Lego Horizon Adventures Meets Mixed Reception
In what may be one of the more confusing releases of the year, Lego Horizon Adventures has released to a resounding ‘meh’ from most critics. This Lego retelling of the existing Horizon videogame seems to be in a strange spot. Releasing mere weeks after a PS5 remaster of Horizon Zero Dawn (which many already saw as unnecessary), an entirely new game with the same story told for a younger audience seems severely badly timed.
Unfortunately, if you are hooked on the story of Horizon: Zero Dawn and just need to play it again in Lego form, you may be disappointed. Critics have this release at a middling 72 on Opencritic with only 57% saying they’d recommend the game. A step in the right direction for what many are already seeing as a drawn out series this is not. This is especially bad when other franchises from PlayStation (such as the Last of Us) have been accused of rereleasing older games with no new ideas. Two Horizon games released within a couple of weeks with a near identical story is pushing things just a little too far.
Image by PlayStation
Aside from the bizarre timing and the question of why this game even exists, what is holding it back as a Lego game? While those are generally fun multiplayer romps, this one seems to lack the magic of either the Horizon or Lego IPs. Destructoid gave the game a 6/10 with the following review:
“I quickly found the entire experience very repetitive and not a true representation of what makes Horizon special. Look, I'm a Lego fan. But this time around, I feel it really doesn't do the source material justice.”
Push Square felt similarly with their 6/10 score:
“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.”
Image by PlayStation
This seems to be a game for Horizon fans and, unfortunately, Horizon fans only. Although it attempts to retell the original game in a kid friendly way, this can often make the scenarios weaker and more dull than what came over eight years ago. While it may be fun for younger kids and multiplayer fun, it seems to be a safe bet to steer clear of this one if you want anything truly innovative or new from either Lego or Horizon.
