Game Review: Lego Builder's Journey

Lego Builder’s Journey has been a game I’ve had a keen interest in ever since I first laid eyes on it. Developed by Lego’s own internal video game developer Light Brick Studio; Lego Builder’s Journey delivers a Lego video game experience unlike the main line entries by Traveller’s Tales. Rather that providing players with a large open world to explore and a plethora of characters to play as; this game chooses to provide a much smaller and intimate scope to its product. At its heart, Lego Builder’s Journey is a puzzle game which presents its gameplay through several 3-D isometric levels. It pivots the focus of the game around using the surrounding Lego pieces within your vicinity to overcome an obstacle and progress forward to the next level. This core focus is a refreshing step back from the usual large scale experiences Lego games the license is most well-known for and the gameplay actually works in sync with the games core narrative premise. 

The story of Lego Builder’s Journey is an intimate portrayal of a father and son’s bond. Utilising the noted isometric levels, the father and son go on a long journey together across many different locations as the game aims to reflect the simple yet all together emotional relationship any father and son go through in their life.  This core premise keeps the game’s narrative easily approachable from both young and older audiences. The idea of using the game to reflect a fun and endearing adventure between a parent and their child reflects a very honest aspect of our lives. I wasn’t expecting to feel a strong emotional response to this game’s tale but it honestly surprises you with how easily it captures the essence of the life a father and son share as time goes by. I also feel it mirrors the real-life relationship father and sons can share through Lego in a very clever way. It’s all together a simple story but I think that simplistic charm is what helps keep the overall design of the game and its captivating message accessible. 

When looking at the game’s technical design it’s difficult not to be impressed.  The smaller scope of the game design gives it noteworthy gameplay behind it. These isometric levels are beautifully rendered and animated completely with Lego pieces too. That core goal of having everything in this game be visualised through Lego keeps it’s charm alive. What I love about the gameplay too is it’s inherently simple yet clever at the same time. It gives you a nice set of pieces to give you enough of an indication of what to use them for and how to progress. Each level has a different challenge to overcome and the story is smartly pushed through these environments and their challenges. I always love it when the game finds a compelling way to mesh the gameplay and story together as it helps players keep easily invested in both aspects. The only negative you can draw out of me for the gameplay is its small scale. I think for the price tag behind this game, it’s main story while beautiful doesn’t last long enough to justify it at full price. There’s a creative mode which allows you to create your own unique environments but the novelty doesn’t last all that long and there’s no share features behind it which I feel is a bit of a missed opportunity. 

One thing I don’t normally mention but realise I probably should is the music and visuals behind this game. Again, this game isn’t about rendering a large-scale open world, it’s focus is isometric, Lego environments. The way these environments are rendered, using ray-tracing and realistic detailing makes these set-pieces so much more charming to play through. There’s a variety of beautiful locations in this game and the way the engine renders all of the light and colour behind them is a really impressive feat. The musical score behind the game is composed by Henrik Lindstrand and is hands down one of the best video game soundtracks I’ve heard in my life. The sombre melodies compliment the games wonderous beauty and tone perfectly and I find myself listening to these tracks constantly in my spare time. 

Lego Builder’s Journey is a small game yes, but its overall product is so well-designed that I’d happily recommend it to any Lego fan. It provides you with a very heartfelt narrative which uses our love for Lego to bring us together in the most intimate of fashions. It’s technical design and visual scope is beautifully crafted and it leaves you in a really content feeling from the small amount of time it asks of you. If you see this game on sale one day, please pick it up! It’s a really nice game and well deserving of your time and investment.