Nobody could've expected LEGO Horizon Adventures, a playful, plastic take on one of PlayStation's most popular franchises. Aloy's main games are laden with thick sci-fi lore, serious themes, and complex mechanics; squeezing all of that into an all-ages spin-off has always felt like a tall order. The result is a game that delights us in some ways, but leaves us feeling a little baffled in others.

This is an action platformer that shrinks down the events of Horizon Zero Dawn into a shorter, linear experience for a family audience. LEGO really is the perfect way to do this, because it's instantly recognisable and opens the door for a much sillier direction. It works surprisingly well in Horizon's case; many of the intricacies of the narrative are thrown out and the game happily pokes fun at the narrative and its characters. The vocal performances help tremendously, with several returning cast members clearly enjoying the less serious tone. If you're a Horizon fan, it's really fun to witness this humorous, stripped-back version of the story.

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LEGO not only provides a great thematic backdrop, it's also an ideal literal one. Studio Gobo and Guerrilla Games have leaned into this aspect hard, building out the entire game in true-to-life LEGO pieces. Everything you see is plastic bricks, including explosion effects, water, and buildings far in the background. The commitment to this aesthetic is admirable; realistically rendered materials and a tilt-shift effect on the camera mean the game looks remarkable throughout. Playing in Performance mode, we did notice some animations can be quite choppy (and not in a charming LEGO stop-motion way), but these are few and far between.

You can spend as long as you want ogling the pretty plastic presentation in Mother's Heart, the central hub of LEGO Horizon Adventures. This is where you'll return after completing each level, and it's host to a bunch of interesting progression. You can unlock upgrades for Aloy and other playable characters, as well as various costumes and building customisation options with which to decorate the village. The hub expands over time, providing more spots to customise with all sorts of LEGO stuff, from Horizon and beyond. On top of all that is a job board, which features all manner of optional objectives for you to complete either in the hub or out in the levels themselves. It all gives you a compelling sense of forward momentum.

Unfortunately, it's in the game's stages that things begin to come apart. Each one is a fairly breezy jaunt through a picturesque environment, interspersed with combat arenas and the occasional boss battle. On paper that sounds fine, but levels are extremely basic. There's very little meaningful platforming or exploration to speak of; you'll jump and climb on your way through, but these short, linear stages have very little variation. There are some small side paths which usually lead to a treasure chest, or a small LEGO build. These are barely hidden, and reward you with studs, the game's core currency — nothing wrong with that, but you get so many studs anyway that the chests and builds are barely worth seeking out.

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At first, this super simple level design makes sense as you're being eased into the game, but it doesn't really ramp up. Even some fun mechanics, like shooting arrows through fire to burn away vines, are introduced early on and then barely utilised. While bookended by amusing cutscenes and punctuated with combat, levels feel flat and contain very little of consequence.

Fortunately the combat does fare better. While stealth feels pointless, and fighting cultists is fine — picking up and throwing them is good fun, at the very least — it's battles against the machines that are the highlight. Much like Horizon proper, they each have unique moves and weak points. Hitting these repeatedly will break them off, dealing lots of damage and, in many cases, disabling certain attacks. Of course, it's simplified in this game, but amid the chaos there's strategy to be found. Elemental effects can give you the edge, as can numerous special weapons and gadgets, ranging from a shield that can deflect projectiles to a hot dog vendor throwing exploding sausages. Depending on the difficulty you select, it can be quite challenging, too. The combat works very well, and is easily the highlight of each stage.

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There are four playable characters; Varl, Teersa, and Erend join Aloy on her adventure, and each of them has their own weapon. Aloy has her signature bow and arrows, while Varl lobs spears, Teersa throws bombs, and Erend wields his hammer. These each play a little differently from each other, and there are special versions of each weapon to discover. While only four characters sounds low compared to other LEGO titles, their unique weapons, and the fact you can dress them all up in dozens of outfits from Horizon and other brands like Ninjago and City, means there's still decent variety.

The combat culminates in a couple of neat boss fights, and as mentioned, levels usually lead into fun cutscenes. However, these moments cannot be revisited, as you can't replay stages, and there's no level select. Once you grab the gold brick to finish each level, it's done, and you can't do it again unless you start a new save. While most of the levels aren't particularly interesting to play more than once, we think it's a shame you can't redo cool fights or revisit favourite story moments, and an odd choice for a game aimed predominantly at children.

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What eases this a little is that, once you've cleared a chapter's levels, you'll unlock Apex Hunts, giving you slightly tougher combat encounters to tackle. When you've finished these, you unlock Free Mode, which lets you explore the environments again as often as you like, allowing you to finish optional objectives and earn more studs. What makes this particularly interesting is that the level layout is randomised each time, revealing a sort-of modular structure that may explain why the main stages feel rather empty.

Conclusion

LEGO Horizon Adventures has left us feeling somewhat torn. On the one hand, this is a charming, kid-friendly take on Sony's popular series that successfully translates the story, characters, and combat into the LEGO realm — and with real visual polish to boot. On the other, once the novelty wears off, level design feels vacant and repetitive, almost never engaging you with the sort of platforming or puzzle solving you might expect. There's absolutely fun to be had here, especially the combat, but some fundamental design decisions let the side down.

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