LEGO games have significantly improved since their first appearances and LEGO Bricktales is no exception to that either.
LEGO has been in our lives for so long now. Not only the physical building blocks but also their licensed tie-in games have been part of our fond memories. Had LEGO Bricktales been out earlier, I am sure that it would also have had a little part in our childhood, and this is largely because the game resembles so much of the make-believe worlds we used to have as children.
Let us ask you this: Have you ever listened to the games of children as an adult? Underneath all the babbling and the incoherent lore of the make-believe storytelling, there is something greater. There is the innocence, first of all. That is obvious, duh. But there is something else, something that invites you in. Something that makes you want to be a part of a simpler existence.
When you hear a child enthusiastically speak of their make-believe world, you want to join them. You want to be a part of this world. So, you ask them where you can fit yourself. Should you push the car for them? Make the dolls speak as side characters. For a moment there, you hold your disbelief and hold onto this make-believe world of a child.
This is what original LEGO games are supposed to feel like, and it is precisely what LEGO Bricktales feels like. Your mission is to help your mad scientist grandpa as he aims to power up the theme park before it gets shut down. As you do that, you cross various worlds and their characteristic biomes, like forests and pirate ships.
As you progress into the game, you encounter puzzles that you need to solve by using LEGO building blocks. These puzzles get more complicated as the game goes on. Sometimes, you have to build something as simple as a bridge or a staircase, while other times, you are supposed to build whole colonies to support a building. Sounds easy enough, right? The catch is that you have to solve the puzzles with a limited number and shape of bricks.
It gets tricky sometimes! But once you get the structure done, you get to have an unlimited supply of additional LEGO parts with which you can personalize it. It is fun and feels somewhat rewarding. Furthermore, the structures that you build become a part of the game’s world! How cool is that?
All the times that it works, the sandbox element is insanely fun in LEGO Bricktales. You can spend hours on end perfecting your little bridge and make it so that it is in perfect accordance with your taste. You do not have many options to customize your creations, but you have enough that you can end up with something that you enjoy looking at.
Yet, in practice, this is usually not the case. Your structure sometimes falls no matter what you do. In my playthrough, I encountered a bug where everything I had done fell apart. I thought I was doing something wrong until I restarted the game and built the same structure that I had before. It worked then. So, it must have been a bug the first time because the two structures were the same. Of course, it has not been that long since the launch, and I am pretty sure they will fix it eventually.
When your structure falls apart, the game does not inform you as to which part of the structure is wrong: You have to figure that out yourself. And the guessing game is not a part of the fun gameplay. Some players might say that the puzzles interfere with the immersion of the gameplay. This is a valid criticism, but also completely subjective. It can also be said that the structural puzzles strengthen the gameplay of LEGO Bricktales. After all, your structures become a part of the video game; how much more immersive can it get?
The controls of LEGO Bricktales are also a bit controversial, it seems. While some people have trouble understanding how the camera works in the game, some people find it very intuitive. My view is somewhere in the middle. If you are very familiar with the controls of the Sims games, especially the third installment of the series, you are going to be mostly fine.
Especially in the building screen of the game, your camera controls are incredibly important as you have to see the LEGO bricks on every side. But the regular camera controls are still a bit tricky- It takes a while to get used to. The game is better on PC in that way.
As is the case with every LEGO game, there are collectibles galore in LEGO Bricktales. You can go back to the game once you finish the story to find them. Furthermore, as you progress into the story, you unlock new skills that help you find more collectibles. So, the game encourages the players to find these collectibles and explore every inch of the world.
In terms of visuals and music, you will not find anything more complex than your average LEGO game. Just to be clear, LEGO video games have significantly improved since their first appearances, but you know… They are still LEGO games. They have a very distinct style. LEGO Bricktales is no exception to that either. There is nothing that will bewitch you, but it is still pretty to look at and also familiar to those who love the older LEGO titles.
In short, LEGO Bricktales is the epitome of children’s play. You feel like you are a child again, inventing a world with your small LEGO pieces. You build bridges, staircases, and statues, and you get to see all of them in action. Like every other LEGO game, LEGO Bricktales is also fun and silly. The game does not take itself seriously, and that is what we love about it.
Also, check out my colleague’s LEGO Bricktales Xbox Series X Review.
