Carmen Sandiego is a puzzle-adventure game that follows thief-turned-undercover-spy Carmen Sandiego as she tries to stop the evil VILE corporation. Read our review to see what it did well, what it didn't do well, and if it's worth buying.
Carmen Sandiego Review Overview
What is Carmen Sandiego?
Master thief Carmen Sandiego is back in the latest title of the acclaimed series of the same name. Developed and published by Gameloft, this entry follows Carmen as she teams up with ACME and goes against her former organization, VILE, who are out on a worldwide crime spree in preparation for their next big heist. Put your sleuthing and puzzle skills to the test as you hop from iconic destinations all around the globe, gathering clues about the pesky suspects. Narrow your suspect list by collecting info through interrogation and minigames from the townspeople who may have seen the slippery thief, then cross-checking that information on the ACME CrimeNet Database to round up an arrest warrant. Will you crack the cases, or will VILE come out as the victor?
Carmen Sandiego features:
⚫︎ Logic Puzzles
⚫︎ Thrilling Spy Story
⚫︎ Stunning Environments Of Real-Life Locations
⚫︎ Educational Fun Facts And Tidbits
⚫︎ Minigames
⚫︎ THE Carmen Sandiego!
| Digital Storefronts | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Steam |
 PlayStation |
 Xbox |
 Switch |
||||
| $29.99 | |||||||
 App Store |
 Google Play |
||||||
| Requires active Netflix subscription | |||||||
Carmen Sandiego Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
 Fun And Educational Approachable Gameplay Right Mix Of Puzzle And Minigame |
Optimization Issues Forgettable Soundtrack |
Carmen Sandiego Overall Score - 64/100
Carmen Sandiego’s 2025 rendition brings back the vibes of the titles from the 90s, packaged in one modern and upgraded bundle. It has all the beloved logic puzzle gameplay that everyone, old and new, can enjoy, coupled with minigames in between that help space out sections from getting too wordy and stale—it also retains its educational factor, teaching players about the locations they’re visiting. All of these in one lovely modern day repaint. However, its weakness lies in its steep price tag, forgettable soundtrack, and poor optimization for PCs, mauled by frame rate drops and above average hardware usage for what is essentially a mobile port.
Carmen Sandiego Story - 7/10
The story has the titular character, Carmen Sandiego, supported by the ACME Detective Agency, go on a globetrotting journey to thwart the plans of the evil V.I.L.E corporation, who have gone on a massive crime spree and stealing valuable artifacts and machines in preparation for a huge heist. It’s a pretty typical spy-detective storyline, but it’s not boring or stale, and it presents its own interesting twists and turns to keep the plot going.
However, it’s notable that this entry has Carmen work with ACME, which is a complete turn from the original games where Carmen herself is the head of V.I.L.E and that the players are tasked to catch her and her agents and apprehend them for their crimes. Players who have played the previous games may be caught off-guard with this sudden plot change.
Carmen Sandiego Gameplay - 8/10
As its bread and butter, Carmen Sandiego’s gameplay loop revolves around puzzles, logical thinking, and data gathering, with a sprinkling of minigames here and there. The sleuthing and puzzle portions are not terribly hard, and can be enjoyed by all ages. It’s nice that the game is also rather educational, providing fun facts and tidbits about the country you’re in and the notable locations you’ll be visiting in game, shaping you up to be a well-informed spy.
Carmen Sandiego Visuals - 6/10
Carmen Sandiego’s modern and stylistic art style is stunning, and it carries on to the scenery of the destinations, which are rather detailed despite being rendered in cartoon-ish art. Some locations offer a short exploration experience in the form of mini-games, and the details from the locals to the objects in the environment are all well-done and are very reminiscent of the locations as they are in real life. However, as the game seems to be just a port from the mobile version, it suffers from frame rate drops and optimization issues on PC, which take away from the immersive experience of it all if your CPU is threatening to explode at any minute.
Carmen Sandiego Audio - 5/10
While the audio blends in well with the atmosphere, there’s nothing inherently special about it and is easily forgettable. Unfortunately, the background music doesn’t change as you hop from city to city, which is honestly a loss considering you get to travel to different places. Some scenes offer some modest voice acting, but most of the dialogue is just supplemented by short, single-word expressions by the character talking, which is usually Carmen or her sidekick Player. On another note, it’s worth noting that the sound effects are done quite well.
Carmen Sandiego Value for Money - 5/10
At $29.99, the price is rather steep. With cases being at least 10 to 15 minutes long and a chapter spanning at least 3 cases, you can get quite a few hours out of playing but it is quite expensive for a poorly optimized mobile port for PC. If it’s preferable, players can get the same experience on mobile through a service they may already have.
Carmen Sandiego Review: Facts And Fun In One Sleuthing Game
I’ve been playing video games since I was a wee child, and I’ve had a hand in playing educational games that were very popular back then. With bulky computers that still ran on dial-up, I turned to CD-ROMs of educational games like Encarta and Jumpstart to pass the time and learn more while my mother was taking up way too much phone time. Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego was definitely one of my favorites, and upon hearing that it was getting some sort of new rendition decades later in 2025, I was stoked to give it a try.
A Modern Rendition With A Little Bit Of A Twist
Let me preface things: if you’re looking for the exact same old experience from the earlier games only in a more modern format, you won’t get it here. For starters, the 2025 installment of Carmen Sandiego has you play AS her and not as an ACME agent that’s trying to capture her. In the game, Carmen teams up with the ACME Detective Agency (albeit a little reluctantly in ACME’s case) to track down VILE in an attempt to foil their plans for a grand heist. This is also based on the Netflix show of the same name, hence those who have played the originals and were hoping for the same experience and story from the 90s may be just a tad disappointed.
Fun Sleuthing And Educational To Boot
Nevertheless, it still carries somewhat the same feels as its predecessors despite being different. Carmen Sandiego was known for its roots as an educational game, teaching geography and historical facts to the kids of the 90s—and it does the same here. In an attempt to corner V.I.L.E agents and capture the suspect, Carmen hops from location to location to gather evidence and descriptions of the suspect from witnesses. As you collect information from the locals, you also get fun facts about the city you’re in, and the specific locations you’ll be visiting.
For instance, travelling to Tokyo enables Carmen to visit the Bullet Train, the Asakusa Market, or Ueno Park. Entering any of those locations brings up a tidbit about that specific place, such as the Asakusa Market being called Nakamise-Dori, and is a tourist spot full of Japanese-themed souvenirs and goodies. It’s a nice fun fact to keep in mind, especially for those who would like to know more about the world around them. It was also through my playthrough that I found out about the world’s largest Portuguese library—located not in Portugal, but Brazil!
Simple, Approachable Gameplay
Given its origins in being a game that caters to educating schoolchildren, it’s no surprise that the game itself is not inherently difficult. While there are puzzles and you will need to think and be observant to apprehend the right suspect or go to the right location, the game is good at helping you out. All clues and details you discover are placed in a handy-dandy notebook that is easily accessible, and clues pertaining to the suspect’s identity can immediately be used as a filter for the ACME suspect database. If you miss reading an important detail, it’s not lost forever and you won’t get caught off track. It’s a very welcome function especially for players who have the tendency to skip over big blocks of dialogue without knowing that an important piece of information is right there between the words.
With that said, another good thing about it is that you can easily play this with kids, which can turn into a fun bonding activity. Adults with young hearts or who would just want to try it out will also find themselves entertained by its gameplay and plot as well.
Puzzles And Minigames Blend Together Nicely
You’re an undercover thief-slash-spy for god’s sakes—you can’t just be interrogating people left and right. You need some action up in there too! Luckily enough, Carmen Sandiego includes fun minigames that cut into the monotony of dialogues upon dialogues. From playing match two to altering soundwaves to listen into the V.I.L.E agents’ conversation and breaking into safes with a listening device, the minigames are a welcome addition to what would otherwise be a game too dialogue-heavy. Most gamers in the present generation seemingly prefer some sort of action or gameplay in their games, and Carmen Sandiego just fills in that part with the right blend. One of my favorites is when Carmen puts on her spy glasses that can highlight footprints or heat signals, which can then be interacted with with a click, leading you closer to your target—it lets you feel very much like a spy.
Great Attention To Detail
Seeing as you’re a globetrotting undercover detective, it’s nice that all the locations show the details of that particular area. From notable monuments and destinations to the look of the locals living there, the 2025 Carmen Sandiego title has put them all down to a T. Of course, it’s not an exact replica of the area, but it’s a faithful recreation of these famous spots in these countries, rendered in a charming cartoon-y art style. Taking Tokyo as an example again as I have had the experience of visiting the city, I would say that the Asakusa Market and Ueno Park are pretty much a cartoon representation of what I saw with my very own eyes. Hence, players who have yet to visit any of these travel destinations have a good image of what’s to come in the future should they ever visit.
Optimization Issues From Being A Mobile Port
With the mobile Netflix Games version already released last month, the game’s build may have just been ported onto PC and console—this is evident with the random stuttering and frame rate drops that come out of nowhere. Additionally, the game doesn’t seem to be as optimized for PC as it puts my PC’s fans on full blast despite owning a pretty solid gaming setup. While I don’t own the most updated hardware, I can comfortably play intensive games with little to no issues.
Strangely enough, it was running as loud as it would be if I was playing a more hardware-intensive game like Baldur’s Gate 3, and the case itself was actually getting warm, but results may vary depending on your computer specs. It’s still baffling that a mobile port could use up that much resources on my desktop.
Forgettable Soundtrack
I do understand that the central focus of the game is cracking the case and finding out the culprit while also learning about the world, but I believe the title could have benefitted from at least different background tunes depending on the country Carmen was in. Some areas with ties to music, like New Orleans and their jazz music, do have some tunes playing in the background but only for one portion of the game when Carmen is out on the field looking for clues. Otherwise, it’s the same, mysterious-sounding instrumental spy-themed track being played across all the locations, which can get kind of boring after a while. Seeing as there are only a handful of countries to visit, it would have been a more immersive experience hearing a background track that shows off the nation’s music culture better.
Is Carmen Sandiego Worth It?
A Good Modern Take On A Beloved Series
Carmen Sandiego is a well-made follow-up to its video game predecessors as well as the Netflix animated series, should you be a fan of it. The core gameplay loop of logic puzzles and minigames is quite solid, and can keep one entertained for a few hours. While it may have its flaws in terms of PC optimization and a soundtrack that won’t get you humming even after playing it, Carmen Sandiego is a fun treat of a game for all ages, young and old. However, the price tag is still rather steep for its performance, so perhaps it may be better to grab it on a discount if it's available.
| Digital Storefronts | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steam |
PlayStation |
Xbox |
Switch |
||||
| $29.99 | |||||||
| App Store |
Google Play |
||||||
| Requires active Netflix subscription | |||||||
Carmen Sandiego FAQ
When was Carmen Sandiego first released?
The first Carmen Sandiego game was released in 1985, and has gotten several sequels and spin-offs since then. This 2025 rendition is the latest installment, following 2015’s Carmen Sandiego Returns.
Where is this Carmen Sandiego based off of?
The 2025 Carmen Sandiego game continues the plot from the Carmen Sandiego Netflix series that ran from 2019 to 2021.
Game8 Reviews
You may also like...
Carmen Sandiego Product Information
 |
|
| Title | Carmen Sandiego |
|---|---|
| Release Date | March 3, 2024 |
| Developer | Gameloft |
| Publisher | Gameloft |
| Supported Platforms | PC (Steam), Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, iOS, Android |
| Genre | Adventure, Puzzle, Strategy |
| Number of Players | 1 |
| ESRB Rating | RP |
| Official Website | Carmen Sandiego Official Website |
