Lego Horizon Adventures review: post-apocalyptic brick party

Video game and pop culture crossovers have been Lego’s thing for a while now, but a Lego game based on Horizon Zero Dawn is a coming full-circle moment. After all, when developer Guerilla was brainstorming its post-apocalyptic open world adventure, the dinosaur-like machines were designed using Lego Duplo blocks.

An entire Lego Horizon game must’ve seemed like a no-brainer on Lego’s part, having previously released a Tallneck building set that included a minifigure of protagonist Aloy. It’s also the one franchise from Sony’s slate that was ripe for a family-friendly spin-off – I can’t picture a Lego Last of Us or Lego God of War arriving any time soon.

It lands just in time for the holiday season – but with the already excellent Astro Bot also being suitable for all ages, is there room for two kid-friendly console games on the nice list this year?

Adventure dawns

Lego Horizon Adventures is essentially a U-rated (well, PEGI-7, to be specific) retelling of the first Horizon game, set in a future where mankind has reverted to tribal hunter-gatherer societies while hostile machines roam the land like wild animals. But this being a Lego game that’s quite happy to interrupt with irreverent jokes and anachronisms, it’s not that precious about the story.

Still, the basic pieces are there. Machine hunter Aloy (voiced by original actor Ashly Burch but with a chirpier register) is an outcast and orphan searching for the truth behind her mother, while also on a mission to save the world from a megalomaniacal cultist and the sinister AI he’s allied with.

It’s just as visually vibrant to look at as the mainline game, and the PS5 version goes one further with ray-traced lighting effects. The machines, from the smaller Watchers to the ginormous Thunderjaw, are then faithfully rendered in detailed Lego form. The gameplay is in a fixed isometric perspective but while you won’t be aiming a bow in 3D, the game still adapts the Focus mechanic so that you can temporarily highlight enemy weak points to aim and fire at.

It feels on the simpler side compared to other 3D Lego games, such as Lego City Undercover or Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. The control scheme is also cut back, where you can’t move the camera with the right analogue stick. However, this means if you’re playing the Switch version (yes, a Sony game on a Nintendo console, what a world) the drop-in co-op mode can be done with a single Joy-Con for each player. It’s definitely skewed toward a younger age by default, but you can opt for higher difficulty options if you are after a challenge and want those skill tree upgrades to feel more meaningful.

Hunters gatherer

Given the option for co-op, it makes sense that Aloy isn’t the only playable character. While it’s still her story and she’s the minifigure that shows up for cutscenes, you can swap out for one of multiple unlockable characters that hail from the original game. That said, if it wasn’t for one character providing a melee option, you might struggle to tell their abilities apart.

Rare weapons and gadgets, either hidden or sometimes dropped by defeated machines, add some depth to the combat. These have limited uses but provide a refreshing array of options, such as burning or freezing enemies, or having a spreadshot. I’m especially partial to the boots that allow you to double jump and burn enemies under you at the same time. Making use of the environment also comes in handy, as does being able to pick up and toss explosive barrels.

The machines are once again the highlight here. You’ll quickly get used to dispatching them, as most encounters have multiple waves of foes dropping in to prolong the combat. It gets fun and frantic when you’re having to find an opening against a shield-carrying Shell-walker, while also evading more aggressive packs of machines. Boss fights are also big, room-filling affairs.

But just like the mainline game, it’s the human cultist enemies that underwhelm in comparison, being more of a nuisance more than anything. Even being able to just pick them up to throw loses its novelty as it can get fiddly trying to toss them at another target. It’s still quite funny to just chuck them over the edge of levels, though.

Collector’s edition

As an antidote to AAA open-world bloat, Lego Horizon Adventures’ story can be easily wrapped up in around 8 hours. While each of the four main biomes has more challenging apex hunts to tackle after, the main reason to keep playing once the credits have rolled is to unlock more customisation, from costumes to buildings and decorations.

You can completely mix up the look and feel of your Nora tribe’s village hub, and aren’t just restricted to Horizon-themed content. Other Lego franchises such as Lego City and Lego Ninjago also show up. Want a change from the post-apocalyptic chic to Japanese cherry trees and temples, or a DJ booth, or a space shuttle? And just like Astro Bot, a lot of things you build have some lovely animations when you interact with them.

New features and content unlock at a pretty regular clip as you earn gold bricks by completing missions. There’s no shortage of ways to collect studs, the Lego currency used for buying everything you unlock, either. Earning more gold bricks means completing side quests from a community job board, which is where things become more of a grind. There are lots of check list activities that involving doing something x number of times, although some jobs have novel and less obvious objectives. Some also require you to wear a certain costume to achieve it.

Given you can see upfront what content is left to unlock and what you need to unlock it, some gated cosmetics don’t seem that compelling unless you’re really an ardent competionist. If there’s any consideration for post-launch updates, I could see potentially more content collaborations – perhaps other PlayStation IP getting the Lego treatment – giving this Lego adventure more legs.

Lego Horizon Adventures verdict

If you’ve been getting weary of dreary post-apocalyptic vibes, Lego Horizon Adventures largely succeeds in turning that frown upside down. This light-hearted take on the Horizon franchise still faithfully carries over its fundamental core to a more simplified and family-friendly affair.

It’s hardly a PlayStation exclusive to shout from the rooftops (for one, it’s not actually exclusive to Sony consoles, and perhaps puzzling that a Switch version exists but not a PS4 one) and given you can already get a kiddified Aloy and machine pals experience in the superior Astro Bot, that’s probably more than enough. But if you’re after a Lego game you can play together with the family this holiday then you can do worse.