There is something magical about Lego. Now I’m not thinking about my childhood memories or the sheer endless variety of figures, but above all about the fact that blocks can be used to create incredible constructions, even for technically untalented people like me who spend hours idiot-proof assembling Ikea furniture. Unfortunately, the Lego building aspect is absent from most games based on the iconic toy, but that’s about to change with Lego Bricktales.
Almost all aspects of this proposal focus on construction. Of course, we can also explore different environments with chests to open, secrets to discover and skills to learn. However, we’ll spend most of our time in the construction menu, where we’ll repair bridges in disrepair, copy statues or build objects from scratch, be they electrical devices, helicopters or even crazier things, on a minimalist white background
When I played with Lego as a kid, I was told stories of the strange creations my friends and I made. In Lego Bricktales, it’s the other way around, as the story precedes the building. We will put ourselves in the shoes of a nameless minifigure that we can customize at any time during the game. At the beginning we receive a letter from our rather clueless grandfather who will soon force us to go through a portal in search of the so-called “Crystals of Happiness” necessary to restore his run-down amusement park.
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It’s clear that the developer decided not to spend too much time perfecting the Story that basically serves as an apology to send you through a variety of different environments: a lush jungle, an Egyptian-inspired desert, a medieval castle, and a few more locations that I don’t want to reveal. But that doesn’t mean its writers sat idly by. The game’s dialogue (which, unfortunately, is voiceless) is heartfelt and funny, but without going too far, and our little flying robot friend Rusty (a bit reminiscent of Portal) is a great companion.
But not everything in Lego Bricktales is party and fun. The Austrian developer ClockStone Studios has succeeded in creating a quite complex build mechanics, which is not surprising as it comes from the team behind the Bridge Constructor saga. We don’t have to be civil engineers to master the game, but it’s also true that you can’t completely turn off your brain. Unlike real Lego models, we don’t have manuals to help us and after a few simple challenges at the beginning, the level of difficulty increases quickly.
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Unlike most traditional puzzle titles, the key is not figuring out what to do, but how to do it. The goal is always clearly defined (build a ladder, machine, etc.), but the way to get there is usually entirely up to us. It is often said that there are no limits to the imagination, but this is not the case. to get started We have a limited number of blocks to build. And even when we’ve completed a mission, in many cases we’ll find ourselves with a fairly severe judge: gravity.
Okay, it’s not exactly like natural law, but it’s close. Our elaborate constructions often collapse completely when our faithful companion Rusty runs over them during the test phase. When that happens we usually have to build additional support structures, which can be surprisingly complicated. In this sense the idea seems to be heavily inspired by the early bridge simulator games, from the same developers, but with one important difference. This time it’s built in 3D, which makes things quite difficult.
It’s easy to move and rotate the blocks with the mouse, and with a combination of Shift and various shortcut keys we can move both the blocks and the camera step by step and with great precision, which will be necessary when building complicated structures. It never works smoothly though, as there are too many instances where the slightest mouse movement will move the block out of the intended area, and the precision tools I spoke of never hit exactly where we want them. To be honest, building in a 3D environment is an advanced subject and the system works quite well. However, we can’t expect it to be smooth or intuitive, whether we’re playing with a mouse and keyboard or a console controller. By the way, the Command Build works surprisingly well, but makes the whole process even slower.
Due to the somewhat cumbersome controls and partly monotonous missions, we will end up spending a lot of time in the minimalist building mode. Too bad, because it’s incredibly satisfying to progress through the detailed levels where even the smallest detail is made of Lego. In many ways the game’s graphical style, even the stop motion movement of the minifigures, reminds me of the great “Lego Movie”. Here, however, it looks even more like “real” Lego, as the environment is quite spatially limited and can be viewed in its entirety by pausing the game and moving the camera. This is also how most of the secrets are discovered, and there are some collectibles that provide us with accessories or additional blocks to decorate our creations.
Despite their beauty and intricate design, Lego Bricktales levels aren’t like those Lego sets kept in glass cases with a don’t touch sign. Every item you create can stay in the game world and we have plenty of room to tweak our creations, down to the color of the smallest block. Since most of the objects have a handy function that allows us to advance in the game, it’s often quite obvious which objects were created in a hurry by the artists (sticky blocks, missing details) and which ones were laboriously constructed.
This can illustrate a certain sense of discord in the game. The construction aspect and exploration aspect don’t always go well together, and sometimes I looked forward to completing an item and exploring the game world again. Maybe it’s just that I get more and more demanding as I get older, but overall Lego: Bricktales is a great game. There are some annoying aspects, like the complex building controls and the lack of variety in the different missions, but overall the game offers an excellent look at how to make a Lego game that’s purely building-focused. Hopefully ClockStone Studios or another studio will use it as a basis for developing an even more ambitious future Lego title.
