The LEGO Movie 2 Video Game Review

The LEGO Movie 2 Video Game developed by TT Games and published by Warner Bros. is now available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC.

Story

The LEGO Movie 2 Video Game follows The LEGO Movie 2 where Emmet, Lucy and the gang must stop the new alien threat that threatens all of bricks-burg and surrounding LEGO Worlds. I felt that through-out my play-through and seeing the movie that it only follows it loosely through-out. The extra’s that have been added are for play-ability reasons but I felt a little disappointed at the lack of humour in the game version, as the movie really managed to tickle my funny bone.

A long the way you will meet characters from the film and other LEGO sets. There are some that will attack you, some that offer side quests with generous rewards, and some that are placed in the world to match the theme. The side quests while basic can be both fun at times which adds more to the game and lets you loose from the story mode.

Gameplay

LEGO games always followed a similar chemistry, you start off in a hub world, you enter levels that are from movies, TV shows and comics, you go into the level and there’s 10 mini-kits of some form, collect a percentage of coins, get to the end to finish the level. It was a very simple premise but it worked. The LEGO Movie 2 Video Game sadly seems completely confused. I can’t tell if TT Games wanted to try something new to throw up the formula a bit and if so I totally get it, the old formula has been going since the PlayStation 2 days but sadly this time, it just doesn’t work. I’ve been a fan of TT Games LEGO titles since the first LEGO Star Wars Trilogy, the original formula with new additions through-out the years worked well for me but with this one I felt quite let down. While it’s not a terrible game at all, it feels more of a spin off of LEGO Worlds but with less creativity and very unpolished. The bugs sadly there are a few like usual but none of them were game breaking and really messed with my experience. Though I must mention, where they say everything is destructible, it isn’t, as much as previous titles, there are things to destroy but the ground, the buildings, they remain static.

Onto some positives, the quests can be fun, there’s multiple ways to earn purple bricks to gain 100% completion. There’s multiple ways to tackle them, the rewards are plentiful and I saw no issues with it. Think back to LEGO Worlds systems, a lot of it works like that, collect this, free them, destroy this, kill that enemy, basic quests but I still enjoyed trying to complete the game 100% on my way through. Like in LEGO Worlds along the way you will gain LEGO objects, tools and weapons, vehicles and buildings in which you can build to aid you on your journey or just create your own little hub on the SistarSystem. To earn objects you can scan objects in the LEGO world or earn them from Relics. Relics are little LEGO pieces that either give you characters, objects, structures or tools and weapons. Again you can use all these in your adventure to progress.

Graphics and Sound

The LEGO Movie 2 Video Game feels a bit rushed. While the open hubs do look beautiful with the new everything is LEGO, the ground, the sky, the water like in LEGO Worlds, I couldn’t help but feel everything was so empty feeling. Not only did it feel empty but it also felt a bit lifeless, with NPC’s and their cars popping in randomly in front of you, it just in the end felt very rushed and it’s not only visible but the lack of voice acting is pretty sad. The music though is pretty great, it copies the music from the movie perfectly and is full of your favorite tunes.

Verdict

The LEGO games I always felt were perfect platforming fun. It was a simple formula, one that was easy enough to 100% and made it fun rather than grindy. I always admired TT Games from the start and always had such high praise for the titles. The LEGO games always had soul and passion put into them, like with LEGO Dimensions adding the cult favourites like Back to the Future, Doctor Who, it always felt like the teams had that passion. The LEGO Movie 2 Video Game feels like a quick cash in on the movie. I did have times of enjoyment but I also had times of, I’d rather be playing something else. It really pains me to say that this just isn’t that good in my eyes. It has enough to be enjoyable to an extent, especially for families with young children, they’ll love it but the seasoned LEGO Game fan may not.

With recent releases such as The LEGO Incredibles, DC Villains, it’s a shame to see The LEGO Movie 2 Video Game change so much in a negative way. I do truly hope TT Games pick it back up with the next title. The reason for my score below is that the game is enjoyable enough for families, it has its moments, there is a slight hook in there to keep you going to the 100% I don’t feel cheated by the purchase, I just feel slightly disappointed with what was provided and I feel in the industry, sometimes good developers make mistakes and The LEGO Movie 2 Video Game shouldn’t slam on the good name TT Games has created but they must learn from this and not make the same mistakes in the future.

6.5/10