Times have changed and now there are more studios that can get started with the Kubs from LEGO. Lego Party will be published later this month, for example. Before that time, however, LEGO Voyagers, a co-op-adventure, appeared a little mustard from the Hazelight brand. However, the question is whether it will come after the meal. That is why I and Natascha dived together in the game.
Natascha
If you see the first images on your screen, then you immediately think: oh, this looks pretty funny. Two small LEGO cubes with an eye. The one blue and the other red. Soon there will be a short tutorial, which you learn how to move over the 3D world that is fully made up of LEGO. You start on the island where the two small blocks live and it is soon clear that their interest is in space travel. As expected from a LEGO game, there are a lot of things that you can interact with and for which you often even get trophies. Because the two small blocks have to present clearly children, their island is filled with toys that you can play with. Ultimately, however, it is time for the launch of the space counter that you can see in the distance on another island. That is where the story really starts, since this launch goes wrong and the two blocks fascinated on a broken piece of the rocket, which drags them along the water to a new destination. At that time I had the idea that I had a whole adventure ahead of a typical humorous LEGO style, as I am used to from the earlier LEGO games that I have always liked. What was I next to it.
The world is quite linear, which I don’t mind in principle. What I expect is more interaction with the things around me. There are things that you can do something with, but in most cases this is to help you further on your path. The real investigations and discovering funny things is simply not really there and I think that’s a shame. To be honest, I don’t quite understand the reason why they opted for LEGO, outside of brand awareness. This game would also have functioned well if you hadn’t used LEGO. Maybe even better, since you have to impose fewer limitations on yourself. Something that becomes clear with the puzzles that you have to solve to get on in the adventure.
Many of the puzzles are fairly simple, but very focused on physics. An example of this is that you have to control a boat together, where one can send to the left and the other to the right, but where you both have to accelerate and brake. This requires a lot of mutual communication, but also arouses frustration if you just go too far with that specific piece where you need to be to pick up an item. Which results in that you have to turn completely back.
When I look at the whole, I have a strong feeling that this game is more focused on children in style. With the two small cubes, the colorful and playful environments, the story that is told by actions and cut scenes without words and the fairly easy puzzles, it makes a strong impression. I especially got that feeling when we came up with a piece where you could shape your own rocket. This reminded me a lot of some point-and-click games that I used to play. However, I find some puzzles, then again just too difficult or complex for this. Especially because you have to work closely in this. These puzzles are also just the one who makes the game less fun for me, because they last unnecessarily long.
Sil
Puzzles, puzzles. I don’t know if you can really call it puzzles. It is indeed coordinating with each other, but outside that it almost always comes down on the pile of blocks to form some bridge. Sometimes over a crater, sometimes on your boat, but always they are little more than extensions. In addition, you rarely really have to work together to solve it. It is more alternating each other. Where you regularly received different skill sets in something like IT Takes Two and in this way had to support each other, the only difference here is that one of the two players will be longer at a given moment and then can control a specific type of lever that the smaller cannot use. It feels enormously forced and totally does not show the power of a co-on-title.
Besides this, LEGO Voyagers is simply not that special either. As my colleague of the Keeper Gender agreed, the LEGO sauce has more advantages in that sense than disadvantages. It limits what one can do, but does not build (you get it) on what makes LEGO so special. As a result, you really fly through it, with most time in your puzzle to puzzle. We two now both have the Platinum Trophy and needed less than four hours for that.
This does not mean that the game has no fun moments. We had a great time in the training center full of mini -games. But if your highlight is a little sidecon tent just before the end of your game, you can realistically conclude that the game is not that special. And if you still dare to ask € 24.99 for it, then you completely miss the shelf, especially with a playing time like this.
Conclusion:
Too short, too simple and too expensive. That is LEGO Voyagers in a nutshell. It is child-friendly in its simplicity, something you would like from a LEGO game, but even then the traditional LEGO titles are the better options and for a dedicated co-on experience the kids can serve something like Peak or Snipperclips. We both do not believe that the game is terrible, but it is simply not special enough to recommend.
