The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part is out now in cinemas and if you’ve not watched it yet, if you liked the first, it’s certainly worth checking out. Much like The Lego Movie Videogame, it was a decent enough Lego game, so how does the sequel fair for its movie companion? Now of course I won’t say too much about the plot of The Lego Movie 2 Videogame, because I don’t want to give spoilers away for those that are yet to watch the movie, so I’ll be deliberately vague. In a nutshell, The Lego Movie 2 Videogame follows the events its movie companion, but events are reflected upon and narrated by Wyldstyle, which does in effect reduce potential spoilers. So, following the destruction of Bricksburg, five years later Emmet, Wyldstyle and co are forced to live a harsh life, in the cruel and unforgiving city of Armamageddon. However, following an alien invasion, Emmet’s life gets turned upside down and it’s once again up the gang to save the day.
At this stage and after all these years of releases, as much as I love the Lego franchise and despite somehow, some of them still feeling quite fresh and enjoyable, every so often you do get a game that struggles to stand out, and TLM2 might just be that very game. Don’t get me wrong, there are still elements of the game that I enjoy here and my young son especially loves it, but for me, this game feels more of a shell of what it could be. The first Lego Movie Videogame wasn’t perfect, not by a long shot, but it managed to capture some of that charm from its movie counterpart, and that’s probably where the sequel struggles with most.
For starters, Emmet doesn’t have a voice, other than a few grunt noises here and there. I know in the first game he was voiced by a Chris Pratt sound-a-like, but that voice actor did a good enough job and it helped retain some of that charm. However, with no voice actor to back up Emmet in this sequel, it loses a lot of that much needed charm. Instead, the main voice of the game comes in the form of co-star Wyldstyle narrating the events from the movie sequel, with reflections from her perspective. This is fine in some ways, as I have already mentioned, it helps to avoid spoilers for those that play the game first, and Wyldstyle is also a lovable character. But Emmet and Wyldstyle are a team and when you’re hearing just one voice from the duo, it just feels a little odd.
Gameplay-wise, just like the movie, you’ll begin events in Armamageddon, before moving on to other locations or should I say worlds, not only from the sequel, but also from the first movie too, such as the Old West. Inspired by the likes of the crafting spin-off Lego Worlds, TLM2 has a number of galaxies filled with worlds to explore with main missions to advance the story, as well as some side-missions to unlock some Bricks and Relics, which are used to unlock items at the in-game shop.
While I have no issue with the not-too-linear approach to jump to and from worlds, completing side-missions and hunting down treasure chests before moving on to the next worlds, it does appear to have some issues that I found present in Lego Worlds. Just in terms of overall polish, TLM2 isn’t at the visual standards to the likes of Lego DC Super Villains, any of the Lego Marvel games or even Lego Ninjago Movie Videogame. Now I could be totally wrong here, but with the visuals, how the game feels overall and the texture pop-ups which were frequent in Lego Worlds, to me, it seems that TLM2 is almost like it’s been created straight from Lego Worlds, only with the added in-house assets that can be acquired by the developers. Again, I could be wrong, but this feels more like something that is inspired from a more basic Lego Worlds with a The Lego Movie 2 make-over.
Now it’s not all bad, because TLM2 does have plenty of redeeming qualities. With it seemingly being inspired by Lego Worlds, the building system is arguably better than in previous games. Here you get a lot more freedom to build with more possibilities on offer. As long as you acquire the building instructions or scan certain objects (similar to Lego Worlds), you can pretty much build much of what you see. This system has been integrated into puzzle solving. I know much of these puzzles won’t challenge the masses, as the game is not designed to be that way, but it at least offers an extra layer of puzzle solving that we’ve not really seen in too many of the previous games. Side-missions are also nothing really all that new to the series, but there’s certainly a higher emphasis here and you will be encouraged to return back to some worlds for the 100% completion, rather than just trying to acquire Bricks. Also, the studs you collect now are more than just an end-of-level completion gauge, as they can be spent at many of the in-game shops.
All-in-all, The Lego Movie 2 Video Game is not going to push the boundaries of the Lego gaming franchise, as it’s a rather safe release, which is possibly reflected in its below 10GB download size and its budget price point at launch. That said, TLM2 may not have some of the charm found in the previous game and it lacks that extra polish seen in other licensed titles, but it does at least push the building mechanics forward, which we may very well see advanced further in upcoming releases and above all else, it’s a decent companion to the “awesome” movie and The Lego Movie 2 Video Game is a fun family title for all ages alike.