Posted in: Games, Video Games | Tagged: , , , , , , ,


LEGO Dimensions Review – Brick And Mortar

20150827114029The Toys-to-Life genre has been exploding for the last few years, much to the pain of parent's wallets. Selling physical toys that you can then play with in a game is a charming idea, let that not go unnoted. Not only do you get a toy, but you get in-game content too. The idea has a 'magic' to it that adds more tangibility to the experience of play. Skylanders, Disney Infinity and to a lesser extent Amiibo have all traded on a sense of collectabillity that has driven people and families to invest in a big way into these titles.

That is why LEGO Dimensions, which brings in a huge array of fan favorite franchises, seems like a no brainer for both the toy company and Tt Games. The developer already sports a long history of LEGO games that are pretty fun adventure titles, that also sell incredibly well. Also, the LEGO Movie has only boosted the toy manufacturer further into the stratosphere, despite already having a huge pop culture mindshare.  Dimensions is primed (and already has started) to take over the entire toys-to-life landscape.

The concept is completly novel too. Dimensions is broken up into two sections. There is a mainline story with 'level packs' on top depending on which toys you currently own. Lets talk about the story mode first, which is a particularly star studded affair. To go into who voices who in this game would be to ruin the surprises somewhat, so I will refrain, but it seems that in most cases, if Warner Brothers could get the person who plays the role in the original source to come back, they have. The campaign stars Gandalf, Wyldstyle and Batman who are all teaming up to take on Lord Vortech (voiced by Gary Oldman), a god like figure trying stealing the 'cornerstone' of the LEGO universe to merge all of the worlds into one. This causes franchises to begin to crossover with villains of all the worlds teaming up and taking advantage of being out of place. I really don't want to spoil too much, because seeing where you go next and what Tt Games have done with the properties under their hat is stellar.  I will give personal highlights to the Doctor Who and Portal missions though, which are really, very good indeed.

LEGODIMENSIONS

Dimensions plays in line with other LEGO games you might have played too. It's a little adventure that mixes rather inaccurate, but accessible combat with a lot of platform puzzling. That is where the physical Vortex comes in handy. As you progress through the game you will pick up special runes that cause different effects as you move the characters around the Vortex's three panels. You might have to move one of them to another panel when they get trapped, or mix colours to open a door, or juggle the characters around to change them from big to small. It's a sound idea conceptually that asks you to interact with a physical space, but in actuality, I found it quite tedious. Having to move the characters around as I figured out a puzzle, looking away from the screen to move them, then manoeuvring the avatars on screen to then get to the next phase of moving them around on the Vortex actually felt intrusive rather than inclusive to the moment to moment.

The campaign is pretty lengthy, clocking in at around 11-12 hours to complete, so there is plenty to experience here, mind. It's a fun little adventure, that certainly has some razor sharp moments of gameplay and humour. The thing that stopped me really fully embracing the narrative though, is that it trades a little too hard on nostalgia. Look, I know. I know. It seems a little asinine to complain about that in a game that takes beloved franchises and mixes them with toys you loved as a child. I'm not a huge fan of nostalgia though. Tugging on something you once loved is a cheap way to score points, and while Dimensions very much does have ideas of its own, more often then I'm comfortable with, it felt like it was resting on the laurels of the IP it had roped in. While it certainly is great to see the inventive use of the franchises, I'm just no convinced it was always the most fun 'game' underneath that sheen.

2901207-ld_gameplayscreen_154

The other side of the game is those of the Level Sets. In the base package, you will pick up three, DC Universe, Lord of the Rings and The LEGO Movie. There are a ton more to play in, but you will only gain access to those by buying them separately. These packs let you jump into the world of the particular franchise and then run around completing mini-quests for characters of the universe. I wouldn't say any of the specific missions I sampled in these sets were particularly stimulating, but they gave a good enough excuse to run around the spaces, and that is a strong enough experience if all you care about is inhabiting a LEGO version of your favorite franchises.

Now we get to the one major problem I had with my experience. Quite often while playing the game, I got the feeling I was missing out on content. Being a Toys-to-Life game, it will of course be partially predicated on you buying more real toys for the game. The cardinal sin it breaks here is that the game takes quite a few opportunities to point out the content you don't own. Be this the individual Level Sets you don't own as you try to jump into the ones you do, or the constant items in the main levels that you can't break unless you buy specific characters. It gives off an uncomfortable sense of being advertised to in the game by trying to make you very aware of the content you don't own. While it doesn't actually affect the game all that much, it does create an uncomfortable filter on top of what is a family game. Less of that in the future, it cheapens the experience.

Those issues aside though, LEGO Dimensions is a confident first step for this franchise. The power of the IP it utilises leaks from every pore of the game and that comes with a lot of assuredness. There is a really neat story here too, that will send you hopping across universes that will no doubt give a few people pangs of nostalgia. At times, it can feel like it is resting just a little bit too much on you loving all of the IPs, but to pretend that there aren't ideas and room to build here would be selling this seriously short. It's a good LEGO game, and if you've enjoyed Tt Games output in the past, this will be right up your alley. While I actually am not entirely convinced the game benefits from being a toys-to-life game, and in fact many of its problem stem from that, this is still a fun little family adventure that is easy enough to recommend to kids and "big kids"… as long as you are willing to foot the bill.


Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!

Patrick DaneAbout Patrick Dane

website
Comments will load 20 seconds after page. Click here to load them now.