Although Traveller’s Tales has done a fantastic job of bringing Lego to life since its debut with Lego Star Wars in 2005, that success has come at a price. Over time, Lego games became predictable and repetitive, in contrast to the creative spirit of the original toys. Thankfully, the world of Lego is now free again and various studios, big and small, have been given the opportunity to explore and play with the well-known license in innovative ways.
The latest release, Lego 2K Drive, is the work of 2K and Visual Concepts Studio, best known for their strong work on the WWE 2K and NBA 2K series. Without crossing the line of definition, Lego 2K Drive can also be classified as a sports game as it is about open-world racing with an emphasis on exploration and being the first to cross the finish line.
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If you’ve played the latest Need for Speed or Forza Horizon games, you already have an idea of what to expect with Lego 2K Drive. In this game you have seemingly infinite fuel to explore a vast world in search of virtual currency, upgrades and new vehicles. While this formula has worked well in the past, games in this genre often lose momentum before reaching the finish line as it can result in repetitive activity and a meaningless story. Thankfully, that’s not the case with Lego 2K. Drive, quite the opposite.
Let’s start with the story, which is admittedly quite simple. As an unknown racer, your goal is to defeat the corrupt and self-absorbed racer Shadow Z, whose evil deeds are casting a shadow over the brave new world of Bricklandia. However, the motivation goes beyond honor. Victory comes with a huge cash prize that could save your mentor Clutch Racington and his shop from bankruptcy. And that’s pretty much it.
Despite the simple premise, the story manages to be entertaining thanks to the charming and funny miniatures encountered along the way. Visual Concepts was clearly inspired by The Lego Movie and its sequels, which is reflected in the stop-motion animation of the film sequences. However, what really stands out is the game’s satirical tone, which adds a dash of humor.
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Just like in Forza Horizon, every character you meet is super excited and treats you like you’re Jesus Christ on a comeback tour. However, unlike “serious” racing games, the authors of Lego 2K Drive know this premise is completely ridiculous, and constantly flout genre conventions with hilarious dialogue that often breaks the fourth wall. Sometimes the humor is uneducated. Finally, the game is aimed at a younger audience. Still, there were plenty of clever moments that made me laugh. Like when the two selfish commentators started talking about the great weather while I was driving through a gloomy, dark forest. “Oops, I checked the desktop wallpaper,” one of them called out. If that isn’t insightful criticism of the media, then I don’t know what is!
The game’s charm isn’t just limited to well-written and well-acted dialogue. Visually, it’s a feast for the eyes despite the modest file size of just 10GB. Real attention to detail shows here, whether it’s the beautiful square clouds on the horizon or the individual Lego bricks and pieces that make up your car. In addition, if you slow down, you will discover many fun details in the area, such as a donut shop surrounded by police cars. What is most impressive, however, is that the game world remains spectacular even at high speeds. My Xbox Series S had no problem maintaining a solid 60 fps frame rate in the open world, with just a few small, insignificant stutters during races.
Unlike many open-world racing games that look like empty deserts, Lego 2K Drive offers a completely different experience. Each of the game’s four environments is unique and varied, from an enchanted biome to a gold rush-stricken rural town, and packed with fun activities. You can take part in exciting police chases (now equipped with missiles), push a gold nugget through a rocky landscape like you’re playing golf, jump over ravines, smash skeletons and monsters, and much more! A variety of challenges and surprises await you around every corner.
While Lego 2K Drive’s biomes aren’t particularly large, they give you the opportunity to explore every inch without anything stopping you. Almost all objects except tall buildings and rock formations can be traversed, resulting in a satisfying explosion of Lego bricks. In addition, you have the freedom to drive on any terrain as your vehicle automatically transforms into an SUV when you go off the road or into a boat when you enter the water. Vehicle changes are automatic. However, if you prefer a manual gearbox, you can adjust the settings yourself to switch between them.
The variety of changing vehicles offers a great variety. However, this represents a missed opportunity as the differences in driving styles are not as great as one might expect. So don’t be surprised if the game turns into MotorStorm or Wave Race overnight just because the terrain changes.
Still, Lego 2K Drive continues to provide an excellent driving experience. Any vehicle, whether it’s a tractor, sports car, speedboat, or wheeled donut, drives amazing. Unlike a karting game, the momentum of the vehicles is crucial to make smooth turns or avoid falling off a cliff. Initially I made use of the Handbrake (X/Square) which allows for a change of direction at high speed, but while drifting (activated by pressing gas and brake at the same time) it’s also harder to master and worth it as it fills your boost bar. Drifting is especially important towards the end of the game when you unlock a particularly powerful boost. Strategic use of the jump button (Y/Triangle) often allows for useful shortcuts, whether in water, on land or in the air, the sense of control is just superb.
There is certainly a difference between driving and racing on the track. Unfortunately, Lego 2K Drive leaves a lot to be desired in this regard. Although the game has 24 tracks that take you through the entire open world, these are mostly emotionless, apart from the last track, which clearly stands out. Only a few routes have interesting obstacles, so most of the time you are practically on autopilot.
In theory, this leaves enough time to focus on the power-ups available in the game, such as a heat-seeking missile, an exploding EMP shield, a spider web, and a wormhole of sorts that will teleport you further down. These items are very similar to Mario Kart, but unfortunately the weapons deal minimal damage rather than momentarily halting or throwing the vehicles off course, resulting in them rarely having a large impact. What’s more, this effect is minimized even further as your vehicle is immediately teleported back onto the track when defusing.
did you start bad Do not worry. Lego 2K Drive features one of the most aggressive and clumsy implementations of the “rubber band system” I’ve seen in a racing game in a long time. If you fall behind a bit, your competitors who appeared to be accelerating at full speed suddenly become very careless and sluggish drivers. Unfortunately, this becomes more apparent the closer you get to the finish line.
Most of the races looked monotonous and monotonous. I shut off my mind and went full throttle until I reached the final lap or section. Then I had to be careful to use the upgrades and power-ups with a minimum of strategy, but for the most part it was just a matter of formality to win most races. Although on some occasions I won by a hundredth of a second, it was never exciting. In Mario Kart and other racing games, such close finishes tend to get your heart rate up and take a few breaths. My palms didn’t even sweat here.
Before its release, Lego 2K Drive caused controversy due to its microtransactions, season passes, and expensive pre-order versions. However, after completing the game, I can say that it’s not as scary as it was described. It’s true that a little mechanical monkey occasionally asks me if I’d like to visit his garage, which is actually a thinly disguised shop, but his voice disappears in the conversations of other characters, which are less commercially oriented.
At the same time, the game is fairly generous with new cars and minifigures, on top of the roughly 20,000 Lego dollars I earned during my roughly 15-hour playthrough. This is enough to buy 3-4 cars or 7-8 minifigures in the digital store. However, it cannot be ruled out that 2K will use the four announced Season Passes to introduce content based on popular Lego licenses such as Star Wars, Harry Potter and Marvel. This could lead to small car drivers urging their parents to buy more.
On the other hand, Lego 2K Drive is also characterized by the “do it yourself” (DIY) experience. With thousands of parts to choose from and a robust editing mode, you can build the Lego car of your dreams without spending any extra money. All you need is a little imagination and a lot of patience. In addition, the game offers other modes such as cups and single races in the style of Mario Kart. However, it’s a bit sad that you can’t earn medals or other rewards. The split screen option works well but has the same issues as the individual races. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to properly test the game’s online functionality.
So is Lego 2K Drive worth buying? That largely depends on what you’re looking for. Personally, I rarely got bored in the open world, which is beautifully designed down to the smallest 1×1 brick. The activities are varied and thanks to the precise controls, exploring every corner of Bricklandia is a real pleasure. However, I have to say that the races themselves disappointed me and made me long for the game from almost 25 years ago, Lego Racers. For children, the lack of challenge may not matter as much and could even be beneficial. So if you don’t mind microtransactions, this game could be an ideal birthday or Christmas present for the youngest members of the family.
