There are two issues that have come up for LEGO Horizon Adventures. The first was me wondering “Another Horizon game?” Since 2022 we’ve been getting at least a few titles pushed out for the IP every year. It makes me wonder if this is Sony’s push toward creating their own Mario-like series. Why Horizon in particular though? I don’t think the appeal of Horizon is quite as universal and as easy to translate. Perhaps we can look to Sony’s current leadership as to why they have so much faith in Aloy and her robotic dinosaurs. Even if you look further back, you can see their efforts to promote their original IP is already present. Aloy has been featured in Fortnite, Genshin Impact, Ghost of Tsushima, Little Big Planet 3, and Monster Hunter World. All very big names to try and court some favor among various gaming crowds to gain more popularity. However, it will ultimately be up to the audience to decide if she can stand on the same level as our gaming giants.

 

 

And it looks like the push to make Horizon’s appeal more universal has not stopped, as what we have in our hands here is a LEGO Horizon Adventures. A lighter, simpler, version of Horizon Zero Dawn. If your question is if the game is good, I’d quickly say “It’s fine.” But the bigger here question is if this is indeed a step in the right direction for PlayStation to achieve its goal of becoming a more prominent figure in the world of gaming. And for us to say that, we have to say the game is good, so let’s break it down.

 

 

Production (5 / 5)

 

 

When you think of LEGO, you think of the completed toys, the sets, the Millennium Falcons or Harry Potter castles, or what-have-you. Who knows just how many collaborations or partnerships have been formed with the famed company from Denmark? But you know what I remember with LEGO? Aside from intense foot pain when my siblings forget to put them away? BIONICLE- I mean, the bricks! And LEGO Horizon seems to be very well aware of that. Every element in the game that’s not the UI, is centered around being built through LEGO bricks.

Is it a surprise that they did this? No. But they haven’t been this thorough even with their last release which was the Skywalker Saga. The LEGO, especially the characters, look like they’re made entirely of plastic. You can see how their painted clothes and faces seem to displace little imperfections of the plastic bodies like they came off an actual mold. The sheen they produce and how their bodies react to light continues to perfect the illusion. But enough about the little LEGO people, the monsters and beasts you encounter are wonderfully constructed into their plastic brick-construct counterparts. Sawtooths, Watchers, and more. They move in such a way that looks believable if they were actual toys in the palm of your hand. Like the joints seem possible, the bricks don’t deform, it’s pretty impressive. It honestly makes me want to own a LEGO Tallneck.

 

 

But the low-key stars of the show are the actual stages. It doesn’t quickly stick out, but they are also built out of the same pieces you might find in standard playsets. I immediately noticed this when the tall grass that you’d typically hide in looked like LEGO pieces that have clear intentions for articulation when being animated. Even other environmental elements like water, lava, plants, trees, and random rocks, all look like they’ve been built with consideration of how they would form through the universe of plastic bricks. Even how projectiles fly out and explode, they all look like they’re made out of the same stuff, just in different colors.

All these come together with how they look, how they move, and how they all interact with each other, and I can imagine some kid’s hands just hovering over them and playing with what is effectively a diorama for pretty much every stage you get to go through.

The sound department is pretty serviceable, music is mostly bubbly and upbeat. Something you’d expect from the tone of a LEGO game, something I’ll talk more of, later. The soundscape serves very well, functionally. You can hear impact sounds to know if you’re hitting things right, or figure out if the bad guys have found you with an audio cue, and if combat is over. Generally, the sound effects produce a lot of good feedback that keeps the game easy to understand.

 

 

Finally, the voicework is fairly well done. To carry not only the character from the original series but also be able to pick up to being almost constantly lighthearted is a feat. Considering the script they were handed, it would have been easy to pull this off as something awkward and off-putting, but they were able to toe that line effectively.

 

 

Mechanics (3 / 5)

 

 

How the game works is pretty simple. Which is expected of a game like this. You move, jump, and attack. Where special functions like sledding and climbing are pretty much automatic given that you’re close enough. What gives it variety are the gadgets and special weapons you get to pick up as well as the characters that wield them. Aside from Aloy, you get Teersa, Varl, and Erend to join in on the action and give you choices on how you want to play.

Aloy wields her signature bow, Varl handles a spear which functions quite similarly, Teersa throws bombs and Erend makes use of his brawn with a hammer. Where my favorites later on became Varl and Erend, as I found their weapons the most appealing to use.

When it comes to combat, you can just directly attack the robots or whatever enemies you have in front of you. But it’s also possible to aim for weak spots by attacking them from specific angles, which becomes increasingly important if you want to take enemies down quickly and gain some bonuses like consumable items and experience. They also do well in making you deal with the different opponents in many ways. For example, the fastest way to take down a watcher is by directly hitting its eye, but grazers are much more rewarding to take down from behind. This makes you want to think a bit more about how you’re taking on your next challenge. However, if you just want to spam charged hammer attacks because you’re like me and Erend who firmly believe that brute force is the best strategy, you can do that too.

 

 

There’s also an elemental system that can cause enemies to burn, freeze, or get stunned, which are pretty obvious when you start using the weapons or environmental hazards that produce these effects. Mainly, colored barrels will teach you how each of these effects works.

These characters also level up separately, though they simply gain stats like extra attack power and bonus hearts (hit points). Functionally, they’re the same from the start. You can also strengthen everyone at the same time by buying upgrades that they all effectively share. Gaining bonus experience, being given extra equipment at the start of the stage, or making status effects last longer, are all very useful upgrades regardless of who you prefer to use.

If there was anything I might have preferred to have seen in LEGO Horizon Adventures, it would have been the ability to scout around better. I can understand that this is a kid’s game, and you don’t really need to think that hard, yes. But I’d like to have known the lay of the land a little better before moving around since it was pretty easy to get spotted by enemies whatever I did. And again, it’s a kid’s game so I know I’m just being nitpicky. Still, I believe the limited range of what you can see hurts the experience a bit.

 

 

Content (4 / 5)

 

 

So, I can tell you that the main campaign spans about 6-8 hours. Yes, quite brisk. I can also tell you that the content doesn’t go that deep. I mean it’s a LEGO game, I’d like to remind you it’s a LEGO game. Meaning you get the same attitude, feel, and lightheartedness you may have experienced in any previous iterations. If you haven’t maybe you’ve seen the LEGO movie. Think that. That’s going to be the tone of the entire game. Where people will occasionally bring up completely random topics in conversations in a bubbly tone, be it pickle juice sandwiches, hating being in the shade, or searching for donuts.  While I do think that it being a LEGO game gives it a pass on making it have a huge departure from the tone of the series, I can tell that the writing would eventually wear on me. It’s like G-rated Borderlands, only it won’t flop at the box office.

What you get out of the campaign though is playing through 4 very different-looking biomes, which honestly speaking, kind of play pretty similarly. What changes is the sort of hazards you might have to deal with, but they don’t change how you’ll fight against enemies or how to avoid attacks. What does mix things up are the robot enemies you have to eventually fight; they introduce a new one every few stages and it makes the game feel fresh without having to wait too long. From standard grunts to ranged shooters, to flyers, and even bulky, giant crabs. To cap it all off, each of the stages has unique bosses for you to overcome. Which was one of the reasons I kept going with playing the game.

 

 

While the main story is basically a very loose retreading of the original story, there’s much to do in LEGO Horizon Adventures outside of that. There are the Apex hunts that give you a much tougher stage or machine to hunt, which some might think is just going to be a unit spam with beefier stats. While it may look like that, I do think that the maps and enemy types have had some thought put into it. There’s a clear strategy they’ll push you to follow sometimes if the scattered gadgets everywhere aren’t giving you enough of a hint.

But apart from hunting down wild robots, the level of interactivity and customization you can get in the game is pretty impressive. You can customize not only how your four playable characters look, but you can make the town you treat as your base into whatever combination of decorations and structures and even color combinations that the game can provide for you. Since my personal favorite was Varl, I decided to mix his look with a pirate corsair and a ninja. I also decided that every major section of the town would be colored differently in line with a theme I had in mind. It’s also a big plus that the little attractions you decide to put up do something should you want to play with it. It’s pretty much a toy box coming to life, and I’m almost certain most kids would enjoy exploring the possibilities and content they have. I do think, however, that they missed an opportunity here by not allowing the players to play with the camera a bit. Imagine being able to view these creations from any angle you like, I would have enjoyed doing some close-ups or simply seeing the animations play out in a different angle. Maybe it won’t look as good, but hey if you want to spark my creativity, don’t limit things that can easily be there, right?

 

 

They’ve paced what you can use to customize everything behind the golden blocks you collect which you get by doing in-game achievements or completing stages. It’s a simple and nicely put-together game loop that can be switched between each other in less than an hour, which I think is the right pace for the LEGO game.

 

 

Features (4 / 5)

 

 

The most welcome feature I encountered here is the anytime couch coop, which is something I would have really enjoyed had I 1. A second controller and 2. A friend who’d like to play the game with me. Given the graphics aren’t complex, I can see how this would run well even in 2 player mode for the PlayStation 5.

On top of that, some accessibility features can help those who might have issues like color blindness, or can’t hear the audio cues very well.

And for those who can only play the game at a certain skill level, be it tougher or easier, there’s a 5-level difficulty slider you can access at any time.

The final bonus is this can also be played with another person online, meaning having more than one way to be able to play with a friend which is a feature I definitely welcome.

 

 

Conclusion

 

So, if you enjoyed the LEGO movie, this is pretty much a playable version of that. I enjoyed it myself, and knowing what I was getting into, the script, the acting, the humor, they all didn’t feel out of place. They also arranged stages well enough to keep me interested, though it was a bit of a slog at the start.

For those who are just curious and aren’t all that familiar with the Horizon series, worry not! I do believe this LEGO Horizon Adventure stands on its own without issue, and I think they put in just enough for the game to be entertaining for kids. If you’re an adult, you can pretend to be buying it for your kid, or nephew or something, we all know you’ll play it before giving it to them anyway. While I can’t decisively say that this is the direction the Horizon series should take, I do think this is important for PlayStation to make more of.

 

 

LEGO Horizon Adventures builds a good experience, scoring a 4 / 5.

Available on PS5, PC, and Nintendo Switch.