Make room Emmet Brickowski, more Master Builders are on the way.
Created by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and TT Games, LEGO Worlds lets kids man powerful creation tools and build the cities, landscapes, and playgrounds that were once only possible in their dreams. The open-world game allows kids ages 10 and up to make colorful creations free of mess and limitations.
If you like sandbox games that leave you on a long leash, LEGO Worlds is for you. It’s sort of like Minecraft, in so much that it features and encourages free exploration, resource gathering, and crafting in an environment that players can freely roam. The game also comes with a walkthrough book that guides gamers through the early stages of the playing process, in case they’re not sure where to find the clues that help them progress.
LEGO Worlds begins with a meteorite slamming the Pug-Z ship down on a nearby planet, immediately stranding players on a unique landscape by way of free-fall.
The first world I touched down on was dubbed “Pirate Playground.” It was a colorful island featuring a small farm, a pirate’s ship, and a few sandy beaches. “Prehistoric Peril” was less inviting, and was home to molten lava, dinosaurs, and cavemen. As I learned the hard way, lava is a health-damaging environmental hazard, so gamers should avoid it whenever possible.
As kids roam around the themed worlds, they’ll encounter inhabitants in need of assistance. After lending a hand, they’ll be rewarded with special Gold Bricks that they can use to rebuild their Pug-Z ship and blast off to a new world. These Gold Bricks are the most coveted items in LEGO Worlds, and kids will love them like Scooby loves Scooby Snacks. The nuggets can also be cashed in for equipment such as cameras, lanterns, block guns, grapple guns, and jetpacks, all of which enhance the play experience. Gold Bricks even raise players’ builder rank. Kids will have to graduate from Learner Builders to Master Builders slowly and steadily, as there are 12 ranks in total.
When the time comes to build, it’s all about having the right tool for the job. Luckily in LEGO Worlds, gamers have an arsenal of them to choose from. The Discovery Tool is the first one kids will unlock when they begin the game. It allows them to replicate characters, creatures, and other objects that they find during their travels. They can take aim and carefully spawn copies, or fire them into the sky with wild abandonment. I prefer the latter.
With the Landscape Tool, kids can add, remove, and reshape terrain. Once the ground is leveled to their liking, the Build Tool can be used to create something from scratch. Kids can search through a library of unlimited bricks, plates, tiles, slopes, fixtures, and fittings to make their dreams a reality. They can even put the Free Build tool to use by collapsing all of their tools and Discovery items into one easily accessible menu bar, and complete the look of their creation by recoloring the bricks with the Paint Tool.
In many ways, LEGO Worlds is just like any free-world game. There are ordinary features and functions like using the controller’s sticks to move, the “X” button to jump, and in-game vehicles that aid in the journey. Then, there are more quirky aspects of the game, like using a banana as a weapon. Bonk! Wham! Potassium!
But some things are just more fun with friends, and I’m happy to say that has been addressed in LEGO Worlds. Friends can explore other kids’ worlds online or via split screen, where both participants get a full set of tools with which to design. There’s even an online multiplayer feature that lets LEGO lovers allow anyone from their friends list to seamlessly join. It’s a classic case of the more the merrier.
LEGO Worlds is creative fun for all ages, and is available in North America for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and STEAM. The game will launch on the Nintendo Switch later this year.
