunderstandings, and small mysteries that matter deeply to the children involved.

It’s a gentle approach that suits the source material remarkably well.

Developer Cradle Games places Snoopy at the centre of a small investigative team formed with Charlie Brown and the rest of the familiar gang. Rather than dramatic plotlines or elaborate deduction, the game focuses on relaxed exploration, simple puzzles and light storytelling. The result is an adventure that feels welcoming and nostalgic, even if it rarely pushes the player very far.

On Nintendo Switch 2, it plays smoothly and comfortably, offering a laid-back experience that feels particularly suited to handheld play.

Following clues around the neighbourhood

The game is structured as a series of small cases, each sending Snoopy and the Mystery Club to investigate a different problem somewhere around the neighbourhood.

The core loop is straightforward:

• Explore familiar Peanuts locations

• Speak with characters to gather clues

• Search environments for items

• Complete small puzzles or mini-games

• Piece together the solution

Locations include several recognisable settings from the comics and animated specials: Charlie Brown’s house, the baseball field, the schoolyard, and the ever-present kite-eating tree.

Each area functions as a modest hub where conversations and interactions gradually reveal the next step in the investigation. The pace is deliberately relaxed, encouraging players to wander between characters and explore the environment rather than rushing from objective to objective.

For younger players, the structure is easy to understand and never overwhelming. For older players, it can feel a little too guided.

Snoopy leads the Mystery Club

Although Snoopy handles most of the exploration, the “Mystery Club” concept allows other Peanuts characters to contribute to solving cases.

Different members of the gang provide small gameplay abilities or puzzle interactions. Lucy, Schroeder, Peppermint Patty and others occasionally assist with tasks, helping uncover clues or enabling certain mini-games.

It’s a light mechanic rather than a fully developed system, but it adds some welcome variety and ensures the broader cast plays a role in each mystery.

The writing does a decent job of capturing the understated humour that defines Peanuts. Conversations feel playful and familiar, with the characters behaving much as fans would expect.

Mini-games add variety

To prevent investigations from becoming repetitive, the game frequently introduces short mini-games inspired by classic Peanuts moments.

These include activities such as:

• Baseball challenges

• Lucy’s infamous football routine

• Memory puzzles

• Musical segments at Schroeder’s piano

• Boxcar downhill races

• Snoopy’s aerial battles with the Red Baron

None of these are especially complex, but they provide welcome changes of pace between exploration segments.

They also reinforce the playful spirit of the source material. Rather than feeling like distractions from the main game, they feel like small scenes lifted directly from the Peanuts universe.

A lovingly recreated Peanuts world

Where Snoopy & The Great Mystery Club excels is in its presentation.

The visual style faithfully recreates the look of the comic strip and animated specials. Characters retain the simple shapes and expressive designs that have defined Peanuts for decades, while environments use soft colours and uncluttered layouts to capture the feel of Schulz’s world.

The tone is equally authentic. Dialogue remains gentle and understated, avoiding exaggerated slapstick in favour of the quiet humour that made the comics so enduring.

For longtime fans, simply exploring this world and interacting with its characters carries a strong sense of nostalgia.

A slower pace than it needs

The relaxed tone does occasionally drift into sluggishness.

Progress often involves walking across fairly large environments to speak with characters or retrieve items. Because objectives can be spread out, the game sometimes asks players to revisit the same areas several times during a single investigation.

None of this breaks the experience, but it does make the adventure feel slower than necessary.

Similarly, the mysteries themselves rarely become particularly complex. Many solutions are fairly obvious, and the puzzles seldom require much deduction.

Players looking for a more involved detective experience may find themselves wishing for a little more depth.

Switch 2 performance

On Nintendo Switch 2, the game performs reliably. The modest visual design means performance remains smooth throughout, with stable frame rates and quick load times.

While the game doesn’t push the hardware in any meaningful way, it benefits from the improved responsiveness and convenience of Nintendo’s latest console. The cosy, episodic structure also makes it well suited to short handheld sessions.

The Eurogamer-style verdict

Snoopy & The Great Mystery Club succeeds by staying true to the spirit of the Peanuts universe. Its mysteries are small, its puzzles simple, and its tone consistently gentle.

That simplicity won’t satisfy players looking for deeper detective gameplay, and the pacing occasionally slows things down more than necessary. But as a relaxed, family-friendly adventure, it delivers exactly what it promises.

Sometimes a quiet afternoon solving small neighbourhood mysteries with Snoopy is enough.

Pros

• Faithful recreation of the Peanuts world

• Charming visual style and writing

• Accessible puzzles suitable for younger players

• Variety of mini-games

Cons

• Mysteries are very easy

• Exploration can feel slow and repetitive

• Limited depth for experienced puzzle players

Score: 7/10

A warm and nostalgic Peanuts adventure that prioritises charm over challenge.

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