My wife and I are oftentimes on opposite ends of the video game spectrum. While I’m usually one for platforms, turn-based strategy, or racing games, she prefers to sit back and relax with a nice cozy title. We’ve had our nights—with and without the kids—of Mario Kart, Mario Party, Wheel of Fortune and others, but there’s never really been that sort of adventure game that sucked both of us in. And though it took a little bit, Lego Voyagers became that game.
A charming puzzle-platformer, Lego Voyagers is a two-player game that sees each player control either a blue or red single lego brick. As you travel the world that is, as you’d expect, built out of Lego, you’ll complete various puzzles as you work to recover and rebuild your ship.
Lego Voyagers is quite a short game, being able to be beat in about five hours. Of course, that’s if you don’t check out the world around you and fail a few times at the puzzles. More than likely, you’ll get at least 7-8 hours of playtime to get through it all. And, to be honest, you’ll want to see everything this world has to offer.
A Short Journey Worthy Of Every Second
PLAY TOGETHER: Lego Voyagers only requires one player to own a copy of the game.
From the beautiful views to the animals to the little easter eggs—like launching a toy rocket into the air—there is so much that Lego Voyagers has to offer outside of the puzzles, that you’ll be forgiven for taking 5-10 minutes at a time to get distracted.
The game takes place over chapters that flow together in a way that you don’t realize how far you’ve actually gone until you decide to pause and check. One minute you’re on chapter three and the next thing you know, you are on chapter 25 in what feels like an instant. Getting lost in the atmosphere and the puzzles is what makes this game stand out in ways that so many others fail to do.
The puzzles range in complexity and difficulty. Some have you simply building bridges with loose lego bricks while others have you working together to maneuver a boat to get the right bricks in order to power a machine that opens a gate. It’s also nice that there isn’t always just one way to solve a puzzle. Without spoiling too much, there are some occasions where you can find you and your partner seemingly failing in spectacular fashion only to realize what you did, in fact, helped you progress.
Because this is a game where you rely on a partner, there can be a bit of trolling that goes on between you two. One area requires one player to flip a switch to lower a platform. Should one of you want, which will happen, you can launch the other clear across the map. This happens a couple of times, and one instance launching the other player turned out to be the right thing to do.
At times, you can find yourself not sure where to go. To help this, there are various guides and clues to let you know you’re on the right path. In the early stage of the game there are birds that always signify a new area you are supposed to be at. Later, there are flying drone-like robots that act as the same. If you come across them, just know you are going the right way. Whether that was their intent or not was unknown during the playthrough, but it worked out that way.
Some Slight Hiccups
While the puzzles were impressive in their design and variety, the platforming did leave a little to be desired. It’s not to say the platforming was bad or disappointing, it just felt at times that intended movements weren’t happening. Mainly, it would happen when jumping in areas that called for you to leap from piece to piece. For context, when in the air you can hit Circle/B to latch onto the piece you are right above or next to. A few times, despite being right on the piece, you wouldn’t latch, leading you to fall off the map and start the segment over. It didn’t cause a lot of disruption, but there were some times when it started to frustrate.
Also, while the game looks stunning, the sun glare gets in the way far too much, leading you to clearly miss something in front of you. While it was clearly by design, it feels more like a barrier for the sake of having another barrier than anything else.
Lego Voyagers Review Verdict
I used my wife’s experience and feelings about Lego Voyagers to really test just how the game feels. It throws you into the story right away with little explanation of where to go or what to do. There was clear annoyance about the lack of start, but as the game played out and the puzzles became more unique, I sensed a joy that even I wasn’t expecting.
The little smirks and the smiles when getting past a tougher puzzle shows that Light Brick Studio has something that even people who wouldn’t expect to enjoy a game like this will like. It circles back to that one word, “charming”. Everything about the game makes you feel something without a word ever being uttered in game. Small critiques aside, this is a game that anybody can pick up and enjoy, whether you’re a regular player or someone who just wants a cozy adventure to share. Lego Voyagers may be short, but it leaves a lasting impression that’s as heartfelt as it is delightful.”
NOTE: A copy of Lego Voyagers on PlayStation 5 was provided to Insider Gaming for the purposes of this review. (Read our review policy)
Lego Voyagers
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Lego Voyagers
Mike has been covering the gaming industry since 2012, and has reported on some of the largest events in the industry while also working as an investigative reporter. Outside of…
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