Well, I can safely say I’ve certainly never spent as much time fawning over bricks as I did whilst playingLEGO Horizon Adventures. I’m a firm believer that Guerrilla Games’Horizon Zero DawnandHorizon Forbidden Westoffer an unmatchable level of visual fidelity, resulting in wonderfully complex open worlds that are amongst the best you can possibly experience. It’s with that in mind that I shouldn’t be surprised that, in partnership with Studio Gobo, Guerrilla has also succeeded in crafting what is easily the best looking LEGO game out there.
LEGOHorizonAdventuresis far from being a mere feast for the eyes though, it’s got the substance too. In fact, I’d even go as far as saying that this is the most fun I’ve had with combat in aLEGOgame. WhatLEGO Horizon Adventuresdoes, it does exceptionally well. That’s why it pains me that I cannot escape the elephant, or Tremortusk, in the room.LEGO Horizon Adventuresis incredibly short, with the credits rolling just as the party gets going - and with its £59.99 price tag, I can’t help but brace myself for the reaction to that.
Advert
Advert
Take a look atLEGO Horizon Adventuresin action below.
It’s a simple concept, yes, but it is executed well and when I choose to play a LEGO game, I am always looking for that trademark low-stakes, high-octane fun.LEGO Horizon Adventuresis a game primarily concerned with combat as opposed to exploration. You’ll venture outside of Mother’s Heart to four areas - the Sacred Lands, Snowchant Mountains, Jewel Rainforest, and Sunfall Desert - working your way through around five to six encounters for each. An encounter essentially consists of a couple of traversal ‘corridors’, culminating in battle arenas which you must complete to proceed.
At the end of each episode, you’ll be awarded with one of those aforementioned bricks, so you can likely see why I said that this is not a game concerned with exploration. It’s very much a linear experience - there’s certainly nothing in the way of side quests. The only real optional extra is that during the traversal segments of an episode, you may be awarded with bonus studs - used to acquire new outfits and upgrades - for venturing away from the obvious path. On paper, it’s a formula that could be rather dull but it’s prevented from being so thanks to the game’s excellent combat.
Advert
Advert
In those battle arena-style segments, you’ll often find yourself facing off against cultists and various machines concurrently. Just as with the main game, Aloy can use her Focus to scan the surrounding area, highlighting a machine’s weak points. Hitting the weak points will, as expected, inflict the most damage. Armed with Aloy’s trusty bow, players will have to press square (on PlayStation) to activate the weapon, using the left dual stick to choose the trajectory of the arrow. That may sound fiddly but I happened to love the challenge. As you progress through the game and the machines become more ferocious, it’s great fun trying to maintain this kind of pin-point accuracy while you evade incoming attacks.
Sony Interactive Entertainment
Rock piles can be sent crashing down onto incoming enemies. Cultists carrying explosives can be picked up and thrown. There really is a wonderful breadth of choice because I’m yet to touch on the fact that you don’t even have to play as Aloy. Erend boasts a hammer, Varl wields a spear, while Teersa utilises throwables. Or you can go down the double-whammy route with a friend via the game’s local co-op mode. The same combat rules apply regardless of the character, but you’ll certainly never get bored of taking down machines given the plethora of ways you’re given to do so. In fact, having completed the game on the ‘regular’ level of difficulty, I’m already tempted to see just how challenging the most crushing option is.
Advert
Advert
Sony Interactive Entertainment
It’s at this point that I have to return to the game’s length. As I said, this is very much a fixed linear experience and one which I rolled credits on in seven hours. I knew it was coming. After all, I’ve played the base game. My fight against the Deathbringer spelled that the end was nigh and even still, ‘Thank you for playing’ has never felt more like a crushing blow. That being said,LEGO Horizon Adventuresdoes soften that blow with a smidge of endgame content.
Once you’ve completed the main story, each of the four lands will offer four additional shortened encounters that essentially task you with defeating apex iterations of the game’s machines. As I said, the combat is easilyLEGO Horizon Adventures’ greatest strength so I was exceptionally pleased to be met with more - although completing all apex encounters perhaps only took me an extra 90 minutes to two hours. It’s great to be able to really put your skills to the test, although it’s after this point that you’re left with very little to do.
Advert
Advert
Sony Interactive Entertainment
This is especially so as restoring Mother’s Heart isn’t exactly a thrilling task. As you level up, you’ll unlock the ability to fix and build additional buildings, unlocking further cosmetics too. But restoring the village essentially equates to picking out a roof type, selecting a building’s colour scheme, or choosing which random decorative item to place in a given slot. I can’t imagine every player chasing down every single available brick to complete such an average endeavour.
Advert
Advert
Sony Interactive Entertainment
Pros:Impressive visuals, charming presentation, varied and fun combat
Cons:Short in length, limited replayability
For fans of:Horizon Zero Dawn, LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
7/10: Very Good
Topics:Lego,Horizon Zero Dawn,Horizon Forbidden West,Guerrilla Games,PlayStation,PlayStation 5,Nintendo Switch,PC,Sony,Reviews
