Lego video game are hugely popular, not just for kids, but the kid inside us.
From originals based upon other properties, to recreating famous movies, Lego games provide so much fun and entertainment in the builder in all of us. Who’d have thought these plastic building bricks and digital pixel escapism would work so well together?
But, some are better than others.
Before I give you my five favourite Lego games, just want to briefly discuss what I look for in these games.
I prefer the older Lego games, that were simplistic, add humour, and felt unique. I feel most Lego games now don’t feel like a Lego game. They have these massive open worlds, quests, so many unlockables, it just feels bloated. So many characters to unlock that you forget about, because most of them have the same powers, they all start to look and feel the same. And having original stories and talking characters, and a deeper plot just don’t vibe with me. For the most part.
So, here are my five favourite Lego video games.
5. Lego Marvel Superheroes
The MCU of Lego games.
This game follows nearly every marvel character. From Spiderman, Wolverine, X-men, Avengers, Fantastic Four, this was the MCU before the MCU really became this big.
It follows an original story, but simplistic enough I can follow. You need to collect every cosmic brick of the Silver Surfer and stop the villains (like Doctor Doom, Loki, Red Skull) from using them to take over the world.
Seeing these heroes and villains mixed together was soo much fun, and most of them felt unique from the others.
Plus, you have a G-rated Deadpool to give you extra missions, so it doesn’t feel like you have too much plot and characters going around at the same time.
You explore a Marvel New York City, complete with races, rescuing Stan Lee hundreds of times, to solving puzzles and helping civilians. Big, but not bloated big.
And it’s got that marvel charm and humour on top of everything.
Minor nitpicks include some repetitiveness in getting gold bricks, especially races/flying through circles – the flying controls could be smoothed out a bit– but on a whole it’s an incredibly well done Lego game.
Feeling fresh, but still relatable and faithful to the source material, this is a great Lego game to get into.
4. Lego Star Wars 3: The Clone Wars
I was hooked when the Clone Wars show was on. It rely improved the prequels in my eyes.
So when a Lego game was announced based off the show, I couldn’t wait for it to hit the shelves.
Following the first two seasons, this was a Lego game that felt very new and fresh. Probably because the engine got a bit graphical update, so it stands out amongst others. Combat feels slightly more varied and fluid compared to other Lego games in the series. Not just simple blaster shots and lightsaber slashes and deflects.
You can do a variety of missions in any order, and certain missions allow you to play different parts of the level simultaneously. You can play as Anakin and Obi-Wan on their mission, then switch to Asoka and the clones in a different area in the same mission. I really enjoyed that, it felt like the scale was much bigger.
Visiting different planets gives a variety to look at in terms of visuals.
And having Lego galactic conquest – inspired by the original Star Wars Battlefront games – was an absolute blast.
Land battles are great. Capturing command posts to call in vehicles and different troop types, gave it a pseudo RTS style to the game.
Though the land battles do get a bit repetitive and start to feel the same, I still enjoyed this new element.
This game signaled big changes for Lego games of the future, but I love this for being an in between of the old, classic style, and newer ones we see today.
The Lego force is strong with this one.
3. Lego Batman: the Video Game
Following the caped crusader, sidekick Robin, and trusted butler, Alfred, one of the earliest property-based Lego games tells its own original story (with just the classic mumble and grunts sounds instead of actually speaking).
But, it’s also inspired by the original Tim Burton/Joel Schumacher films, so it toes the line between both worlds, and I love it.
You essentially have three different sets of stories, fouling each bad guy groups’ plans for Gotham.
Missions feel varied, both in aesthetic, design, and objectives. Most have boss battles that play to their super villain strengths, so it’s not really repetitive.
Plus, there are vehicles sections, so you get to drive the Batmobile. Who doesn’t love that?!
And when controlling Batman or Robin, you gain access to different suits that help you explore the levels and solve puzzles. From Sonar suits, to metal boots, diving equipment, it keeps the gameplay feeling fresh.
But the best part of the game is playing as the villains. You can switch to see their section of the story, their perspective, how they achieved breaking out of Arkham Asylum, cause chaos in the city, and go about their plans. This was so much fun, and I wish more games would do that. Makes the story feel more fleshed out, and different.
Another banger that’s seen two other sequels, and a spinoff focusing entirely on the villains.
2. Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga
Before the sequel trilogy, this was the definitive Lego star wars game, completing the entire saga.
The first two games focused on the prequel and sequel trilogy separately, but this one combines all into one awesome game (which should’ve been done in the first place).
This is the best style of Lego; visual humour, simple, but enjoyable gameplay, and faithfully recreating the films it gives you.
Exploring the levels each time with new characters you’ve unlocked was a blast. It made you want to get those characters, and most felt unique.
Playing as jedi, sith, droids, stormtroopers, and everyone in between was a blast from start to finish. Plus, you had bounty hunter missions, finding and rescuing characters in previous sections of levels, in a certain time frame.
Space battles are a big highlight, especially the Death Star attack and trench run, the battle of Hoth against the AT-ATs, and flying the Millennium Falcon made you feel like you’re there, in those movies, in that world.
And giving some bonus missions that the main campaign left out (like attacking the droid control station above Naboo) was nice. Nothing felt left out of the stories, or heavily altered. So the faithfulness to the movies was very much appreciated.
And going through the levels with every character, land vehicles, and ship was great. Finding stormtroopers relaxing in a pool, or sunbathing, simple, but hilarious.
This might be the best Lego game, but my personal preference keeps it as the second best.
1. Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures
The first Xbox 360 game I owned and played; this is still my favourite Lego game ever.
The adventure genre of Indiana Jones blends perfectly with the building, and imagination side of Lego.
It faithfully recreates the first three movies – unlike the second game that severely altered elements from those movies that I didn’t enjoy – but does it in a humorous way, without it being too childish. I’m surprised they were able to make some of the more mature, frightening scenes more lighthearted for younger players (like opening the ark scene).
Using Indy’s whip to traverse levels, disarm enemies, is awesome! And his fear of snakes carries out, as he covers his eyes and shakily cowers away from the, so you need other characters to get around. Other characters, like Henry Jones Sr solving puzzles, to Willy’s glass shattering scream, honours their characteristics that fit into the gameplay and levels. And having an unlockable Han Solo as a homage to actor Harrison Ford playing both him and the title character, was a nice touch.
Using his college as a hub centre was great, with the music from the movies playing perfectly in the background.
Vehicle chase sections, like the convoy in Raiders, or the tank battle in Crusade, are perfectly executed.
A big reason for this being at number one – besides everything I’ve written – is that I refer the Indiana Jones movies a bit more to the Star Wars movies.
This is pretty much a perfect Lego game for me, and I hope one day Lego games find the soul that made these games so great.
Well that’s my list, but what about you? What are some of your favourite plastic brick building games? Comment below!
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