This game recently celebrated it’s 3 year anniversary on the 27th of October, and we are approaching a year since the anouncement that there will be no new content. Lego Dimensions is the only toys to life game that I ever picked up.
It’s available for both Xbox and Playstation and is a game that I have no doubt that Traveler’s Tales’ (TT) and Warner Bros had hoped would have longevity. Unfortunately the toys to life genre has been taking a slowwwww plunge into oblivion and it’s novelty has just warn out. I know I find it increasingly harder to store a big collection, and whilst Lego Dimensions had it right with reasonably small figure, it still takes up a lot of room on the shelves and in the cupboards. Despite this, I still really enjoy the game! so let’s take a look at what you get!
At the time of release the game was priced somewhere in the £80 region (Now as low as £30), I can’t remember exactly, but it was a pretty hefty price for the base game. You could also buy extra figures in the way of fun packs, team packs, level packs and story packs, which could set you back between £10-30, now you can get some fun packs for under £4. The base game comes with the Dimensions portal which you build up onto the toy pad, Wyldstyle, Batman, Gandalf and the batmobile. The Main campaign takes you through 14 levels your basically trying to stop the evil Lord Vortech from merging all the Lego worlds and ruining everything!. Whilst he’s off trying to find all the foundation elements (necessary for his evil overlord plan), various other characters (like Robin, Metalbeard and Frodo) are being pulled into a vortex and disappearing, and this is what has brought our unlikely trio together, they’re just looking for their friends.
On their journey, aided by the ex robot minion of Lord Vortech X-PO they build a vortex generator to jump through Dimensions and seek to thwart Lord Vortech and his evil doings. Along the way they meet some pretty familiar faces, old and new such as Doc brown and The Doctor, and you get to travel through their worlds completing puzzles and fighting their villains! I personally liked the inclusions of GLaDOS as a boss, in fact the whole portal level was pretty fun! On finishing the game there is a little cut scene that sets up nicely for a second game/ main story line, I can only assume this will never come to pass. In the base game you also get a mini open world (Adventure worlds) for each of the main characters, Gandalf unlocks Middle earth, Wyldstyle The Lego movie world and Batman DC world.
In each of these little open worlds there are loads of things to do, from puzzles to car races to other tasks, and you earn gold bricks, there are over 1000 to collect and you need them to upgrade vehicles. You can also unlock the Vorton disco party Red brick when you collect 480 gold bricks. Red bricks are rarer but they give you certain abilities.
So that’s the base game, but what do you get with each pack?? Packs are essentially physical DLC as you are probably aware. A fun pack includes a character and a vehicle, if its a character from a different adventure world then that unlocks too. New characters can unlock new things in previously played levels, such as mini kits, another collectable in the game. If you collect all the Mini Kits in one level you can build a statue in the worlds, eg a dinosaur for the Jurassic park levels. Team packs are two characters two vehicles, pretty simple. Level packs are a character and 2 vehicles that unlock a whole new playable level within that world in the game, these are pretty cool and my favourite so far has been the Adventure time level pack, closely followed by the Portal level pack!
There are three story packs available: Fantastic beasts and where to find them; Lego Batman; Ghostbusters (Female version). Story packs add 6 new levels to play through that follow the film story line , so they are much more enjoyable if you’ve also seen the film, which is not so necessary with level packs or exploring adventure worlds (however source material knowledge does improve the experience). It’s important to note you can’t access an adventure world without a corresponding figure.
So why do I like to play and whats my favourite thing? I really enjoy Lego games in general and I quite like collecting things, so for me having some physical Lego really boosts my enjoyment although it takes up space its pretty cool to look at, if i could display it nicely, even better. I love the adventure worlds, they’re my favourite I just think their are soooo many opportunities to explore, and every time I go back to one I find something new! It’s really fun and often relaxing doing all the little puzzles and tasks around the world. I also love discovering things within the adventure worlds that I recognise and love, could be characters could be places. One of my favourites was discovering the chamber of secrets!
As for the levels every one is different, from the setting to the way its played to the tasks and challenges. Sometimes within a level you will come across an extra task or challenge that requires a character that is not one of the main three, this is usually to unlock a piece of mini kit, a hidden bit of the level or to rescue the levels “Damsel in distress”***. In what seems like a reasonable attempt to not be a “pay to win” you can use in game currency (which is easily collected and infinite) to Hire a Hero for 30 seconds and complete the task, this is something i like. I also like how the game doesn’t take itself or its source material too seriously, just like all lego games. It’s inherently silly in it’s nature.
This game is the sort of game i can pick up, not worry about and just relax and have some fun, no drama, no tantrums, no throwing controllers at the screen. I also think that you get a decent amount of content for your money in regards to base game, level and story packs (and team/fun packs as they unlock adventure worlds if there is no level pack) Lastly its a good family friendly multiplayer, theres something for a wide range of interests e.g. Teen titans, Gremlins, The Goonies, Doctor Who, Powerpuff girls, Jurassic park, The A team, Adventure time and much more!
There’s not a lot I don’t like about this game and whilst its not a visionary masterpiece within the gaming world It’s fun, it’s easy, it’s silly. You can play with all the family and you don’t have to think about it too much.
It’s a shame this genre of game is no longer viable and i’ll no longer get to see new worlds, but all good things have an end! Overall i’d give it an 8/10.
Pros
-Physical Items
-Easy to play, lighthearted
-Lots of content to get through
Cons
-Physical items
-Expensive
-Dying Game format
***May not be an actual Damsel