We store cookies, you can get more info from our privacy policy.
WiiU

Europe

Gamescom 2015: LEGO Dimensions Isn't All That Special (Wii U)

by Daan Koopman - August 23, 2015, 2:32 pm EDT
Total comments: 1

An interesting portal? Sure, but the gameplay is the same as always.

It is easy to be overly cynical and feel that the Toys-to-Life games are nothing worth playing. The last couple of years have been interesting, as Skylanders and Disney Infinity grew to new heights. Every iteration tried new things and while some work better than others, they do the trick fairly well. I am open to any new players in the field, and this made me interested in LEGO Dimensions. The problem is that the game isn't anything special and the reasons for this are sort of obvious.

While I played many LEGO games in the last couple of years, I grew ever so slightly tired of them. The gameplay felt pretty similar every time, even if minor changes occur between the various entries. This is exactly how I felt while playing LEGO Dimensions, which brings a wider range of worlds and characters to its line-up. That side of it sounds exciting and it is easily the best of the whole charade. It fills niches like Dr. Who, Ghostbusters and even Valve's Portal 2, and they are all granted dedicated levels to walk through. With the Doctor himself, you can also freely switch to his different forms and that is a brilliant touch.

The demo granted us sneak peeks at various rooms in the worlds that you will explore. With Portal 2, we had to move around turrets and use Gandalf's magic skills to drag objects closer to us. Another segment saw us in the wonderous world of the Wizard of Oz, where we had to search for secrets and defeat the Wicked Witch's troops. While it is decent enough to play, there weren't overly impressed looks while exploring the game. Even when we could go back to the worlds we visited and freely explore them, it didn’t really seem to click. There are missions to accept in these open worlds, but they didn’t seem to innovate on what is already established.

Next to all of this, there are the various vehicles that you can bring into the world. Batman's Batmobile and Dr. Who's phone booth were the ones available to us in the demo and they look certainly good. Some of these you can change into new vehicles, in- and outside of the game. With tinkering, you can evolve the Batmobile into the Battank and shoot lasers across the world's landscape. They control like your options from any other LEGO game, but it was the aspect I immediately liked the most. At the end of the day, WB Games still treats LEGO as LEGO and that makes them quite perfect toys.

The thing that makes all of this possible is the portal and I liked this side of it the least. Just like you are dimension hopping, you will use the portal's power to use various skills. The three sections of the portal all light up and each of these require a character to make it all fully work. It can be used to create color specific wormholes, solve puzzles where you all have to press specific buttons or defeat enemies that only target a certain color. Kids will likely get a kick out of it, but I found all a bit unneeded. The coolest thing is that the portal was used to play hot/cold to find a secret. It took a bit long, but the trick that it pulled was neat in the end.

On the complete other side of the spectrum, I enjoyed the writing and gags between the characters of the various worlds. There was a scene between Dr. Who and the main protagonists, Wyldstyle, Batman and Gandalf, which was truly golden. When you solve a puzzle, a random piece from another world will suddenly start to disappear. Homer Simpson, stuck to a wrecking ball, dropped into the scene and smacked the object blocking our way. The people who still enjoy the LEGO games actively will quite frankly enjoy themselves and it is not hard to see why.

LEGO Dimensions looks and plays like a bigger LEGO game. For the majority of people, that is exactly what they want, which I can consider fine. I kind moved beyond that point, though, and I was really hoping for Dimensions to reel me back in. Instead, it relished in the fact that it plays like the games from before and has various worlds for you to uncover. The portal is more obnoxious than any other Toys-to-Life and it tries to be a big part of the experience. It makes quick actions become long, boring puzzles and it brings the progression to a halt. Kids will likely really enjoy it, but this big child will go back to his Skylanders and Infinity figurines.

Talkback

ejamerAugust 23, 2015

"Just a LEGO game" is worlds better than what Disney Infinity ended up offering.


Not sure it's better than Skylanders, but at least it's different and the many varied (and licensed) options for characters will probably make it "cooler" than Skylanders manages to be.

Share + Bookmark





Genre Action
Developer TT Games

Worldwide Releases

na: LEGO Dimensions
Release Sep 27, 2015
PublisherWarner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
eu: LEGO Dimensions
Release Sep 29, 2015
PublisherWarner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Got a news tip? Send it in!
Advertisement
Advertisement