LEGO has always been about destruction and rebuilding. It’s an endless cycle of creative rebirth, teaching both kids and adults to imagine new solutions to unfamiliar problems. The latest iteration of the brand, LEGO Dimensions Adventure Worlds, is no exception to that theme.
LEGO Dimensions may be the most recent game to wade into the fray of collectible toy sandbox puzzlers, but it’s far from being the underdog in this fight. In the style of Disney Infinity, players have the option to collect a wide variety of different LEGO characters, which can be played with in-game, or detached from the base to use in real life. This flexibility means you can swap out the stock physical pieces with whatever figurines you want, but those modifications obviously won’t appear in the game, as the character information is drawn from the computer chip in the base of the figure, rather than the toy itself.
Possibly the most exciting thing about LEGO Dimensions is the wide variety of stories that are able to interact seamlessly within it. Each LEGO Dimensions starter pack contains a copy of the game, a toy pad, and a handful of characters, including fan-favorites from The LEGO Movie, like Batman and his lady love, Wyldstyle. However, notably absent from that core group is Emmet Brickowski, the protagonist of the LEGO film, who must be purchased as an expansion instead. Thanks to LEGO, you can take your characters and explore a series of Adventure Worlds from beloved franchises, including Dr. Who, Portal, Lord of the Rings, Back to the Future, and many, many more.
After you have your stable of heroes, you’ll wander through the different stories, smashing objects into LEGO coins and solving puzzles to advance. Some challenges will prompt you to move the figurines on the character platform to transport them to different areas of the game, or to hunt down hidden treasures. Each character has different strengths that come in handy, too. Batman uses his grappling hook to pull the Wicked Witch of the West out of the air. Gandalf uses his magic to levitate Portal companion cubes. And of course, there’s a lot of debate about just what exactly is happening with the cake.
Although it was a latecomer to the genre of collectible toy video games, if anyone can make up for that disadvantage it’s LEGO. The large number of existing video games of that type, like Skylanders and Disney Infinity, show that there is big demand for that kind of content. While those other franchises are clearly more established in the virtual space, LEGO has always been king of toys, and thus has both the audience and the expertise to succeed. Perhaps more importantly, because LEGO has a history of highlighting stories that you already love, they have a staggering number of licenses to draw on, creating nearly unlimited possibilities for the future of LEGO Dimensions.
The game is slated to release in North America on September 27, 2015, and in Europe on September 29, 2015. It will be available on PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
