The Grinch 2: Saving Christmas Review

A Side-Scroller Grows Into A 3D Collect-Athon

The Grinch 2: Saving Christmas is a $39.99 licensed family platformer from developer Casual Brothers Ltd. and publisher Outright Games Ltd., released on Steam on September 18, 2026 with no early access period and no prior release under this title. It's a direct sequel to the studio's own The Grinch: Christmas Adventures, and reviewers who played that first game are quick to point out the biggest structural change: where the original was a 2D side-scroller, Saving Christmas rebuilds the Grinch's story as a fully 3D platformer. "This is the next instalment from Casual Brothers first game 'The Grinch: Christmas Adventures', but this time its a 3D platformer and not like the first game where it was a side scrolling one," one reviewer explained, a clean, verifiable distinction rather than a cosmetic rebrand. With only nine English reviews a day after launch, every single one of them positive, the pool is small but unanimous.

Jumbo-Jumping Through Who-Ville

The pitch is squarely aimed at young players and Grinch fans: control the Grinch as he Jumbo-Jumps through the Grinch's Cave, the icy slopes of Mt. Crumpit, the springy mushroom forests of Who-wood, and the rooftops of Who-ville itself, collecting ornaments to decorate a prize-winning Christmas tree. Along the way he picks up gadgets, Rocket Skates, a Jetpack, and a Snowball Maker for freezing mischievous mice and forest bats, that reviewers describe as genuinely mixing up the traversal rather than sitting unused. "The Grinch will get a few fun gadgets that mix up the gameplay, play through a series of levels across a few different areas and collect lots of stuff," wrote one reviewer, while another summed up the whole loop more simply: "Grinch 2 is a fun and entertaining game with a great mix of adventure, challenges, and humour... it captures the Grinch's mischievous spirit really well."

Explore Freely, Nothing Blocks You In

The single detail that comes up unprompted in multiple independent reviews is the total absence of invisible walls. "The lack of invisible walls makes great for being to feel like you can explore and see more than intended," wrote one reviewer, and a second, more heavily-played review echoed the exact same praise almost word for word: "Personally favourite part of this game is the lack of Invisable walls, it's like the devs are allergic to them." For a licensed kids' platformer, a genre that could easily get away with narrow, fenced-in corridors, that's a specific and genuinely earned compliment, and the kind of design choice that rewards curious players rather than just tolerating them.

Twenty-Three Levels, Hundreds Of Things To Find

One especially detailed reviewer laid out the game's actual scope: three tutorial levels teaching the controls, then a central hub splitting into four zones of five levels each, twenty-three levels in total, with five hidden collectibles tucked into every level on top of roughly 300 ordinary bells to gather per level. "If you like roaming free and finding everything in each level, this game will keep you busy for a while," that reviewer wrote, adding pointedly that even after finishing the game they hadn't tracked down every hidden collectible themselves. That's a reasonable amount of content for a $39.99 family platformer built around collection rather than combat, even if, as the same reviewer noted, a completionist's playtime will run well past a casual player's.

Low Difficulty By Design, Not By Accident

Every reviewer who addresses challenge level lands on the same conclusion, and none of them frame it as a flaw. "The difficulty is low, the charm is high and overall I think this is a very fun sequel that keeps it simple," wrote one reviewer, while another reported reaching full completion with no real resistance at all: "This game was easy to achieve 100% completion." The store page's own pitch, "an adventure for everyone... offering intuitive mechanics and challenges accessible to all," matches what reviewers are actually describing rather than overselling it. That's the right call for the audience Outright Games is clearly building this for, but it does mean the platforming itself is never going to test a player looking for a genuine skill ceiling, and the "3D platformer" label carries less mechanical weight here than it does in genre touchstones built around precision.

A Co-Op Option That Reviewers Barely Mention

The store page advertises local co-op, letting a second player control the Grinch's dog Max alongside the main Grinch, positioned as a family-friendly way to tackle the game's mice and forest bats together. Notably, none of the nine English reviews describe actually playing that mode, every review reads as a solo playthrough. That's not damning on its own for a game this fresh, but it does mean the co-op experience specifically is currently unverified by this review pool, worth flagging for anyone buying the game specifically to play it with a child or partner rather than solo.

Verdict

The Grinch 2: Saving Christmas rebuilds its predecessor as a 3D collect-athon platformer, and the small, unanimously positive pool of early reviewers agrees it lands the landing: smooth, easy controls, a genuine lack of invisible walls that rewards exploring rather than following a corridor, twenty-three levels' worth of hidden collectibles and bells to chase, and a handful of gadgets that keep traversal from feeling one-note. None of that comes with real difficulty, this is a low-resistance, low-friction game built for young players and completionists chasing an easy 100%, and its advertised local co-op mode remains untested by anyone in this review pool so far. At $39.99 it's a steep ask for a game every reviewer describes as short and simple, even a charming one, but for families or Grinch fans looking for a gentle festive romp rather than a challenge, the reviews so far say it delivers exactly what it promises.