The best Lego games have been delighting us for over two decades now, giving the world the opportunity to express their creativity from the comfort of their couch. In fact, they have given us some of the best feel-good games around, letting us explore colorful worlds and live out our favorite movie franchises.
Over the years, we've jumped into various fun stories, smashed bricks for those sweet coins, and used our brains to solve puzzles as well as build some truly wild creations. Lego video games are still going strong as well, with plenty of new games on the horizon, such as Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight. However, before we look ahead to future purchases, let's revisit the classics that truly paved the way for all the plastic-cube greatness we see on our consoles today.
The best Lego games ever made, starting with....
10. Lego Jurassic World
Release: 2015
Platform(s): PC, Nintendo 3DS, PS3, PS4, PSVita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Lego and dinosaurs is a combination that – sadly – doesn't appear in your daily life often enough. Thankfully, there's a video game for that. Lego Jurassic World isn't the most well-rounded of Traveller's Tales' adventures, but it's a great diving-in point thanks to the strength of its co-op gameplay and slapstick comedy. In fact, this was the first game where my brother and I didn't fight about Lego coin collecting.
It wraps four of the Jurassic movies into one game and follows them faithfully, meaning there's much less combat here than in other licensed titles. That makes sense, really, considering most of the movies are about humans trying to avoid close encounters with a dinosaur's talon. Instead, you'll have to work together and use different character skills to escape toothy predators.
RELATED: Lego Jurassic World review: "Gentle but classic Lego puzzling"
9. Lego Harry Potter Years 1-4, 5-7
Release: 2010-2011
Platform(s): PC, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, Wii U, PSP, PSVita, Nintendo Switch
Technically, these are two separate games, but they're so good I'm lumping them into one must-play. All seven books have been transformed into a playable adventure that uses spellcasting to blast a dose of fresh air into the Lego game formula - Wingardium Leviosa, for instance, is your best friend for reaching high studs.
Meanwhile, Hogwarts Castle is the ultimate hub world, packed with nooks and crannies to explore alongside a huge cast of characters. In fact, this cinematic universe is the perfect landscape to set a video game in, and these two Lego titles will please Potter superfans and casual gamers alike.
RELATED: LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 review: "Nearly perfects the LEGO game template"
8. Lego City Undercover
Release: 2013
Platform(s): Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, Wii U, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Grand Theft Auto is widely considered one of the most popular gaming franchises of all time, but there's an awful lot of, well, naughtiness. Lego City Undercover is the family-friendly answer to that, but it somehow still retains fistfuls of charm without anesthetizing any of the adrenaline you'd expect from a GTA-esque experience.
That's largely thanks to how it pays homage to crime thriller movies like Goodfellas without ever explicitly riffing off an established franchise. The sprawling scale of the world leaves room for plenty of exploration after you finish the main 10-hour campaign, and in 2017, they even introduced co-op play. Also, I'd still argue that this is one of the best Switch games that Lego fans can still pick up today.
RELATED: While it's showing its age now, Lego City Undercover is still one of the best open world games for kids.
7. Lego The Lord of The Rings
Release: 2013
Platform(s): PC, PS3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, iOS, Android, PSVita
When we talk about the best Lord of the Rings games, we have to mention this Lego edition. For any Tolkien fan, walking around Middle-earth is a dream come true, and when you pair that feature with cute cutscenes remaining the iconic story, you can't go wrong. Out of all the Lego games, though, be warned, this is one of the harder ones. Straight away, you'll be thrown into a battle fighting a Bionicle-looking Sauron, and the combat from there on out is similarly a lot more unforgiving than most Lego games.
But hey, we all know that it wasn't easy for the hobbit Frodo to travel all the way to Mordor, so it makes sense that we have somewhat of a challenge here as well. On top of the combat in this Lego game, the levels are varied and are tons of fun to play and replay as you hunt for collectibles. This Lego game is much better for the older crowd, so keep that in mind.
RELATED: Lego The Lord of the Rings review: "An enjoyable excuse to get your LEGOlas on"
6. Lego Marvel Super Heroes
Release: 2013
Platform(s): PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U, PS4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch
2013 was the peak of Marvel mania, and luckily, that resulted in one of the best Marvel games for Lego fans. That's right, The Avengers had arrived in cinemas the year before, and Traveller's Tales released Lego Marvel Superheroes. It is a beautifully constructed love letter to the Marvel universe, cramming in hundreds of characters and locations from X-Men, Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, and more.
In between missions, explore a Lego Manhattan, spanning from the Statue of Liberty to the X-Mansion up past Harlem to the massive Shield Helicarrier that hovers over the East River. The open world is expertly made and filled with enough wit and warmth to keep you entertained for hours.
RELATED: Lego Marvel Super Heroes review: "Plenty of funny moments to keep the laughter up"
5. Lego Batman 2: DC Superheroes
Release: 2012
Platform(s): PC, Nintendo 3DS, PS3, PSVita, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360
Having made Lego games for seven years, in 2012, Traveller's Tales tried a few things to shake up the formula with Lego Batman 2: DC Superheroes (aka one of the best Batman games ever made). The first was having a full voice cast. Until then, silent protagonists had always been played for laughs, but fresh new actors brought life to plot points that otherwise wouldn’t have landed.
DC Superheroes was also the first Lego game to introduce an open world, giving players the whole of Gotham City to explore. There were a couple of teething problems in making these two additions work smoothly – the minimap, for example, needed some polish – but it was a big step in the franchise's history.
RELATED: LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes review: "A great game for Batman fans, young and old"
4. Lego Builder's Journey
Release: 2019
Platform(s): Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, iOS, PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S
Lego Builder's Journey is a little different from the majority of this list because it isn't trying to recreate something else out of Lego; it's doing its own thing. It's an original tale where a young child is trying to reunite with its parent, and it'll do so by passing through a number of dioramas that in some way need 'solving' with Lego.
These little puzzle boxes are stunning but also capture the magic of playing with Lego in real life. There's no one right way to solve the puzzles you're presented with, so as long as it functions, that's all that matters. It's focused on play and the joy of clicking the little bricks together.
RELATED: Looking for more like Lego Builder's Journey? Then you'll want to check our ranking of the best puzzle games.
3. Lego 2K Drive
Release: 2023
Platform(s): PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Imagine the carnage of Forza Horizon 5 rebuilt with individual Lego bricks, and you should have a pretty good idea of what to expect from Lego 2K Drive. Developer Visual Concepts has delivered an exemplary open-world racing game that's perfect for children of all ages.
With its fun campaign, sprawling worlds to explore, and intuitive building mechanics that will let you build the super-charged car of your dreams, Lego 2K Drive is an absolute delight. Better still, the game features strong split-screen and online multiplayer support to ensure that you're able to enjoy the game with friends and family members with ease.
RELATED: LEGO 2K Drive review: "Family-friendly, open world racing done right"
2. Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
Release: 2022
Platform(s): PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch
After 17 years of perfecting its formula, developer Traveller's Tales has returned to the game that started it all and decided to redo LEGO Star Wars. But 'redo' doesn't do justice to the ambition here. This is a completely new game, recreating not only the original trilogy of films in LEGO form but all nine films from the yellow text of A New Hope, through the "I am the senate" posturing of the prequel trilogy to the final shot from The Rise of Skywalker (complete with a brilliantly cutting sight gag).
It's all here. Not just the action sequences you know and love, but the towns, forests, and swamps around them, all bustling with LEGO-ized life and absolutely packed with Star Wars lore, puzzles, and challenges. When a game goes all-in like this, Yoda was right. It's do or do not; there is no try. And Traveller's Tales really, really did it with Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga.
RELATED: Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga review: "At last, THIS is the droid you are looking for"
1. Lego Bricktales
Release: 2022
Platform(s): PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch
Lego Bricktales has soared to the top of our best Lego games list because it's the closest you're going to get to playing with Lego in real life in digital form. With its own unique narrative, you'll have to build various things in digital Lego to problem-solve and create innovative solutions. The things you're asked to create range from aesthetically pleasing to functional, from cranes and gyrocopters to a market stand or music box.
All you're given is a direction and a pile of bricks. Then, it's up to you to make something that works. It's immensely satisfying to watch your creations come to life in the game and become part of the world, and in the case of something like the gyrocopter, fully animated, too. Alongside the story that takes you through jungles, deserts, cities, and castles, you'll also work to restore an old theme park - so prepare yourself for designing rides, too.
RELATED: Lego Bricktales Review: "The puzzles are like inspirations for your creativity"
There are still plenty of new Lego games being made. So, checked out our new Lego Horizon Adventures review to discover the latest release.
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