Octonauts Above And Beyond Octopod Playset Review

Reviewed by Kathryn Harrison

There are many, many children’s TV programmes that my daughters love that I just can’t stand, however one show I’ll happily watch along with them is Octonauts. This show about a group of underwater explorers is fun and interesting for both little ones and their parents. I’ve learnt many new things from Octonauts! My youngest daughter is five and a half, she has been a big fan of Octonauts for the past couple of years so when we were given the opportunity to try out the new Octonauts Above and Beyond Octopod we were very excited!

The day this toy arrived was a day of great anticipation, the first thing my daughter asked when she finished school was “is it here?” As soon as we got home she was straight into it. The six piece set comprises the Octopod, an exclusive Captain Barnacles figure and three sea animals, a starfish, a slime eel and a vampire squid. The Octopod is open at the back so children can access inside the pods to play with the characters. At the back there is a slide you attach, my daughter loved sliding Captain Barnacles down this over and over again! Very similar to what she does at the slide in the park! Some other cool features that are included and can be added to the Octopod are the Net Launcher, Claw and Spyglass accessories.

The Net launcher attaches to the top of the Octopod and you use it to flick the net off the top with the aim for it to land on one of the sea creatures. It’s not the most accurate thing and whilst my daughter initially enjoyed flicking it off the top she did begin to get frustrated it wouldn’t land where she wanted it to or the right way up.

The Claw and Spyglass both attach onto the Octopod, my daughter played with Captain Barnacles looking through the Spyglass to find an animal in need of help then attempted to use the Claw to rescue them. The Claw, like the Net Launcher, took a bit of time to get used to but my daughter worked it out in the end.

All the parts of this play set feel well made, although it feels perhaps a little small. I am also a little concerned that some of the loose parts, the Captain Barnacles figure, the sea creatures and the net may get lost so will have to come up with a storage solution for them.

I wish there was at least one other character included in this playset. My daughter enjoyed playing with it but I think she would have played for longer and got more from it if there were some of the other characters such as Kwazii or Peso. Children like to copy the scenes they watch in their favourite episodes and in the show the characters always work together so only having one figure hindered this a little. That said you can extend this play set by purchasing further characters and vehicles.

As an individual playset I do think it’s a great present for a child who loves Octonauts. It’s very recognisable as the Octopod from the show and children will enjoy acting out their own adventures with the characters. Any Octonauts fan would be pleased to find this under the tree come Christmas morning and I know my daughter has added the extra figures and vehicles shown on the back of the box to her Christmas list.

Rating: 4/5

RRP: £29.99

This product can be purchased from Smyths Toys here.