Chris- 0 Comment
- October 11, 2022
LEGO Bricktales is the sort of game kids and adults alike will rejoice over. The joy physical Lego bricks can bring to someone is awesome, and I am a LEGO fan myself. When it comes to LEGO games we have had so many over the years, most of which have been awesome adventures, but that do not offer that freedom and creativity which we have all come to love about LEGO. Sure, we had LEGO Worlds for that creative building, but it never seemed to grasp the same feel as real bricks, while Bricktales on the other hand feels closer to recreating that real brick building feeling that we are all after.
Bricktales does not follow the traditional action-style LEGO games that we all know, instead it takes a more experimental approach bringing together a casual adventure and exploration held together by some cool, unique and often challenging puzzles. The main focus of this game is definitely building and that’s what we want to see when it comes to LEGO.
During your time in Bricktales, you will be transported through multiple different popular “virtual” sets, that are based on real LEGO themes. The game will have you focus on building structures or objects in your favourite sets to ultimately reach your goal. While in the world of Bricktales, you will also come across powers that will help you traverse the world in a non-building way.
" Think Hard, Build Harder "
You will find many obstacles in your way that you will need to construct, that could array from bridges to even bird perches. The developers ClockStone are no strangers to great puzzle games while also making them feel accurate in terms of physics, as they are the developers behind the Bridge Constructor franchise. So If you want someone to have a LEGO-licensed game that involves building with physics attached, it definitely is these guys.
The connection to the bridge building is almost immediate as one of the first structures you will have to complete is a bridge. When you go into edit mode the game gives you a selection of bricks to complete your bridge, and that’s all you get as the rest is up to you. You will just have a set list of requirements that need to be completed like, for the instance of the bridge, nothing must break and your robot has to make it to the other side. So -in terms of flexibility on how you want to achieve success- is all down to you.
Some of the structures or objects you need to construct as you progress can be a real brain teaser and that’s when you have to remember it is a puzzle game first then an adventure. I found myself cobbling together a heaped mess that looks like something a pre-schooler would make, but it worked and I passed the goal. Once you complete your structure, it will drop it into the diorama for you to see in all its glory, and an option to go back and edit it anytime you wish will be unlocked, along with a sandbox mode where you are not limited by the number of bricks you have. That’s how I found myself going back and refining my structures piece by piece, until they turned from a monstrosity into a masterpiece.
It really starts to feel like a true LEGO building when the sandbox is unlocked, and that’s when the creativity really comes into play. But the adventure aspect in the game really adds up to the building experience as well, as while adventuring you will be able to obtain different colours of bricks, or ones that fit the theme of the setting you’re traversing (for instance, medieval or pirates inspired pieces, as well as castle bricks and jungle ones). Once these extra tools in your arsenal are unlocked, you can use them on any structure you can edit.
“ That True LEGO Feel "
While Bicktales may not be a full sandbox construct-your-own world game, I was still pleasantly surprised by the variety of structures and objects you really get to construct in the game. You will find yourself not only fixing bridges but lots of different things, as vehicles like a helicopter or a car, or building market stalls to help the citizens after an earthquake. You will surely be able to test your logical prowess when it comes to some of the puzzles.
When you do adventure around the world, the game feels magical and warms you with the same aesthetic that we all know and came to love about LEGO, right down to the lean-back walk animation. The worlds are vast enough, with multiple different characters to meet, each with their own LEGO-style humour and silly jokes that you can’t help but laugh at. The puzzles and the adventure just feel like a perfect LEGO combination, and you will lose so much time exploring and collecting alone.
There is one clear issue that I had with the game and that was the controls. During building mode, they feel so clumsy and frustrating. Being able to place bricks the way you want feels harder than it needs to be at some points. The snap seems to always be the culprit, especially if you do not build uniform shapes or if you have to come back to refine your builds, as you will find though to get bricks in them little empty spots when the snap always seems to think that bricks should go on top.
However, after hours of playing, I finally did get used to building; sure it may take longer to build, but it was more time that I enjoyed playing the game. Sometimes I went back and spent hours on one object creating my LEGO dreams virtually, and it was awesome. Even with the sometimes challenging puzzles or the clunky controls, Lego Bricktales still was able to give me that casual and relaxing feeling Lego is made for, and you can easily get lost in your creations.
- A Joyful LEGO Experience That We All Need9
“LEGO Bricktales is a perfect blend of puzzles and adventure. The magic and aesthetic of traditional LEGO are there, and along with the ability to be creative and design structurally sound creations, it makes it a joy to get lost into. That feel of using a real lego brick that the game offers is the best I have seen in any Lego game to date. “