The LEGO franchise has tried its tiny-clawed plastic hand at nearly every video game genre going. We’ve had platformers, shoot ‘em ups, racers, co-op adventures, puzzlers, even a Super Smash Bros. clone. But, rather oddly, never a party game. That’s where LEGO Party comes in, offering fun, frolics and laughter for all the family across its impressive range of silly yet satisfying mini games.
First off, Lego Party looks great. The mini-figs gleam with personality and exude charm, flinging their way through each challenge with wanton abandon. Even better, your Lego dude can be customised to a ridiculous degree. Once you’ve unlocked a few new body parts by playing the game, you’ll soon be able to build the over-the-top Frankenstein Pirate-Ninjago-Knight character of your dreams.
Once you and your gang have chosen your avatars, you pick a themed board game to travel around and undertake your challenges. With Pirates, Ninjas, Knights, and Space to choose from, each board is stuffed with iconic characters. There really is something for every Lego fan here.
The four-player minigames themselves really are a Lego-cised who’s who of classic co-op and party video games of yesteryear. There’s a Trials-style race that sees you and your rivals attempt to navigate a 2D level perched atop motorbikes that hate gravity. There’s a Flappy Birds-like game, a Micro Machines imitator, one that emulates Katamari Damacy but with Lego-brick collecting, and a rope-swinging challenge that brings to mind Speed Runners. As a gamer of some thirty-five years, these mini-games come across as derivative – though irresistibly fun – but to new or young gamers, the selection of mini-games on offer are a constant source of new ideas, though smartly grounded in proven mechanics.
Where Lego Party truly succeeds is when it leans into mini-games that are discernibly Lego-y. Indeed, they can only exist because the game is built from Lego pieces. Activities in which you must decipher a Lego instruction manual, build your own monsters, or discern which selection of bricks built which model are a highlight and offer something entirely original, even to players who have been brought up on Mario Party over numerous iterations.
The pace of the game is blistering, hurtling you from challenge to challenge with a pace akin to WarioWare Inc. more than his party-flinging nemesis. As such, even for younger players there’s no opportunity to get bored, as you are always whisked onto the next thing. More importantly, there’s a high degree of accessibility, perfect for players of varying abilities. Controls are simple, responsive, and well implemented, plus, there’s a nice balance of luck-based and skill-based challenges, ensuring that everyone has a chance of winning and – hopefully – avoiding any potential tantrums from child – and adult, sorry everyone – alike. Basically, anyone, even those who’ve never played a video game before, can have a blast with Lego Party.
Where the game truly delivers though, is in its slick game show presentation. Normally, in-game commentators commenting on the action are acutely annoying, here, they are frankly hilarious. Thanks to reams and reams of available dialogue, Paige and Ted rarely repeat themselves whilst delivering gag after gag. Sure, not all of them land, but when you are regularly setting the whole family off in fits of hysterics, you know you are doing something right. The entire game is imbued with this comic energy, reminiscent of the style so iconically established with The Lego Movie. The slapstick visuals delight throughout, feeling like you are playing Lego with a particularly energetic and imaginative child, as Lego figures are hurtled across the screen, builds are constructed and then pulled apart, and everyone seems to be dressed as a banana or pizza slice.
The game is oddly slight in places. Sixty minigames might sound a lot, but once you’ve seen them all – which won’t take long – it’s remarkable how quickly a sense of repetition sets in. Sometimes the game is too chaotic, leading to players losing track of what’s going on, either in the minigames themselves or as they clamber across the board game section. But frankly, isn’t that all part of the party game experience?
Playing online or in single player this constant bonkers over-the-top energy can feel oddly flat, but in local play with friends or family this is an utterly magical experience. Sure, it would have been nice to have the inclusion of Harry Potter, Marvel, DC, or Star Wars to pad out the game, but with licencing that complex, perhaps we’ll have to wait for the sequel. But with a party game this good on its first outing, I’ve no doubt we’ll get one.
