Game Review: LEGO Marvel Super Heroes

The LEGO video game series has spanned decades and has released numerous titles belonging to well known franchises. Star Wars, Harry Potter, DC, Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean; all of these well-loved IP’s have had their own LEGO themed outing. One major franchise that got the LEGO treatment for the first time was Marvel back in 2013, when Traveller's Tales decided to put their own spin on a traditional Marvel super hero adventure, aptly titled LEGO Marvel Super Heroes.  As part of my longing for the next big release from Traveller's Tales and LEGO, I decided it was time to delve into LEGO Marvel Super Heroes for admittingly the first time and see whether the studio was able to deliver on their first Marvel licensed project. 

Released originally on Xbox 360, Wii U, PlayStation 3 and PC in October 2013, then following soon after as launch titles for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 in the following month, Lego Marvel Super Heroes served as Traveller's Tales 14th mainline entry into their LEGO adventure series. Upon it’s release LEGO Marvel Super Heroes was received highly by both critics and general audiences, still standing today at 88% on OpenCritic.  From a sales perspective, there’s no numbers I could find to account for but a statement was released by Warner Brothers Interactive at the time of release noting it was the best-selling LEGO video game they had released which says something to its popularity.

The story of LEGO Marvel Super Heroes is a crossover the likes of which the MCU has yet to even reach.  Sent to scout for new planets by his master Galactus, the Silver Surfer comes to Earth and ends up having his cosmic surfboard blown up by Dr Doom.  The resulting destruction of the surfboard sends numerous cosmic bricks scattering across the planet.  Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D catch wind of Doom’s plan to collect these bricks and enlists the Avengers and Fantastic Four to stop Doom and his own super villain group in their tracks. As the story progresses more and more MARVEL characters become embroiled in Doom’s elaborate plot and the stakes grow to literal Galactus sized proportions as the Devourer of Worlds makes his presence known by the final stages of the game. 

As is the case with most LEGO games, the narrative rarely offers much in terms of depth or complexity, as at its heart it is a game geared towards a younger audience. That being said, there’s clearly a recognizable sense of effort here to craft a large-scale story with a plethora of characters and set pieces. As I noted initially, this is a story that many MCU fan would die to see portrayed within that universe.  The set up allows for players to get exposure to a large range of Marvel heroes and villains, some popular and some rather obscure, all the while pushing the narrative towards its large final battle with the big bad.  It’s trademark super hero story stuff but I appreciate how coherent it delivers itself while not wasting the opportunities it has to give a spotlight to the very best of the Marvel license. 

In terms of gameplay, it’s your typical LEGO fair.  The game contains 15 story levels, 12 Deadpool levels and an entire open world map of New York city for players to explore and complete. The story and Deadpool levels feature their own selection of puzzles and obstacles that you will need to overcome with the character for that mission, along with additional puzzles which will require you to come back later with unlocked characters to handle.  The open world map of New York is large in scope and has a plethora of side activities to get lost in. Whether it’s puzzles, saving the citizens, racing; there’s no shortage of things to go during your time in the Big Apple.  What helps make the games levels and open world all the more fun to traverse is the games large cast of characters. Boasting over 100 playable heroes and villains, the game spares no expense in showing you the unique design and abilities these characters all have to offer.  Spider-Man for example has his sensory ability which lets him reveal secrets hidden within the environment.  Captain America has his trusty shield which he can use to unlock shield switches.  Larger characters like Hulk and Thing have the ability to smash down large walls with their immense strength.  A lot of the abilities in this game feel sensibly put together for the characters you play as and it’s nice to see the game utilize them.  With the scope of the game though, it’s hard not to notice the game stretching itself too thin when it comes to 100% completion. It’s not a big issue if you’re not that sort of player, but by going for 100% you begin to notice the repetition of the game design quite a bit.  It’s more so an issue in the open world segments than it is in the singular levels though. 

From a visual end, Traveller's Tales does a brilliant job in translating the world of Marvel into their typical LEGO format.  Each of the game’s 100 characters are brilliantly designed in a way that makes them distinct and recognizable. The main appeal of any LEGO game though is often the humour and I find they nailed the balance here in delivering the action-packed story with nearly every scene littered with your trademark humor that this studio is so recognizable for.   Despite being a small-scale LEGO game, I also want to give credit to the official score by Rob Westwood. His overture theme for New York captures the vibe of the city very nicely and he accompanies the soundtrack with some great comic book set pieces. 

LEGO Marvel Super Heroes doesn’t do anything to dramatically shift the course of all future LEGO games, but that’s not really a bad thing, nor was it the intent behind the game I feel. LEGO Marvel Super Heroes takes the core aim of delivering a multi-layered Marvel crossover-style story into fun-filled LEGO game experience.  It accomplishes that objective swimmingly and proves that nearly any property really does work in the LEGO franchise if given the right time and treatment.  I can only imagine one day we’ll see the MCU take notes from this game when delivering their own Galactus orientated saga.