Lego Horizon Adventures hands-on: Post-apocalyptic robo-whacking is a better fit for blockification than you'd think

Lego Horizon Adventures manages to be exactly what you think it is when you hear those three words in combination, but still buck an amount of that expectation. After playing through the game's opening levels, I'm surprised at how well Studio Gobo and Guerilla Games have been able to make the story and tone feel distinct by deftly altering its source material's more mature tone to be family friendly; and also with how the studio has been able to carve out its own game-feel that isn't overshadowed by Traveler's Tales' monolithic Lego game portfolio.

Even the idea of doing a Lego game adaptation of another game series is surprisingly fresh – it's usually a format used to gamify different media altogether. In Lego Horizon Adventures, though, you can immediately feel that closeness, one game feeding into another. It helps that it's co-developed by Horizon creator Guerilla Games, and retains talent from those originals. Ashly Burch returns as Aloy, the star of both mainline Horizon games, but is able to deliver an immediately more peppy and upbeat take that manages to feel like she's playing the lead in an animated children's movie while maintaining Aloy's personality.

There are times where this tonal shift can feel a bit odd. An early character death that's a big serious moment is now mixed with some slapstick acrobatics, but those familiar with the usual tone of humor that's become associated with Lego as a brand won't find it too out of place. There's a winking tone throughout that's frequently very meta. Early missions focus on Aloy trying to rescue Nora tribe members who have been kidnapped by Shadow Carja. One rescued victim claims he allowed himself to be taken in order to spy on enemy chatter, including finding the info that their leader, Helis, is so good at handling the sun that he has a tanning bed record. Another cage has some other random Lego minifigure characters milling around in the back, as if they'd just been abducted from a bank scene.

Bricking it

At a glance the combination of Lego and Horizon might seem a little random. Is it only because the series has a few popular real-life Lego sets? It might help, but there's more to it. In play, you quickly realize that Horizon fits the Lego world much better than expected, finding some design throughlines that make more sense than the (still tremendously charming) Astro Bot-ification of Uncharted and God Of War: Ragnarok.

That's because the core combat loop that defines Horizon – using your bow and other weapons to strip robots of their armor and components – naturally works well with removing Lego pieces off of a model. Here, hitting those pieces with your bow deals critical damage to the fairly snappy-to-deplete health bars, and tapping the shoulder button uses your tech-wear Focus to highlight those weak points. A friendly amount of auto-aim magnetism means that as long as you're attacking near the correct area you'll get your crits in. (You can even build everything in the game with real bricks if you want).

Beyond picking apart foes, Horizon's broader world benefits from the Lego touch. After all, what better way to convey a post-post-apocalypse – a new world growing over the ruins of the old – than by actually layering bricks over the top? As the old ruins of the modern world we know have been left to crumble, having them actually feeling like half-destroyed lego kits is a tremendously nice touch. Though blocky lego pieces are lo-fi, they're rendered in glorious detail on PS5, where we were playing, figures reflecting light and having tiny scuff details to make them really seem like the real-world bricks we know and love.

Mission complete

Lego Horizon Adventures isn't open world like its source material (though Lego games have dabbled in the genre in the past). Linear levels are themselves a way of differentiating this experience from the original. Starting out in the Nora Village, it acts as a customizable hub from which you embark on new levels. Fairly straightforward, you mostly run and jump around until you get to a combat encounter, occasionally finding hidden chests or sites to build models along the way.

Horizon's stealthier elements receive a nod as well, with Aloy and friends literally turning into grass Lego pieces when among the weeds, able to skitter about unseen. In our time playing, it's more of a brief entry into combat, which embraces chaotic scuffles. With a fairly high-up camera, it suits the long-range-first design, holding then releasing the aim button to ping arrows from your bow into enemies (without having to worry about running out and having to craft more). Humans can also be picked up and thrown, wiggling in your hands before you release them.

Powerups add to the toybox-like appeal of Lego Horizon Adventures, from triple-shots to double-jump blaze boots and even a deployable hot dog cart. Yes, place the cart down, and the hot dog vendor will go hog-wild hurling exploding food around the nearby area. It's a silly approach that may go some way to addressing those that find Horizon's self-serious nature harder to get into. Elemental effects also come into play, though here they're environmental-based rather than tied to ammo. Release an arrow through a campfire, for instance, and it'll deal fire damage when it makes contact with enemy plastic on the other side. Light environmental puzzles make use of this, for instance, by having you burn a wall of thorns.

With its simple play Lego Horizon Adventures likely won't end up as compelling and immersive as Aloy's quest proper, but it's not intended to be. Playing co-op with a PR rep, I'll admit I zoned out for a level or two as we just caught up on life events. That's what can make a single-screen co-op game great (though it supports online play too): soaking in fun, clicky, responsive action and doing it alongside a pal. By ensuring anyone can play by releasing day one across not just PS5 and PC, but Nintendo Switch as well, Lego Horizon Adventures is shaping up to fit that bill well, and provide some chuckles besides.

Looking for what to play next? Check out list of the most anticipated upcoming PS5 games. Want more bricky action? Then read our roundup of the best Lego games!