LEGO and Horizon in the same sentence. Just a few months ago, no one, and I mean no one, could have imagined such a collaboration. And yet, we should never underestimate the power of mash-ups, especially when behind it, we have imagined a whole marketing plan to sell toys. And proof that LEGO Horizon Adventures is a game intended above all for adults, but especially for children, Sony has decided to market its game on 3 platforms: the PS5, the PC and the Nintendo Switch! A month before its release, we were able to play it, both solo and in co-op. First impressions with controller in hand.
LEGO and PlayStation who are collaborating together on the Horizon license. Know that this is not the first time because remember, in 2022, at the time of the release of Horizon Forbidden West, we had the announcement of the LEGO Horizon set which allowed you to have a Great Neck made entirely of Danish bricks. The item was priced at €80 and as big kids we are, we were happy with this announcement. Except that in reality, it was just the tree hiding the forest, because a video game was already in development. So, how can we explain such a rapprochement between the two brands? In reality, the Guerrilla Games studio was looking for a lighter project after Forbidden West and the Dutch studio was very interested in modeling and in particular in DUPLO, except that it was ultimately with LEGO that the collaboration took place. And there is another element to take into account too, which is that most of the developers have become parents in the meantime, and the desire to make games for children has also weighed in the balance.
A GAME THAT FLATTERES THE EGO
What he says is that previously, there were LEGO games every year, sometimes up to 4 different games in the same year, notably in 2013, the most prolific year and it was the TT Games studio which was in charge of it. But as everyone knows, the more you pull on the rope, the more it ends up breaking and after 15 years of producing LEGO games at random, well the public has lost interest a little, especially since all these games , they all looked the same. We were almost copying and pasting. That said, for this LEGO Horizon Adventures, it is not the English studio TT Games which was commissioned to do it, but rather Guerrilla Games, accompanied by Studio Gobo. The idea for the two studios was to offer something different from the LEGO games from TT Games and the objective was to make a “playable LEGO film”, with this important element to take into account: each game element is “built from a brick [LEGO] “individual”, which means that everything in the LEGO Horizon Adventures game can be built for real as a LEGO toy. To do this, the developers called on LEGO master builders to ensure that everything follows the rules of the LEGO physics And in fact, this also applies to the animation style and the way the characters move in the game. This is why the animations in LEGO Horizon Adventures are fundamentally different from a game. normal and especially LEGO games that we are used to playing. All the characters were animated in stop-motion to precisely reproduce this real toy aspect that comes to life. ‘Toyetic’ technique.
JOKES AND JOKES
Another very important element in the process of creating LEGO Horizon Adventures is the comic side that comes out of LEGO games. Everything had to be built to make the players smile, both young and old. From the way the characters move, the situations that await them and even in the dialogues. And it is true that for a game which takes up the original story of Horizon Zero Dawn, it contrasts radically with the atmosphere of the game and Aloy’s character. Aloy is more of a young woman who never laughs and who rarely smiles, and who makes even fewer jokes. There, in LEGO Horizon Adventures, it’s quite the opposite: Aloy multiplies the blunders, the blunders and the incredible situations, to the point where sometimes, it’s true, she quickly becomes annoying, bordering on slapping her face. But it’s intentional and even when she falls and crashes to the ground, it’s done in a comical way. The idea is also to reproduce the fall of a LEGO that has fallen from a shelf. Then they quickly get up and start again with jerky movements as if a child were walking a LEGO character while playing.
Moreover, the other aspect that the developers wanted to keep with LEGO Horizon Adventures is the assembly side. What we love about playing with LEGO is being able to mix and put everything together. Well, it’s possible in the game, even to the point that when you unlock the tailor’s house which allows you to customize Aloy and the other characters in the game, it’s possible to do anything and everything, to the point where the characters no longer have any connection with the Horizon game. It’s almost confusing, but again, it’s entirely intended by Guerrilla Games. In any case, the idea is to deconstruct the lore of Horizon, to offer a totally different experience, to the point where certain elements of the story have been rewritten for example, and always with this side of humor which did not exist in the original game. It’s a double-edged sword for the fan of the license, but given that LEGO Horizon Adventures is intended above all for young audiences who have not necessarily played the Horizon games which are adult games, nothing too dramatic.
Despite this rereading of Horizon Zero Dawn, we will find the main elements that make the license unique, including the same environments, but in a top down view this time. Aoy will have the same weapons, notably his bow, and will also have to hide in the tall grass so as not to be spotted by the mechanical creatures. There too, we find the same critters with the same behavior, the villages with all these inhabitants with whom to communicate, the same technological tools, such as Focus – which allows you to scan and identify weak points on enemies, just like the loot of ‘objects in chests, in short, everything is there, nothing has been forgotten, but in a lighter way. The gameplay of LEGO Horizon Adventures is therefore both simple to access, but also allows for more in-depth things if you want to push it, especially since you can increase the difficulty if you want. The experience system has been retained, but the most important improvements are done automatically to make life easier.
IS TWO BETTER?
The other advantage of this LEGO Horizon Adventures is the possibility of playing with two people cooperatively, on the same screen, which is also a major element of LEGO games and which obviously delights children. We obviously help each other during this adventure, but we can also throw nasty things at each other’s heads, given that friendly fire is allowed. Be careful, if your teammate shoots you, you don’t lose any life, but on the other hand, you are still bothered. On the other hand, bonus level to be picked up, first come, first served. And then visually, this LEGO Horizon Adventures is also very attractive. As long as you adhere to the artistic direction and the LEGO style, you will also appreciate the rendering, the visual effects, the overall lighting, the quality of the bricks, no really, it’s very clean. Otherwise, we already know that the main adventure will last between 7 and 8 hours straight, but that there will be a big replay value and that if we want to go to the end, it will be around 20 hours. This is what I could tell you about this LEGO Horizon Adventures which will arrive on November 14 on PS5, PC and Nintendo Switch.
