Co-op gaming isn’t, has never been, and will never die. Local co-op, especially, isn’t going anywhere, and many developers and publishers, thankfully, know what people want. LEGO is about as notable as any leader in the genre, and its new co-op adventure—LEGO Voyagers—seems to get everything right. Walk with me as I explain all in my Gamescom 2025 LEGO Voyagers preview.
LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game was a landmark moment in gaming: Super-popular licenses working hand-in-hand with one another. The ability to relive famous Star Wars moments with another player was the tip of the lightsaber. It spawned annual LEGO games (sometimes multiple releases a year) and gave friends, couples, and families the chance to enjoy cooperative play.
In LEGO Voyagers, you and a human friend need to learn every trick (and brick) in the book to overcome obstacles, move forward, and rescue a spaceship. I walked away from my Gamescom 2025 demo with a big compliment to the game—Hazelight Studios would likely be proud of this.
A Stud in Its Own Right
LEGO Voyagers is a mandatory two-player game with a Friends Pass system, similar to Split Fiction, It Takes Two, and A Way Out. This means you only need to buy one copy of the game, and two players can join forces. There’s no AI or computer-controlled co-op cohort here.
I had the privilege of teaming up with Light Build Studios’ creative director, Karsten Lund, and got to hear his insight into the game as he led me every step of the way. The control scheme is simple enough, as one button lets you jump, and the action button attaches your character to most creations in the environment.
You’ll cling to planks to form a bridge, attach to fallen lights and structures to cross gaps, and even form a literal attachment with your partner as you become a giant poking device you’d only find in Olympic Pole Vault competitions to reach new heights. The handful of platforming sections I conquered won’t have you consulting help manuals or scouring YouTube for walkthroughs, but there’s just enough there to have you thinking. Voyagers could be a great learning tool for young ones.
Lund assured me that some of the game’s later challenges will ramp up the difficulty, though. Making this a co-op game for both young and old to enjoy—more than likely together. You also can’t help but admire how cute the game is. Our muted LEGO bricks are aesthetically endearing and are likely to be a merchandising masterstroke if the game sells—which I think it will.
LEGO Voyagers Steps Into The Hazelight
I’m desperate to avoid the Hazelight Studios comparison. The Josef Fares-founded company is seen as a modern-day pioneer of co-op-only gameplay. Creating intertwining adventures where two players must work together to prevail in the face of adversity and swat away negativity in search of the ultimate cathartic conclusion.
LEGO Voyagers gameplay has a similar vibe, and it’s hard to ignore. On the plus side, is this a bad thing? I don’t think so. I adore what Hazelight is doing, and the roughly 30-40 million copies sold across the studio’s first three games are symptomatic of a public that feels the same way.
I love to play co-op games with my fiancé. Always have done. LEGO Voyagers appeals to a wide-ranging demographic and is extremely accessible. From what I played, I don’t think LEGO Voyagers is going to break new ground, but it doesn’t need to, as it’s LEGO, it’s charming, pleasing on the eye, and a lot of fun.
Make your way to the Insider Gaming forum to share your thoughts on co-op gaming. Do we need more efforts like we’re seeing from Hazelight and Annapurna/Light Brick Studio? Also, let me know what you thought of my LEGO Voyagers preview.
We have more Gamescom 2025 previews to read about, including Under Par Golf Architect, Valor Mortis, Super Meat Boy 3D, Hell Let Loose Vietnam, Borderlands 4, Hollow Knight: Silksong, and G’AIM’E.
Andy is Insider Gaming's Senior Evergreen Editor and has been in the games journalism sphere in one way or another for over 7 years. His video game taste is as…
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