Lego makes everything better – even video games. The Lego Movie in 2014 revitalised the franchise, but Lego has been quietly working with brands like Star Wars, Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings for years, creating spin-off games that hit the sweet spot between challenging and goofy.
And why not? The two are uniquely well suited mediums. Lego, after all, is all about creating make-believe worlds with nothing more than a few building bricks (and the themed figurines that the brand would have you buy).
Combine that with the endless potential of video games, and the end result can be magic.
Such is the case with Horizon Lego Adventures, which is hands down one of the cutest games of 2024.
Yes, it’s basically a soft reboot/ remaster of 2017’s Horizon Zero Dawn (the actual remaster came out a few weeks ago, which makes the timing of this feel slightly odd), but fortunately it brings enough to the table to make it feel radically different to its po-faced counterpart.
Because this version of the game, from UK-based developer Studio Gobo, is fun – a lot more fun than the original game, which suffered slightly from a surfeit of people talking about the End Of The World.
Horizon Lego kicks off by introducing us to a narrator, who gets most of the boring expositional stuff out of the way and immediately introduces an irreverent attitude that sets the tone for the entire game. Goodbye death and despair; hello conversations about pickle-and-jelly sandwiches, as well as some very eye-rolling jokes that (mostly) hit.
Kudos too to the cast (most of whom, barring the late Lance Reddick, have returned to voice their characters), who manage to say things like “I hate that butt-head" and rhapsodise about doughnuts in-character. Did I mention this was a kid-friendly game?
The plot has been massively streamlined – no chit-chat about clones or the apocalypse here – which is a disappointment when you consider the huge, rich world of Horizon, but is probably to the benefit of the roughly eight-hour story. Here, the focus is mainly on shooting robot dinosaurs with arrows until they pop into a shower of golden coins.
I’m oversimplifying – the combat is actually one of the highlights of the game. Horizon Lego encourages you to switch between a revolving cast of characters, each of whom have their own unique fighting style (the game can also be played in two-player mode).
There’s Aloy, with her bow and arrows – but there’s also Varl, whose spear is better for close range attacks, and Teersa, who throws bombs.
Horizon supercharges that by offering a revolving selection of (very silly) powerups that makes combat essentially feel like a massive sandbox. Throw in an ever-increasing variety of dinosaurs – each of whom have their own unique attacks – and what you have is some fiendishly addictive gameplay. It's just a shame that the level design can feel extremely repetitive at times – again, likely for the benefit of the kids – with a depressing lack of the puzzles that littered the original games.
When not dealing death and despair to their foes, Aloy and her gang can usually be found spending all those lovely gold coins on jazzing up both their outfits and Mother’s Heart, the Nora (Aloy’s tribe) village which serves as a base for all their adventures.
What this means in shorthand: yes, you can complete missions dressed as a giant hotdog. Or a cop. Or a banana; the possibilities are endless.
It’s spectacularly silly and rather simplistic – but the end result is fun, if not groundbreaking. A few bricks short of a masterpiece.
Available on PC, PlayStation 5 and Switch
