LEGO Bricktales is the most recent try by LEGO to diversify its gaming portfolio past the method popularised by TT Video games. Whereas a few of these makes an attempt have been worse than others, LEGO Bricktales is the most recent in a line of successes.
It is a puzzle sport a couple of younger minifig on their strategy to go to their grandfather, a mad scientist dwelling beneath a gone-to-seed amusement park. You could assist him restore the park earlier than the Mayor evicts him. Then your grandfather’s robotic assistant warps in from a unique dimension decrying the facility of happiness crystals, an power supply that may restore all of the broken-down points of interest. Tonally, it’s a bit a lot, and the writing can get fairly tiresome. The sport is content material to spout wacky scientific jargon in lieu of telling correct jokes. It left us wishing we might energy by means of most conversations and get to the good things: the gameplay.
Accumulating these crystals takes you to 5 completely different dimensions, every with a particular appear and feel. Some, just like the Medieval or Metropolis areas, lean into basic units and aesthetics LEGO is related to, and others just like the jungle biome do their very own factor. Every biome is distinct from the others, and the areas you stroll by means of home many secrets and techniques. The pause menu opens a diorama-styled digicam angle, permitting you to search out something you could be in search of on the vividly vibrant maps. Finally, this primary exploration is only a means to information you to the core puzzles. Duties equivalent to “construct a bridge from level A to level B” provide you with numerous items with which to perform your aim. It is impressively freeform, providing innumerable options for most of the puzzles, and it faucets into the spirit and ingenuity of LEGO. So what if what you created isn’t the optimum strategy to do it? What issues is it labored.
This malleable gameplay is the crown jewel on what would in any other case have been a median exploration-adventure title. The presentation is superb, and the color palette is vibrant and thrilling, however the moments the place it’s a must to determine easy methods to construct one thing are the moments positive to stay with you.