The idea of playing a video game based on a real-world plastic building block may have sounded a little odd when someone first came up with it back in the mid-1990s. But these days, LEGO games are a popular part of our gaming culture. And the tongue-in-cheek LEGO adaptations of popular movie properties—Star Wars, Harry Potter, Batman, Indiana Jones and the like—have tended to be memorable favorites for nearly everyone.
Well, the LEGO gamemakers are now trying their hand at pulling a video game franchise into their slapstick, snap-together fold. And they’ve made an unexpected choice.
LEGO Horizon Adventures is a quip-fueled take on the events of the very popular Horizon Zero Dawn game. It’s an M-rated tale of a post-apocalyptic world filled with deadly robotic beasties. And its stoic, bow-wielding protagonist, Aloy, isn’t known for her cheery demeanor.
So, can this new LEGO slant possibly work?
LEGO Horizon Adventures takes a few liberties when it condenses and simplifies the story and game mechanics of the original game, but it all feels akin to the tone of past LEGO titles. It strips Horizon Zero Dawn’s story down to its barest throughline—a mysterious baby girl is found in a forbidden mountain hideaway and grows to be the genetic-coded hero destined to save the world.
The game then decorates that core story with quips, comic bits, banter and grins. Aloy is still the mountain scaling, bow-plucking hero. But now her brooding nature is transformed into something much more eye-rollingly chipper and happy. And it works, even if you’re a staunch Aloy fan.
This version of Aloy’s post-apocalyptic world is changed up quite a bit, too, as you’d probably expect. Everything, from the tall clumps of hideaway grass to the rocky mountain ledges to the robo-dinos themselves are made up of colorful LEGO blocks and studs. So you can blast away at and collect plastic parts from nearly everything.
The world is also narrowed down to linear pathways through four main biomes: a forest filled with trees and grasses; a frigid mountain area; a blazing hot plastic desert; and an underground domain of challenging platforms. Players select quests from the central hub of the tribal capital, Mother’s Heart, and then set out to battle baddies and defeat an evil scourge.
And for anyone who’s curious about the format here, LEGO Horizon Adventures is a third-person, overhead perspective game that can be played offline in solo or two-person co-op mode, or in multiplayer with an online connection. (Even in solo mode, however, Aloy teams up with an AI helper for her quests.)
Aloy’s LEGO block world is colorful and fun to play through. And her adventure is specifically about discovering Aloy’s mysterious family history, while simultaneously doing everything in her power to save the people from an oncoming AI scourge.
Fans of the original game may not be enamored with the fact that the adapted battling and level design has been dialed back and made more formulaic. But both of those elements make this game more approachable for younger players.
Even when the quests get a bit slow, the humorous interactions between Aloy and other characters (including the goofy foes) buoy the enjoyment of play. Those fond of collecting items, customizing outfits and like will also find a lot to enjoy here.
There is quite a bit of melee and ranged combat in the mix with bows, axes, clubs and other heavy items used against attacking cultists and dinos. But since everything and everyone is made of LEGO blocks, the bested foes simple break up into their plastic bits.
That said, one central character does meet his demise. But the death is lightened by the fact that he then takes on the role of the quip-tossing narrator.
Language-wise, LEGO Horizon Adventures uses the word “a–” in its dialogue along with exclamations such as, “Dagnabbit!” “What the heck?” and “You pasty white butt-face.”
Also of note: Characters in this tribal world view advanced technology as being something godlike or spiritual. Someone calls a hologram image of a woman the “All Mother,” for instance. And cultists worship an evil AI.
One other possible negative worth mentioning is the fact that this fun E10+ rated version of the Horizon story could lead young players to want to play the darker T-rated original. Moms and Dads should read the full review of that game here.
Transforming a moody T-rated game into a cheery title earning an E10+ rating ain’t an easy task. But LEGO Horizon Adventures does it with good-humored aplomb. Oh, and Dad? You can let the kids play, too.
After spending more than two decades touring, directing, writing and producing for Christian theater and radio (most recently for Adventures in Odyssey, which he still contributes to), Bob joined the Plugged In staff to help us focus more heavily on video games. He is also one of our primary movie reviewers.
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