Review: LEGO Horizon Adventures pleases fans, but comes up against repetitive elements and limitations

LEGO Horizon Adventures is Guerrilla Games’ new bet to expand the universe of its franchise which, interestingly, received a remaster of the first game a few days earlier. The new game, which will be released for PS5, Nintendo Switch and PC, brings the famous futuristic universe with machines, in a version made with building blocks, and with a lighter and more fun plot.

With this, we have a kind of reimagining of Aloy’s original story, but told in a funnier and more summarized way, mainly to help newcomers to the franchise. But did the strategy work?

Next, check out the full review of the LEGO Horizon Adventures game, carried out with the PS5 version of the game, which costs R$300.

Uncomplicating Aloy’s universe

For those who don’t know, the LEGO franchise games are popularly known for presenting funny versions of films, series and other games, following their plots to the letter. For example, at the time when LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean was released, the game caught a lot of people by surprise, since it contained the entire story of the franchise’s current feature, including spoilers, when the same film had been released in cinemas in Brazil. As a result, many unsuspecting people were taken by surprise and watched the entire plot unfold, but in a more fun and cute version.

LEGO Horizon Adventures it maintains the same pattern, and tells the plot of the first game in a shorter and much more fun way. The game tells the story of Aloy, a young machine hunter, who searches for clues about her past, in a post-apocalyptic world that is now dominated by robotic versions of prehistoric creatures.

Anyone who played the original game knows that it has a somewhat complex story, and with some impactful twists. LEGO Horizon Adventures It seeks to simplify all of this and ends up doing well in this regard. I confess that the story was even more fun to follow than the “rolling” of the original title which, due to its long duration, ends up prolonging some themes too much.

However, the LEGO franchise is also popularly known for being a series aimed at a broader audience, which also includes children. LEGO Horizon Adventures It has an age range of 10 years, however, even though it takes advantage of the relaxation to deal with more serious themes, everything is still very complex for children, and it is unlikely that this audience will be pleased with its story. As for fans of the franchise, it’s a lot of fun to follow some key moments of the plot in the LEGO version.

Furthermore, merits to the localization of the game whose dubbing steals the attention. At all times we are presented with current dialogues full of everyday slang, such as Teersa’s iconic phrase: “Go back and beat him until he vomits the flower!”, or in the acid critic: “I’m always thinking: this meeting It could be a parchment.” It would be so good if other games, regardless of genre, also valued our national dubbing.

Controversial gameplay, but enjoyable when confronting bosses

Regarding gameplay, LEGO Horizon Adventures maintains the standard of the building blocks franchise, which is to present a mix of beat ’em up, with the resolution of some very simple puzzles. However, in this game some standard features from the original franchise were implemented, such as the use of focus and weapons that can be collected or purchased throughout the stages.

And here comes my first criticism, which is the way Aloy was represented in the game. In the original game, the character uses a staff, or sword, and a bow and arrow as her main weapons. However, in LEGO Horizon Adventuresthe character’s only alternative is the second weapon.

Even though the premise is always to use the bow and your manual aim to hit critical points of the robotic creatures, they are not the only enemies. There are also Cult Followers, who are normal humans, and who in turn do not have these same vital points. As a result, you have to shoot a volley of arrows to stop these types of opponents, which ultimately ends up being somewhat complex when there are several of them on the screen. And believe me, this is common.

If that wasn’t enough, other characters, like Erend, have melee weapons as their main weapons. Therefore, in many moments, it is better to use them than the protagonist herself, which leaves a strange feeling throughout the game. Therefore, I don’t understand why, just like in the main franchise, there was no possibility of making a simple change of main weapon.

Speaking of weapons, there is also a good range of secondary items that can be used in the current phase. Highlight is the powerful Piece Remover which, interestingly, actually exists in real life and is used to remove stuck blocks in a more firm way. In the game, it causes good damage when hit and can hit several enemies at the same time.

There are also a number of improvements to the bow, allowing it to fire multiple arrows or cause side effects such as fire, ice and shock. It’s a shame that these same items disappear at the end of the level, requiring you to start a new attack in the hope of finding the same items, or new weapons.

The game also features an experience point system where, with each level achieved, the character in question gains skills or improvements. On the one hand I found it very shallow, since you can’t choose what will evolve. But, at the same time, it works due to the replay factor, since, on higher difficulties, it is necessary to evolve the character well for confrontations against more powerful enemies.

Finally, it is also worth highlighting the use of focus, which in LEGO Horizon Adventures it doesn’t make that much difference. Its uses include signaling how many enemies are ahead, or giving tips for finding collectible items, which in turn are not as appealing, as well as unlocking skins for characters, or expanding the buildings in your village, which is the main location of the game. game.

But there is also a lot to praise in this same aspect, such as combat against creatures and, especially, scenario bosses. Just like in Horizon Zero Dawnthey steal the show and are by far the biggest attraction of the game. In addition to bringing practically the entire cast of robotic monsters, their LEGO versions are very pleasing, both for their complexity and for their originality in not leaving the main elements out of the adaptation.

For example, in Horizon Zero Dawn Creatures have weak points that, when hit, cause greater damage to creatures. In the LEGO version of the game, they remain present, requiring you to aim and point in their direction, which at the same time changes the directional arrow color, showing that this is the right point.

The confrontation against bosses has an additional feature: the complexity of the combats. Yes, at this moment the game has no mercy on younger people, and features battles where dying is quite common. But calm down kids, the game has five difficulty levels, the lowest of which allows you to take a lot of damage before having to return to the last checkpoint. Those who are older and more experienced can challenge themselves at the highest level, which borders on a good souslike.

The game’s charming, repetitive and linear scenarios

Or visual of LEGO Horizon Adventures enchants with its “realism” for a game in the franchise. What does this mean? The way characters and environments are created give a huge feeling of a big game with building blocks on a table. Mainly due to elements such as light, shadows and reflections, which help maintain the essence of the original franchise.

However, the game makes a big mistake in the way everything is constructed. I.e, LEGO Horizon Adventures It’s a very linear game, where basically the paths are always the same, and it’s almost impossible to not know where to go. The same goes for collectibles which, apart from the parts that are locked until the levels are completed, it is very easy to find all the buildings and other secret elements.

The curious thing is that Horizon values ​​an open and extensive map in all games in its franchise. LEGO, although not going the same way, in more recent games has flirted with broader scenarios, especially in titles like LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga e LEGO DC Super-Villains.

To make matters worse, even though they are enchanting with their visuals, the scenarios are too repetitive. In each of the settings, whether in forests, icy mountains, deserts, etc., their construction is basically the same. The script is practically to go through a piece of the scene, find the merchant, and go for a kind of final confrontation, which is always against a group of enemies and creatures, or a scene boss.

The feeling is that, due to the constraints in relation to the original game, there was a lack of creativity when expanding the universe. And I dare say that it wouldn’t be bad to use the open world system, in a LEGO version, to present the game. This is because its premise would fit perfectly into this system, instead of choosing to place a base scenario, which is basically your village, and limited phases to be completed.

It is worth it?

LEGO Horizon Adventures was made for two audiences: fans of the building block franchise and people who enjoy Aloy’s adventures. For the first, the game is worth it, especially for those who have never tried any game from the original series, or who simply love the uncompromising and fun gameplay that is the hallmark of LEGO games.

For fans of Horizonthe game sounds like a parody of Horizon that doesn’t add much in terms of content, other than seeing gameplay adapted for a wider audience, and which includes a split-screen mode. If you have recently played the original game, or its remastered version, you will hardly be interested in following the entire story, even if it is presented in a funny and entertaining way.

Final Note – 81

Positive Points (pros):

• Challenging boss fights;
• Dubbing steals the show;
• Lovely graphics;
• Difficulty levels change the game completely.

Negative points (cons):

• Too linear and repetitive;
• Confusing story for younger audiences;
• Aloy combat system.

A copy of LEGO Horizon Adventures for PS5 was provided by Sony for review. The game also has versions for PC and Nintendo Switch.