Pixar are famed for their ability to make each blockbuster animation they create accessible to as wide a demographic as possible. Their appeal is consistent from kiddies to coffin dodgers, and despite the difficulty in creating such multi-layered experiences, they’ve consistently wowed through self-belief and a concerted team effort (not to mention raw talent). It’s with this mentality that IO – until this point the antithesis of Disney’s CG wizards – have approached the upcoming Mini Ninjas. If one didn’t know better, it could safely be assumed that the bright, block colours, cutesy characters and family-friendly action were part of an adaptation of the company’s latest box office hit.

After some hands-on time with the preview build at the Edinburgh Interactive Festival, it’s hard to shake off the impression that the minds behind Hitman and Freedom Fighters have lifted Pixar’s style wholesale. Then again, there’s nothing wrong with trying to recreate the studio’s considerable magic and happily, IO appear to have largely succeeded.

Kicking off with a couple of cute story sequences, the demo throws the player right into the action. Controls are ostensibly simple, with running, jumping and fighting catered for by the four face buttons. It’s possible to progress using just these, and Pixar’s tiered approach appears to have been carried over. Smaller children can plug their way through with a bit of button hammering, slightly older ones are able to experiment with sneaking and the three playable avatars and more seasoned gamers will look to utilise the multiplicity of alternative objects and abilities.

Play is sensibly streamlined, with simple radial menus taking care of character and item selection and most actions instantaneous in execution. The five-screen, Zelda-esque menu is curiously at odds with this, unfortunately arousing the suspicion that the combat is too simple and the peripheral elements overly complex. A small gripe perhaps, but one that has a disproportionately large effect on the game as a whole.

The level tested was worryingly linear for the first while, but following the basic semi-tutorial it quickly opened into larger environments separated by chokepoints, offering several routes to and from the objective. The aforementioned stealth is a significant factor in this. Players can hide from enemies by crouching in tall grass, turning the ninja transparent in the process; a neat way of communicating the subtleties of the game’s systems to younger users through obvious visual feedback. Additionally, one of the titular ninjas is in the possession of a “spirit power”, allowing him to warp himself inside one of the numerous rabbits, chickens, boars or – most humorously - frogs wandering around the landscape.

Another well considered concession to younger players is the “meditate” ability. Tapping up on the d-pad places an arrow over the ninja’s head to reveal the direction of the next objective, and it would also appear to compensate for objects or scenery obstructing the field of view, sensibly guiding the player around these. There’s also a “help button”, assigned to a downward press of the d-pad. This informs the player of which abilities to use in certain situations, the button layout and more. Though it is another useful addition for the target audience, its relentless flashing quickly becomes intrusive if constant hand-holding isn’t necessary.

Combat itself is a necessarily simplistic two-button affair which is strongly evocative of the criminally underrated I-Ninja, but scaled back even further. X is the all-purpose “twat with stick” button, with victory conditions reliant on repeated mashings. Y is employed as the “unique move” button, but that leads to little in the way of parity between the chosen ninja and the others. More usefully, if enough red gunk is accumulated, a held press of the button will deploy a more powerful charged attack, a move of considerable utility in a sticky situation. Stealth can occasionally feel redundant, because in the demo enemy encounters are practically unavoidable. Even if there were a stealth kill move (or, “transform into cuddly critter” move – yes, really) it wouldn’t be of use because the preview’s opponents always traveled in large groups.

Mini Ninjas just about manages to be all things to all people, and its prospects for keeping the little’uns occupied are in great shape at this stage. Older gamers looking for a stealthy Japanese adventure may be better served elsewhere, but that’s not to say IO’s latest will have nothing to offer. It looks to be a relaxing, reasonably varied and highly polished romp, and there’s little else it could hope to be.