PAX EAST 2022 | "LEGO Bricktales"
The world of LEGO has been in many video games since the turn of the century. However, very rarely do these titles allow you to do the things LEGO was meant to be for: building. Thunderful and ClockStone’s LEGO Bricktales aims to fix that, with an adventure that lets any LEGO Maniac’s creative juices flow.
In the near-hour long demo I experienced, LEGO Bricktales fixes the errors that past LEGO titles have had. You play an adventurer who must rescue fellow LEGO men and women who are in dangerous situations. Trapped on unsteady terrain or wrapped in jungle vines, these people need both a brave and creative soul to take on the dangers that stand between their way. In order to overcome said dangers, one needs to build!
Right out of the gate, LEGO Bricktales lets you give your all to create solutions to the many game’s puzzles. From something simple as bridges and stairs to more complex items like a working helicopter, the things you build must not only work, but be sturdy as well. If you don’t build a starcase properly, then it’ll just collapse right under you. Fortunately, this game embraces trials-and-errors, with you not able to move on until a proper test run is completed.
One thing that makes LEGO Bricktales a lot of fun is that the most most simple of things might require a complex solution. In one instance, I had to build a bridge to get across. What should’ve been an easy job wound up being a lot tougher, as players will have to make sure every step of the way won’t result in the entire thing collapsing. Watching as the test robot walks across and fall beneath a ruined bridge can be slightly frustrating, but it’s never not funny to see every crumble underneath its feet.
While progressing through, players will learn new tricks to get them out of tough situations. Whips will allow you to reach higher areas, while ground stomps will clear the ground of any blocked pathways. Doing either of these will also help find needed parts for upcoming builds, as well as hidden treasure chests filled with the game’s currency: bananas. Why it’s a ghost that runs the shop that uses the bananas, I have no idea. Just go with it.
My time with LEGO Bricktales felt both rewarding and well-spent. It’s clear that as the game goes on, the puzzles and things you’ll need to build will get more complicated. Thankfully, even with the toughest task laid out, LEGO Bricktales has the potential to let players have all the fun they like if it means solving a good puzzle. (Plus, the free mode will allow players to try to build anything from bricks, a section that I’m certain will make for some pretty elaborate creations down the road.)
LEGO Bricktales is due for release later this year on PC and consoles.