Toca Life: School

There's certainly a lot to do, discover, explore, and imagine with this virtual school-themed dollhouse, but there are limitations and a few potentially eyebrow-raising elements. Kids are in control, it's easy to use, and some elements are really thoughtfully designed: The diverse range of characters lets kids pick from a wide variety of people, creatures, and animals, and props include wheelchairs. Though the recording feature is a nice addition, as it encourages kids to organize their play around a story, the weekly updates are not as impressive. At the time of this review, they were weirdly silly (for example, talking about how much a sloth "chills") in ways that won't always make sense to young kids. The chemistry class will likely be fun but also might be something the target age group won't relate to. There are also elements that some parents of the preschool set might not love: Some of the characters wear punk-style studded jewelry, there's graffiti in the youth club, and there are some mildly creepy elements such as a strange goblin head. The question remains whether the digital setting really is the best way for kids to engage in pretend play. Though there's an abundance of material here, which gives kids a wide set of possibilities, kids are still limited to what the game designers have programmed.