Lego Horizon Adventures review: there's beauty in those bricks
LEGO's best-looking game is fun with a friend...
For nearly 20 years now, LEGO has been creating fun video games out of some of the biggest franchises on the planet. We've seen Harry Potter, Star Wars, Marvel and more created in slick, brick pixels and polygons.
The latest is perhaps LEGO's most intriguing yet, mainly because it's not an IP that can, yet, be classified as 'blockbuster'.
Horizon LEGO Adventures is based on the Horizon games franchise, which began with Horizon Zero Dawn back in 2017 (a fantastic remaster of which launched just a few weeks back) and, more recently, Horizon Forbidden West in 2022.
While the franchise deals with rather complex themes (the corruption of capitalism, environmental issues), it can also be distilled as: humans and robot dinosaurs co-exist and sometimes the robot rexes get a bit fight-y.
Well, that's how I sold the idea of the game to my eight-year-old son who I enlisted to help me with this review. It felt right having him on board, given he was approaching the game from an 'it's a LEGO video game' point of view and I from knowing the franchise and seeing how LEGO reconstructed it.
With that in mind, here are 5 things to know about LEGO Horizon Adventures...
1. It's LEGO's best-looking game
The Horizon franchise has always been one that looks beautiful. Nature is a big part of the story, alongside the whacking big robots, and so it was great to see all of this remade sympathetically in LEGO.
Here the bricks are beautifully realised (I was playing the standard non-Pro PS5 version), with a shimmer not seen in previous LEGO games. The way that waterfalls are rendered, how the light shines - whether in the cold mountains or the warmth of the forests - there's a fantastic look to the game that includes the movement of the characters.
There's also a lovely stop-motion feel to how characters move, too. This gives the fight scenes - of which there are plenty - some extra flair.
2. It's faithful to the original game's plot
Not that my eight-year-old cared too much, but the plot for LEGO Horizons does riff on the one from Zero Dawn - adding in the extra zing of LEGO one-liners, and poking fun at the more po-faced aspects of the original game.
There's the idea of the All-Mother, a deity that Aloy (the main character here) and her other tribes folk worship. There's also Rost who is narrator (and funny throughout), as well as a key part of the plot, and three other unlockable characters who do battle against Helis, his gang of sun-worshippers, and those massive animal robot things.
3. Combat is fun, if occasionally repetitive
While fighting has always been a key tenet for a LEGO video game, here it is very much the make-up of LEGO Horizon Adventures, with the fight scenes reminiscent of the likes of an RPG. They usually take place in a big ol' arena-like setting and the enemies include a mixture of sun worshippers and ruddy great robots.
In co-op mode, I had a lot of fun in the main battles. There was a fair bit of strategy involved, with one of us hiding in the bushes while the other was using our main weapon, which can power up, or some other secondary gadget to beat things up with. You can upgrade your weapons throughout and pushing your power-up through the likes of fire or electricity also gives it an added bit of destruction.
You never know what robot animal is around the corner and that adds to the fun. My wingman on this journey let out an audible 'oh my god' numerous times when a massive or new robot came into view. Whether it was a Watcher, Scrapper or the jaw-dropping Tallneck, it was great fun to figure out a game plan for each that wasn't just button mashing.
Yes, the fight scenes are a little repetitive but switching between the characters and their own special weapons really does mix things up and the introduction of each new robot animal was a bit like those intro scenes in Robot Wars.
4. The level of customisation is fantastic
Mother’s Heart is the game's central village and where you go back to after each level you complete. This is an ingenious move by LEGO and an area that should not be skipped.
In fact, it was the place my son wanted to stay in far longer than I did, thanks to the huge amount of customisation that can be done here.
Once each area of the village opens up, after completing a level, there are spots galore where you can build new buildings or tweak plots of land. There are also existing buildings that you can spend your money on to change into whichever style you feel fit.
Here's the best bit: the further you progress, the more LEGO franchise options you get - from the likes of LEGO City to Ninjago, there are customisable options to make Mother’s Heart in your favourite LEGO style.
While this wouldn't work in other LEGO games that have to stick to the franchise they are mining, it really does here — the world of Horizon is one that's built on remnants of the past. In the earlier levels, there are brilliant nods to current 'adult' LEGO builds, such as the Jazz cafe, in the background. But here in Mother's Heart you can change the roofs of houses in whichever style you want and have a lot of fun.
There are also a ton of unlockable character uniforms, too, from Ninjago, LEGO City and other franchises.
5. It's short, but super sweet
If you don't spend hours customising your village and people - and you really should - then LEGO Horizons is a pretty swift game that takes place over four distinct areas.
If you aren't a completist, then you can get round the whole thing in 10 hours, but taking time to watch the silliness of the story play out is part of the fun and you can get lost in the customisation for hours.
Also, it was a game I really wanted to head back to mainly because it is one of those few games that I could play with my son where we are both invested and working together to figure out the puzzles.
Plus, there is a lot of humour in the cutscenes that really lands, so you don't want to be skipping those.
LEGO Horizon Adventures review: Final Verdict
At first glance, you'll be scratching your head as to why LEGO chose the Horizon franchise over bigger gaming franchises out there, but play Lego Horizon Adventures and it makes complete sense.
It's a game that is about the rebuilding of a world, and what's more LEGO-like than that? The characters are fun and fully realised while the action is compelling and challenging enough to keep you coming back. That is if you can drag yourself away from the customisable options that are at the beating heart of the game.