Lego Horizon Adventures Review

Lego Horizon Adventures Review: Lego Horizon Adventures is the second game that I said, “I didn’t expect them to do this”, along with Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered, which we just reviewed. Horizon was one of the series that Sony focused on the most for Playstation 4 and 5, and I could not have imagined that a Lego game would actually be made, and that it would also be released on Nintendo Switch as well as Playstation. Let’s see how the Playstation 5 version is.

Lego Horizon Adventures Review: Post-Apocalyptic Dance Party

Lego Horizon Adventures is actually a game that follows the events that took place in Horizon Zero Dawn and tells the story from an alternative angle, a little differently. Again, we start with baby Aloy, who appears in the village of Nora under unknown circumstances, and while trying to get information about our family, we make many different friends and go on an adventure against machines. But this time, the action takes place in a more “Lego-like” way.

I don’t want to give too many spoilers and spoil the fun because in some cases, things happen that you never expected and you can’t help but laugh when you say, “Oh, but this wasn’t the case.” We are used to Lego games telling stories in a more entertaining way, but I have to say that I enjoyed this game extra. I can even say that they highlighted the characters who normally don’t get much screen time (Teersa) and handled some obscure characters (Varl) better. The new characterization of Sylens blew me away, I wish we could have seen it with Lance Reddick’s voice.

While the outline of the story is still the same, the events that take place have been altered to reduce dramatization and present less complexity. The motivations of the characters joining our team were slightly manipulated and some events were radically removed from the story. As a Lego game, I’m not complaining about this, in fact, it was nice that most of the game takes place in Nora village. But if you’re planning to learn the Horizon story from this game, don’t get your hopes up. I found it quite successful, not for a very good story but for a fun adventure. However, it didn’t bother me a bit that some parts started well and said “we couldn’t finish it”. Storyteller and Mysterious Merchant could have been used much better, for example, they didn’t see the need.

From Lego to Machines

Horizon games are in the action adventure genre, with a game structure based especially on ranged combat, so I was wondering what Lego Horizon Adventures would offer in terms of gameplay. After all, using Focus to identify the enemy’s weak points and aim at them seems like a difficult system to implement in the Lego universe. But they seem to have succeeded.

In the game, you progress through various regions, collect lego pieces by destroying the surroundings, hide in the grass and prepare to attack the enemy when the time is right. Enemies are the same roster you’ve seen in the main Horizon games, from simple scouts to Deathbringer, pretty much everyone is here, even cult members obsessed with tanning. Using Focus, you must determine the weak points of the enemies and throw everything you have there. Of course, the enemy’s hand does not collect pears at this time, they are attacked from all sides, especially when they are crowded, and you can return to the loading screen even at normal difficulty level.

The difficulty of the game was very simple at the beginning, I almost didn’t even keep track of the weak points, but after a while, I started to have difficulty despite my utmost attention and use of equipment. The machines were attacking from one side, the cultists were attacking from the other side, there were traps on the ground, bushes that I accidentally set on fire, corruption etc. I was losing my life rapidly. Here, different types of weapons (at least 3 different types for each character) and general equipment and features come into play. In addition to the rope traps we know from the game, fake targets, ice bombs, drones and the explosive hot dog cart (yes) are the things that seriously turn the tide of the war in your favor.

The game’s battles seem designed for two people to play, and it shows. They are not impossible, but they can be difficult even when the character level is appropriate. This is partly because there is no escape button in the game. Our characters cannot escape by rolling or anything. The closest thing to escaping in the game is the dashing movement we do with the boots we buy as equipment. This is also limited in number and in return we have to sacrifice other equipment. Still, there are fun challenges in the game, challenges that are much more enjoyable with two people, but you can also pass alone, even if you have difficulty. The boss battles are particularly memorable, but they are not numerous.

Speaking of character level, let’s look at the characters. First of all, the game, which we started with Aloy, has new characters and a varied gameplay as the story progresses. Varl’s spear-boomerangs and Teersa’s fowl allow for different play styles than Aloy’s arrows. The real fun begins when Erend joins the story and swings the machines left and right with the help of a hammer. It’s a good thing that Erend is our first proper melee combat character in Horizon, which is a series focused entirely on ranged combat, and his inclusion in the story is also great.

I only had one problem with the characters, they each level up individually. When I play with Aloy for a long time and then say “Let’s try this Varl”, the enemies take the spear from my hand and start splitting it in two. Each character comes with a level appropriate to the level they join, but it is very difficult to level up without playing with them, which causes the lower level player to be knocked down with a single blow, even when playing with two people. If I say they did it to extend the gameplay time, special hunts are opened in the old regions as the story ends, a feature that will still provide the same duration.

The feature that bothered me the most and caught my eye in the game was the rapid inclusion of other Lego brands into the universe. Okay, Ninjago, City’s and others are very entertaining, it even seems funny to see them in the village and to see ninjas and zombie cheerleaders walking around among the people, but this situation gets in the way very early and very quickly. I would have preferred to continue with a more Horizon theme at the beginning and have other brands come to the fore as the story progresses. It seems strange when you suddenly put a Space Shuttle next to the cafeteria while developing the village. Although the entire game is a parody, I wish it had reached this level later.

Another complaint I have is the discovery thing. The main series is open world oriented and I admit it used it a bit too much, but in Lego Horizon Adventures it is completely gone. There are some chests around, to find them all you have to do is go off the road or have the appropriate material (usually fire). The levels look quite nice, but the level designs generally have a repetitive structure. In some sections, we chase Tallneck, which starts as a fun and exciting event, but the excitement disappears as soon as you realize that you cannot lose.

Technical Details

I can say that Lego Horizon Adventures, of which I tried the PlayStation 5 version, looks very nice visually. Everything is recreated from legos, they did a good job of recreating Horizon’s post-disaster universe with lego pieces. In fact, while looking at these, I thought that there would be new sets in addition to Tallneck. The monsters look amazing, the characters are beautiful, the environments are beautiful, the dance floor in the village… everything fits the Lego concept and looks good. I played the game in performance mode at 60 fps, there was also a visual mode, but there was no big difference in the graphics and I couldn’t say no to smooth gameplay.

All characters are voiced in the game, our main character Aloy is voiced by Ashly Burch, and this time she reflects the spirit of the character wonderfully. I didn’t find her voice acting very good in the original Horizon, but this was more of a problem with the character in general, but here she was able to carry the Tiny Tina vibe from the Borderlands series and did a great job. Aloy’s dialogues, her reactions during fights, etc. are quite entertaining. The voice acting and reactions of other characters are also very good, for example, Sylens’ voice actor did a job very close to the original.

The music of the game initially sounds familiar but foreign, but then you realize that these are remixed versions of Horizon Zero Dawn’s music and they are very good. Especially after the dance floor opened, I did not forget to leave the character there for a while and listen to the music. Aloy’s Theme remix Post Apocalyptic Dance Party, which was also used in the trailer, has been one of my favorite songs for a while.

I didn’t have the chance to try the game online, but once two people played it on the same console, we had some trouble due to the character levels, but it was a technically problem-free gaming session. The only technical problem I had in the entire game was that the game suddenly crashed with a blue screen at the end of the long last boss battle. Considering the 12-odd hours I spent on it, a crash isn’t a big problem.

I wonder how the game will perform on Nintendo Switch when it comes out, but I think it will do a good job there too. By the way, before I forget, let me add that although this game has very close gameplay and technical features to a standard Lego game, this game is made in cooperation with Guerilla Games, which is also the producer of the original game, and Studio Gobo.

Conclusion

Lego Horizon Adventures appears as a fun Lego game that can introduce the Horizon series to more people. Maybe the content has been oversimplified and the fact that they have changed too many things to appeal to smaller audiences may annoy the fans of the series. My personal opinion is that it is a more fun and enjoyable adventure than the first game, which I recently replayed. I want to say the best and much better God of War!

If we look at the game as a Lego game, the number of playable characters is small, the main story is extremely shortened, the content is simplified so that children can get used to it, and the levels start to repeat themselves quickly. Other Lego brands are getting ahead of Horizon a little too quickly and there are more different types of models from the series. I wish they had kept the balance a little better.

PlayStation Store on Lego Horizon Adventures, which is offered for sale with a price tag of 2500TL, is a good game and I can recommend it to both those looking for something fun and Horizon lovers to try it. Of course, considering the game time and content, we may have second thoughts about whether it is at the level of a 60-dollar game. If you are interested in Legos, if you like Lego games, if you have a second person at home with whom you can play these games, and if you also like the Horizon series, you will love this game. You may want to wait for a discount, but definitely check out this game.